Chapter 20: Watchers in the Dark
The Vault of Silent Names had closed behind them like the snapping jaws of a beast, leaving the trio standing in an eerie silence that stretched thin across the shattered ridge. The sky above was still torn, the jagged fissures of the Netherveil bleeding streaks of cold, starlit light onto the cracked earth.
Noah's fingers trembled slightly, still gripping the fourth shard. It pulsed softly, like a heartbeat that belonged to something both ancient and alive. But beneath the shard's steady glow was a gnawing emptiness—a hollow where a name used to be.
He tried to push the feeling aside. He had made the choice. The cost had been paid.
But the pain didn't care about choices.
Riven broke the silence first. "You did it. You got the shard."
Lyra's eyes were cold, scanning the horizon. "At what price?"
Noah didn't answer.
Because deep inside, a whisper had started—a scratch at the edges of his mind that wasn't his own.
The forest they moved through was silent now, but the darkness felt alive.
Trees twisted in shapes that resembled hands reaching, and shadows pooled unnaturally thick beneath them. The Netherveil here was thinner than ever, the veil between realities almost torn.
Noah kept his hand close to his side, clutching the shards and the Coin.
Suddenly, the world tilted.
A sharp wind rushed through the trees, carrying a chorus of faint voices—echoes of things long forgotten.
"Watchers," Lyra hissed, halting.
"They're here," Riven said, drawing his blades with a quiet metallic ring.
Noah's heart slammed. "Watchers? I thought they only showed themselves when the world was ending."
"Usually," Lyra said. "But someone's been stirring things up. The shards, the Veil—it's like we're ringing a bell in a house full of ghosts."
The shadows shifted.
From the darkness stepped figures — tall, slender, cloaked in black robes that seemed woven from smoke and fractured glass. Their faces were hidden beneath deep hoods, but their eyes glowed faintly like distant stars.
One stepped forward, his voice a chilling whisper that seemed to echo inside Noah's skull rather than his ears.
"You carry what you should not."
Noah swallowed, stepping forward despite the tremor in his legs.
"Who are you?" he demanded.
The Watcher tilted his head slowly, as if inspecting an insect.
"I am Khoren," he said. "A guardian of the Veil's balance. And you are a breaker of the rules."
"No one's breaking anything," Noah snapped. "I'm just trying to survive."
Lyra stepped beside him. "The shards were never meant to be gathered by one person. You're tearing the fabric."
Khoren's eyes flared brighter.
"Then you leave me no choice."
In a blink, the Watchers surged forward.
Riven met them head-on, blades flashing in streaks of silver light. Lyra's runes ignited, sending waves of blue fire rippling through the air. Noah held the shards high, feeling the raw magic pouring from them.
But the Watchers were something else.
They moved like shadows made solid—phasing through attacks and striking where there was no defense.
Noah dodged a strike aimed at his throat. The shard in his palm flared white-hot, and he instinctively unleashed a pulse of light.
The closest Watcher shattered, but another took its place immediately.
"We can't keep this up," Riven said, parrying a blow and grimacing as a cut opened along his forearm.
Noah's mind raced.
The shards had given him power—but also painted a target on his back.
He needed a plan. Fast.
"Lyra," he called. "Can the shards do more than just fight?"
She glanced at him, sweat on her brow. "Maybe. If you link them. If you channel their power together."
"No time to explain," Noah said. "Help me."
They formed a circle, Noah holding the shards and the Coin outstretched. Lyra began chanting in the ancient Veil tongue—her voice weaving through the shards, binding their light.
The air thickened, crackling with energy.
The shards glowed brighter, casting beams of pure magic that wrapped around them like a shield.
The Watchers faltered.
The largest Watcher—Khoren—raised his hands, calling shadows from the ground.
"Break the light!" he roared.
But the circle held.
The combined power erupted, sending a wave of blinding radiance that forced the Watchers back into the darkness.
Silence reclaimed the night.
Noah gasped for breath.
"Is it over?" Riven asked.
"Not yet," Lyra said, eyes sharp. "They're retreating—but they'll be back."
Noah looked up at the cracked sky.
The shards pulsed again—urgent.
"We have to find the next shard before they do," he said. "Before the Watchers bring more than just themselves."
Lyra nodded.
Riven sheathed his blades, wiping blood from his arm.
Noah clenched his fists, feeling the weight of everything on his shoulders.
The shards. The Watchers. The broken world.
He wasn't just fighting for himself anymore.
He was fighting for all of it.