After those words, Valdren grabbed Kael—and vanished.
Kael was taken aback. That wasn't mere speed… it felt closer to instant transference. A dizzy spell hit him as his surroundings shifted, forcing him to rub his eyes.
He found himself in what looked like the lowest level of the hall… or something very close to it.
In front of him stood a massive door. It wasn't as large as the one in the lower district guarded by Tharamis, but it was still imposing and grand.
Flanking the doorway were two guards clad in pitch-black armor, with the sigil of the Kaldras family glowing faintly in blue across their chests.
Valdren stepped forward slightly and spoke in a calm but firm voice:
"Listen carefully, child. As we agreed… the Shadows will decide which bloodline you'll receive.
All you need to do is enter, and walk the path. Keep walking until a Shadow speaks to you… or stops you. Only then may you halt."
Kael glanced at him, a trace of unease in his eyes.
"And… what exactly are these Shadows?"
Valdren offered a tilted smile—somewhere between confidence and amusement.
"Are you afraid… perhaps?"
He then placed a strangely gentle hand on Kael's back.
"Go on. Don't worry… everything will be fine."
The two guards standing at the door raised their swords simultaneously…
And severed their own hands.
Their limbs dropped to the floor, blood trickling steadily from the stumps.
Not a single groan. No cry of pain.
Just synchronized silence.
They knelt in perfect unison, picked up their severed hands, and began inscribing strange symbols on the surface of the door.
Among the markings was the Kaldras sigil—but slightly altered.
Above it, another symbol appeared… one Kael couldn't fully perceive.
A dense fog seemed to veil his vision, preventing him from seeing clearly.
Once the markings were complete, the guards took a step back, then prostrated themselves, chanting ancient, eerie verses that sounded more like ritual than prayer.
Kael couldn't hide his discomfort. His eyes betrayed fear as he took in the scene.
He looked toward Valdren, seeking reassurance…
But Valdren's expression remained unchanged—calm, unaffected.
Moments passed. The air grew heavier.
Then, the door began to glow… a faint crimson at first.
The light gradually intensified.
Valdren stepped forward without hesitation, took one of the guards' swords, and raised it above the guard's neck….
and decapitated him.
The crimson glow flared violently.
Kael gasped in silent shock.
Valdren then did the same to the second guard.
And in that moment, the entire door ignited in a deep, smoldering red—like burning coals.
The door began to creak open… achingly slow, as though time itself was distorted within.
Before the passage fully revealed itself, two new guards appeared, clad in the same armor.
Their faces were hidden, and they stood silently beside the entrance.
Finally… the door opened completely.
What lay beyond was no ordinary place—
just pure darkness, thick fog, and the howling of distant wind.
Valdren looked to Kael, then motioned him forward.
Kael hesitated.
What he saw was beyond unnatural… it was like stepping into a waking nightmare.
But despite everything…
he forced himself to move forward, one step at a time, until he crossed the threshold.
And then….
Boom!
The door slammed shut behind him with a thunderous crash that shook the ground beneath his feet.
Kael looked ahead.
A long, narrow corridor stretched before him,
its walls lined with small doors, or openings, like black holes in an obsidian wall.
He whispered in his mind, his voice shaking:
"Blood of Shadows… are you there?"
No response.
He inhaled sharply, then exhaled, steadying himself.
He began to walk—slowly, cautiously—his nerves fraying with each step.
He looked left, right, above… but there was no sound, no movement. Only the distant wind… and the dripping of water.
Drip… drip… drip…
He continued on through the suffocating darkness.
Nothing approached. Nothing moved.
And that, more than anything, terrified him:
The unknown.
*****
But what Kael didn't know…
was that hundreds of Shadows were watching him from within each opening.
Each one… eyes glowing red with hunger… would begin to approach—then stop.
They weren't like human.
They felt everything. Especially inside their realm.
All they wished for…was a host.
A way out of this place.
But the moment they sensed Kael's hidden, true bloodline…they understood.
If they chose him, they would not emerge as a normal bloodline.
They would vanish entirely.
And so…they preferred the eternal darkness over becoming that.
*****
Kael continued forward, his gaze scanning every direction.
but the anxiety…
never left his veins.