The sound split the silence like thunder. Iron links clattered against the stone floor, and the revenant staggered forward, no longer bound. Its chest heaved in unnatural rhythm, every breath rattling like a death rattle.
Liora raised her blade, but her hands trembled. She had faced monsters before — twisted, unrecognizable things. But this… this still wore the faded crest of the Dawnwatch across its rusted breastplate.
The revenant's golden-tinged eyes locked on hers. For a heartbeat, she swore she saw recognition flicker there.
"Liora…" the voice rasped, broken but clear.
Her throat closed. She stepped back, her torchlight shaking. "No. That's—impossible."
Kael's dagger flashed in his hand. "Impossible or not, it's coming for us."
The thing lunged, chains dragging behind it like tails of a broken beast. Liora met it with steel, the clash ringing through the catacombs. Sparks lit the darkness. She hesitated, just long enough for the revenant's clawed hand to rake across her armor.
Kael shoved her aside, twisting his dagger into the creature's side. The revenant howled, not like a monster, but like a man in pain.
More chains rattled. All around them, the prisoners stirred. Links strained, cracked, split. The catacombs quaked with their awakening.
Kael's laugh was sharp, desperate. "Well, you wanted to face them. Congratulations — you've got the whole damned order rising to greet you."
Liora pressed her back to the wall, her blade dripping ichor. The golden-eyed revenant staggered but did not fall. Its voice rasped again, torn between curse and memory:
"Save us… or join us."
And then, with a final scream, the rest of the chains broke.
Chapter Seven Ends