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Chapter 12: Whispers Beneath the Veil
The cavern lay silent after the clash, though silence was a fragile mask. The air still trembled with the memory of power unleashed, and the stone walls shimmered faintly as if they had absorbed the violence themselves. Kaelen stood at the center, chest heaving, the glowing sigil on his palm burning brighter than it ever had before.
Across from him, Shadowborne leaned against a jagged pillar, armor fractured but his grin sharp as broken glass. Blood streaked his cheek, yet his eyes glowed with something far from defeat.
Lysera stepped closer to Kaelen, her movements sharp and deliberate, though her face betrayed a flicker of concern. Her crimson cloak was torn at the hem, and her bow dangled loosely in her hand. "That power," she said quietly, her voice carrying against the stillness. "It's growing beyond you, Kaelen. The question is… are you the master of it, or is it mastering you?"
Kaelen glanced at her, but words failed him. The sigil still hummed against his skin, and beneath its light he thought he heard whispers—layered voices, too ancient to belong to mortal tongues.
Before he could speak, the ground trembled. Not the sudden, violent quake of combat, but a slow, rhythmic thrum—like a heartbeat buried in the world's flesh. Pebbles danced at their feet. Dust fell in thin streams from the cavern roof. The sigil flared in answer, its glow pulsing in time with the beat.
Shadowborne chuckled darkly. "Ah… you feel it too." He straightened, though his movements betrayed a hidden ache. His voice carried a strange reverence, almost hunger. "You thought this was victory? Foolish. This cavern is not a battleground. It's a doorway."
Lysera's brow furrowed. "A doorway to what?"
Shadowborne's grin widened. "Not what. Who. Beyond the Veil lies the Forgotten. Beings older than your gods, buried so deep even the stars have forgotten their names. And that sigil you carry, Kaelen…" He pointed with a jagged gauntlet, the gesture mocking yet heavy with meaning. "…is their key."
The heartbeat beneath them deepened, louder now, and Kaelen swore he heard faint voices rising with it. Faint chants, stretched across centuries, pressing against the edges of his mind. He clenched his fist, but the sigil only burned hotter, searing his palm.
Lysera tightened her grip on her bow, shifting subtly closer to Kaelen. Her voice was low, urgent. "If he's telling the truth, then we've awakened something worse than gods."
The whispers within Kaelen sharpened, words forming clearly for the first time: "Choose… breach or bind."
Suddenly, a crack tore through the cavern floor, jagged and glowing with otherworldly light. From the rift rose shapes—unfinished, shifting, their edges blurring between shadow and flame. The voices rose higher, no longer whispers but a thousand throats screaming in chorus.
Shadowborne's laugh echoed against the stone, though his eyes betrayed unease. "The Veil is opening. Whether you seal it or tear it wide… the world will drown."
Kaelen's heart thundered, caught between terror and resolve. Lysera's eyes found his, steady despite the tremor in her hand. For a moment, the chaos faded, and all he saw was the unspoken trust between them.
The sigil flared again, brighter than ever, until it was hard to tell whether Kaelen still held it—or whether it had already claimed him.
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