đź“– Chronicles of the Watchers
Chapter 20: The Grass That Whispers
The stars were wrong.
Kairo lay staring upward, chest still burning from the escape. He felt it—something had shifted in the heavens, as though the constellations themselves bent their gaze upon the Vale below.
Far beneath, muffled by distance, the Abyss shuddered. The roar of the Sleeper thundered again, joined by the clash of Hunters. Sparks lit the darkness like falling stars as silver masks shattered, scythes screamed, and chains broke.
Then silence.
Not victory, not defeat—just a silence that felt like a wound in the world.
Selene's face was pale. "If the Sleeper has stirred… then the bindings of old are weakening. It means the Watchers are not as buried as we thought."
Kairo pressed a hand to his chest, where Azariel's mark still pulsed. "It looked at me. It knew me."
Inside him, the whisper returned—low, pleased, like a serpent basking in fire.
"Because it remembers. We were once brothers."
Kairo shivered. He felt Liora's eyes on him, sharp and mistrustful, though she said nothing.
---
The plains stretched wide before them. Silver grass swayed though there was no wind, each blade bending as if whispering secrets. Beyond, the distant campfires had not moved—they burned steady, countless.
By dawn, they reached the edge of a hill overlooking the settlement.
It was not a village. It was a fortress-city, sprawling across the valley, lit by braziers of blue flame. Its walls were etched with runes that shimmered faintly against the morning light. And upon its banners was a sigil: a broken chain encircling a rising sun.
Selene's lips tightened. "The Dominion of Kaelith. We're in their lands now."
Liora spat in the grass. "Chain-breakers, they call themselves. But don't be fooled—Kaelith enslaves just as the Priests of Kronas do, only with prettier words."
Before Kairo could answer, horns sounded across the plains. The campfires dimmed, replaced by movement. Soldiers in blackened armor marched in formation, banners raised high. Their helmets were carved with faces of angels—yet the eyes glowed with unnatural light.
A patrol broke off and rode toward the hill where they stood.
"Down!" Liora hissed, pulling Kairo into the grass. Selene shielded the lantern, dimming its glow.
The riders drew near. At their head was a figure in robes of white and crimson, face hidden behind a mask of beaten gold. In one hand he carried a staff tipped with a fragment of crystal that pulsed in time with Kairo's mark.
The masked priest raised his staff toward the hilltop. Though unseen, Kairo felt the man's gaze pierce straight into him.
He knows.
The priest lowered the staff, speaking in a voice like honey poured over steel.
"Bring the vessel to the Sun-Throne."
The soldiers spurred forward.
Liora's blade was already in her hand.
Selene's lantern flared.
And inside Kairo, Azariel laughed.
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⚡ End of Chapter 20.