The streets of Drakensport burned with the light of holy fire.
Kael sprinted through alleys choked with smoke, his lungs searing. Behind him, bells tolled like war drums, and the thunder of armored boots shook the ground. Shouts echoed from every street:
"Find the Hollow!"
"Seal the gates!"
"The Destiny Thief must not escape!"
Kael's pulse hammered in his ears. The shard in his chest pulsed too, in time with his heartbeat, whispering with every throb. Kill them. Take their Oaths. None can stop you.
"No," he growled under his breath, forcing himself around a corner. "Not like this."
He stumbled into the temple catacombs, the air thick with dust and candle smoke. Shadows stretched long against the walls, hiding him from the hunt above.
And then—
"Kael."
He froze.
Lyra stepped from the shadows, her golden wings dim in the underground gloom. Her face was streaked with tears, her hands trembling as she held them out to him.
For a heartbeat, silence. Just the two of them in the dark.
"…You came," Kael said, his voice raw.
"I had to." Her voice cracked. "You saved those children. You saved me. You're not what they say you are."
Kael laughed bitterly, the sound hollow in the cavern. "Not what they say? Lyra, I stole Serath's Oath. I can still feel it burning in me. Every second, the shard whispers to take more. What if they're right? What if I am a monster?"
Lyra's wings folded tight around her, as if she were bracing herself. She stepped closer, eyes blazing.
"Then prove them wrong."
Her words hit harder than Serath's blade ever had.
Kael stared at her, struggling to breathe. "…And if I can't?"
Lyra's lip trembled. She lifted a hand toward his cheek, but stopped just short of touching him. Her voice dropped to a whisper.
"Then I'll be the one to stop you."
The silence that followed cut deeper than any blade.
Kael shut his eyes, pain twisting his chest. "…I don't want to fight you, Lyra."
"Then don't give me a reason to."
For a moment, it felt like the world held its breath. Kael wanted to take her hand, to let her anchor him to something human. But the voices in his head clawed at him, and the glow in his veins pulsed brighter, hungrier.
He stepped back.
"Goodbye, Lyra."
Her tears spilled over, glinting in the candlelight. "Kael—wait—"
But he was already turning away, his footsteps echoing through the tunnels.
As his shadow vanished into the dark, Lyra's knees buckled. Her wings folded around her like a shroud.
"…Don't lose yourself," she whispered into the silence.
Unseen in the deeper dark, figures stirred. Robes of black, masks of bone. Their voices hissed in unison, echoing like the abyss itself.
"The Shard has chosen… The Thief of Destiny walks the path."
The cultists melted back into the shadows, leaving only their chilling whispers behind.
⸻
➡️ Cliffhanger: Kael is alone, exiled by faith, torn from Lyra, while the Abyssal Cult begins to mark him as "the key" to something far greater.