Chapter 29: The First Seal Breaks
The sky above the Seerlands darkened unnaturally as Rayden and his army reached the outskirts of Sanctum Vale — the final stretch before the Citadel itself. The earth pulsed with ancestral energy, and the wind carried whispers of voices long silenced.
Rayden paused on the cliff's edge, his eyes fixed on the glowing runic storm that spiraled above the Seer's domain. "That storm isn't natural," he muttered.
"It's a ward," Kaelri replied from beside him. Her robes fluttered in the wind, arcane glyphs glowing at her fingertips. "One of the Seven Seals. The Citadel is protected by layers of ancient magic that can only be undone… from within."
Rayden clenched his fists. "Then we find the cracks."
---
The path through Sanctum Vale was twisted by illusions. Forests shifted. Trees whispered false memories. The very light warped to trick the eyes. Jexa slashed through a mirage that had taken the shape of her dead brother, her teeth gritted.
"They're using our past against us," she said. "Classic Seer tactics. Psychological warfare."
"Let them," Rayden growled, his Berserk System pulsing around his body like a living flame. "I'm done being haunted."
Every step forward carved through the illusion. Rayden's will — raw, broken, and reforged in rage — shredded the mental traps like paper in a storm. His presence alone was becoming a weapon.
---
At the valley's heart, the first seal stood — an enormous ring of obsidian stone floating in the air, etched with glowing symbols. In the center hovered a girl — no older than ten — her body suspended like a puppet, eyes white with blinding light.
Kaelri gasped. "She's a Sealbearer."
Lyss stepped forward. "That child is powering the first ward?"
"No," Kaelri said grimly. "She is the ward."
Rayden's jaw clenched. "Then we set her free."
---
The moment Rayden touched the edge of the ring, the world split. The ground shattered into fragments, and the sky cracked open like glass. The group was pulled into a mental realm — a sealed mindscape created by the child's System.
Rayden stood alone on a crimson battlefield.
A voice echoed across the void. "You wish to free me? Prove you are worthy."
A shadowy version of himself emerged — identical, but with hollow eyes and a smirk filled with contempt.
"I am your rage unshackled. Fight me… or become me."
---
They clashed.
Sword against sword. Fist against fury. Every blow Rayden landed was returned with double the force. His dark doppelgänger laughed, taunting him.
"You crave freedom, but fear what comes after! You burn with vengeance, yet you pity the guilty!"
Rayden fell to one knee, blood on his lips. The voice of the Berserk System rang out in warning:
[Soul Conflict: Core Instability Detected]
[Warning: Corruption Threshold – 71%]
But then… he smiled.
"I'm not afraid of you."
The shadow froze.
"You're not my enemy. You're my truth."
Rayden stood, not in fury… but acceptance. "You're the part of me that survived everything — the part they tried to kill. I don't reject you… I embrace you."
---
Light exploded from his chest.
The mindscape shattered.
The child fell gently into Lyss's arms, unconscious but free. The obsidian ring cracked, then burst into dust.
[System Alert: Seal 1 Broken – Seer Ward Integrity 86%]
[Berserk Sync Level: 82% – New Trait Unlocked: Soul Flame]
Rayden stood taller, the fire in his aura calmer, more focused. He was no longer just a vessel of rage.
He was a will made manifest.
---
They moved forward, into deeper shadows, as the Citadel loomed in the distance.
But something unseen had stirred in its depths.
In a chamber lined with soulglass mirrors, High Seer Vaelra watched the seal crumble through scrying flame. Her reflection twisted with dread.
"They freed the first," she whispered.
Beside her, a sealed vault door began to hum.
"It's too soon…"
From behind the vault, a voice whispered — deep, ancient, and full of hunger.
"Set me loose, Vaelra. Let me teach the boy what true madness is."
And the second seal… began to tremble.