The torches flickered within the war chamber, casting long shadows across the stone walls. Ren stood at the table, his fingers tracing the worn edges of the ancient map spread before him. The whispers had not stopped since he first took the Voidfang, and now, with every passing hour, they grew clearer.
"The gods are liars."
"The cycle must end."
"You are the key."
His grip tightened around the hilt of his sword. He could feel it—the shift in the air, the unseen force pressing against his mind. Something had awakened, and it was watching him.
Mira and Draven stood across from him, their expressions heavy with unspoken concerns. They had been by his side for years, through countless battles, yet even they seemed unsure how to face the unknown enemy looming on the horizon.
"The Forgotten One," Mira murmured, her arms crossed. "We've fought gods, defied fate itself, but now there's something out there even they fear?"
Draven exhaled, rubbing his temples. "It's more than just fear. The old mystics believe the Forgotten One was erased from history—not by accident, but deliberately. The gods didn't just defeat it. They hid it, buried its name, wiped it from existence. But something… or someone… has begun unearthing it again."
Ren's eyes darkened. "And now, it's calling to me."
A heavy silence followed his words. Mira clenched her fists. "Then we have no choice. We find it before it finds us."
Ren nodded. "We start with the ruins. If the gods buried something, they would have done it where no mortal could reach."
Draven sighed. "Then I hope you're ready for hell."
The Ruins of Elaris
The journey to the ruins took them deep into the forbidden lands—a place where time itself felt distorted. The air shimmered unnaturally, the trees twisted in impossible angles, and the sky burned with an eerie twilight glow, though no sun or moon hung overhead.
Ren felt it the moment they crossed the threshold. A pulse—a heartbeat buried beneath the earth. It resonated with the Voidfang, sending a sharp tremor through his arm. The whispers surged, almost deafening.
"You are close..."
"Come to me..."
The ruins loomed ahead—massive, shattered structures of obsidian and gold, half-sunken into the earth. Strange carvings lined the walls, depicting figures that were neither man nor god. Creatures with too many eyes, too many limbs, their faces twisted in agony.
"This place…" Mira whispered, running a hand along the carvings. "It feels… wrong."
Ren stepped forward, eyes narrowing. "No. It feels like the truth."
They moved deeper, past broken pillars and stairways that led into nothingness. The deeper they went, the heavier the air became, as if the world itself was resisting their presence.
Then, they found it.
A massive gate, sealed with divine energy. Golden chains bound it shut, pulsing with celestial power. The gods had locked this place away, but whatever was inside… it was still alive.
Ren stepped closer, raising a hand toward the barrier.
"Ren!" Mira's voice was sharp, but it was too late.
The moment his fingers brushed against the chains, they shattered.
A wave of darkness exploded from the gate, rushing past them like a dying breath. The air turned ice cold. The world went silent. And then—
The voice spoke.
"I see you, child of the broken cycle."
The shadows twisted, forming a shape—a figure standing at the heart of the ruined temple. It was humanoid, but only barely. Its body was a void, shifting between forms, its face obscured by swirling mist.
Mira reached for her sword. Draven took a cautious step back. But Ren… Ren couldn't move.
Because when the being turned its gaze upon him, he saw the reflection of the gods within its eyes.
And they were screaming.
"You have taken the Voidfang. You have severed the chains. Now… will you listen?"
Ren swallowed, forcing his voice to remain steady. "Who are you?"
The figure's form shifted again, its voice neither male nor female, neither old nor young.
"I am the Forgotten. The first. The last. The truth they tried to erase."
The ruins trembled, as if the world itself recoiled from its presence. Ren could feel the weight of its words, the vastness of its existence pressing against his mind.
"And what do you want?" Ren asked, his grip tightening on his sword.
The being's eyes burned with something deeper than hatred, deeper than vengeance.
"To finish what was started eons ago. To end the gods. To break the cycle."
Ren's breath hitched. This thing… it wasn't just an enemy of the gods. It was their nightmare.
And now, it had chosen him.