The Silver Heir
Chapter Seventeen: The Blackened Wing
The city of Vel Ruin had once been a jewel of the old world — towers of crystal and silver bridges that caught the moonlight like rivers of glass.
Now, it was dead.
Pearl stood on the edge of a broken rooftop, staring down at streets littered with bones and silence. The air reeked of decay and burnt stone. The moon hung low — dull, red, heavy with ash.
She could feel Kaelith's presence everywhere — like smoke curling under her skin. But tonight wasn't about him.
It was about his general.
The one they called Mournblade — a monster made from shadow and memory. The creature had commanded the hunters who razed her village. It had worn her father's voice when it ordered the slaughter.
Now, she would silence it forever.
She gripped Arden's rifle in one hand, her sword strapped to her back. Her wings unfolded slowly — black and silver, frayed at the tips from battle. Each beat stirred dust from the ruins below.
"Vel Ruin," she murmured. "Let's finish what started here."
Then she leapt from the rooftop.
Her boots struck the cracked street with the weight of a comet. The ground trembled, glass shattering around her. Every sound echoed through the hollow city.
She moved quickly, gliding through the shadows, her aura dimmed to keep her presence hidden. Every few steps, she saw flashes — burnt sigils carved into walls, screams trapped in the stone.
Kaelith's corruption had turned this place into a tomb that never forgot.
When she reached the old marketplace, she paused. The stalls were filled with corpses frozen mid-motion — people turned to ashen statues by some ancient curse.
Their faces were twisted in terror.
Pearl exhaled slowly, her breath visible in the cold. "He's here."
A whisper slithered through the air: Pearl of the Silver Heir... the child who burns her own light to chase shadows.
She drew her sword. "Show yourself."
The shadows around her thickened — not as mist, but as liquid darkness. They poured from alleys and doorways, forming tendrils that snaked toward her feet.
Then they fused.
The shape that rose from them was tall, armored in onyx, its face hidden beneath a cracked mask that shimmered like oil. The air bent around it, heavy with malice.
Mournblade.
Its voice was a whisper of a thousand others. "You wear your father's guilt well."
Pearl's pulse quickened. "You killed him."
"No." The creature tilted its head. "He offered himself. You simply forgot the truth."
She lunged before it could say another word.
The street exploded. Her blade met shadowed steel, sparks flaring bright as starlight. The impact sent shockwaves through the ruins, shattering windows for miles.
Mournblade laughed — a sound like broken metal. "Still clinging to light. How quaint."
They clashed again and again — sword against claw, fury against corruption. Pearl moved faster than lightning, wings cutting the air, her strikes fueled by rage and grief.
But every blow she landed only tore through mist. The general was everywhere and nowhere.
"Fight me!" she screamed.
"I am," it hissed — appearing behind her. Its blade ripped across her back. Silver blood spilled.
Pearl spun, her eyes blazing. Pain surged — but so did power. The air trembled around her, the ground fracturing beneath her feet.
She unleashed a burst of lunar fire. The beam tore through the market, slicing through statues, through walls — through reality itself.
When the light faded, Mournblade was gone.
Or so she thought.
A shadow rose from the rubble and slammed into her, pinning her against a wall. Its blade pressed against her throat.
"Do you know what you are?" it whispered.
Pearl gasped, struggling. "I'm the one who kills you."
"Wrong." The general's voice deepened, echoing inside her skull. "You are his heir. His vessel. You were never meant to destroy Kaelith. You were meant to replace him."
Pearl's world blurred. Her pulse hammered. "Lies!"
"Ask your blood," Mournblade said. "Ask your mother's grave."
The pressure at her throat increased — but then something snapped inside her.
Her silver aura flared. The wall behind her cracked and exploded outward. She drove her knee into the creature's chest, breaking free, then slashed upward with all her strength.
Her blade struck true this time.
The general's mask shattered, revealing a face — or what used to be one. Beneath it was a reflection of her own — pale, scarred, eyes glowing silver.
She froze.
Mournblade smiled. "Now you see."
And it dissolved into ash, carried away by the wind.
Pearl fell to her knees, trembling. Her sword slipped from her hand, clattering against the stone.
"What… what did you mean?" she whispered to the air. "Why did you look like me?"
No answer. Only silence — until Kaelith's voice seeped into her mind again.
Because every monster I make is born from you.
Her breath caught. "No…"
He wanted an heir, Pearl. He just never said which part of him you would inherit.
Pearl's vision blurred, tears mixing with blood. She screamed — a raw, broken sound that echoed through the ruins, shaking the sky.
The moon above flickered — silver to crimson — then dimmed entirely.
Hours later, the city lay silent again.
Pearl stood atop the ruins of a spire, her armor cracked, her body shaking. The wind tore at her wings, scattering feathers of silver and black.
She looked out over Vel Ruin — a city of ghosts, now truly dead.
"I won," she whispered hollowly.
But deep down, she knew she hadn't.
Every time she used her power, Kaelith grew stronger. Every victory brought her closer to becoming what she feared most.
She could feel the shadow inside her pulsing with satisfaction.
You see? The world is built on lies. Let me show you the truth.
"No," she said, voice trembling. "Not yet."
She picked up her sword and drove it into the stone at her feet, watching the silver light flicker and fade.
Then, she pulled the rifle from her back and stared at it — Arden's rifle, scarred and battered.
"I'll find you," she whispered. "Before he finds me."
Lightning cracked across the sky, illuminating her silhouette — wings outstretched, eyes blazing silver.
The wind howled around her like the cries of the dead.
And as she leapt from the spire, her wings burst into black flame.
Vel Ruin crumbled behind her, collapsing