Light out into darkness: chapter 04
Excellent choice — the story is deep in motion now.
Here's Chapter 4 of Light Out into Darkness, continuing right where we left off: Lucy and Kael journeying toward the ruins of Solara Keep to uncover the truth about the light within her.
Chapter 4 – The Ruins of Solara
By the time dawn should have come — if dawn still existed — the forest had thinned into a stretch of cold stone hills. The sky above remained heavy and starless, a ceiling of black glass.
Lucy followed Kael through a valley choked with mist, her light dim and steady now, a pale gold glow threading through her veins. She was exhausted but afraid to stop. Every sound behind them felt like footsteps that weren't their own.
Kael walked ahead, silent as ever. Only when they reached the crest of a hill did he finally speak.
"There," he said, pointing.
Below them, half-buried in fog, stood the ruins of Solara Keep — what was once the grand citadel of the light priests. Now it was little more than broken towers and crumbling domes, the remains of a civilization swallowed by shadow.
Lucy stared, awe and sadness tightening her chest. "It's beautiful," she whispered.
Kael's gaze was distant. "It was. Once."
They descended the hill in silence. The air grew warmer the closer they came — not natural warmth, but something deeper, older. The ground beneath their boots shimmered faintly with old light, like embers that refused to die.
Inside the ruins, the air felt thick with memory. Statues of angels stood shattered in the courtyard, their stone faces worn smooth by time. A fountain lay cracked at the center, and at its base, a faint light still flickered — a remnant of the power that once thrived here.
Lucy knelt by it, reaching out. "It's the same light," she murmured. "Like what's inside me."
Kael nodded. "This place was built around the first flame. Its priests believed the light could be reborn — if a heart pure enough carried it. Maybe they were right."
She looked up at him. "Do you think that's me? Pure?"
His eyes softened for the first time. "I think you're brave enough to try."
Before Lucy could answer, the ground beneath them trembled — a low hum that vibrated in her bones. The glow at the fountain's base brightened, swirling into a thin beam of light that rose into the air.
Kael drew his sword instantly. "Stay back."
But the light wasn't attacking. It was calling.
Whispers filled Lucy's mind, soft and ancient.
Child of the final flame… bearer of dawn… awaken what sleeps.
Her heart pounded. She stepped closer despite Kael's warning. The light reached toward her, curling around her fingers like a gentle flame.
Then the world fell away.
She saw visions — flashes of a sun blazing over green fields, towers bathed in gold, people laughing beneath clear skies. Then fire, screams, and the world collapsing into night.
In the heart of that darkness stood a figure — tall, cloaked, crowned with thorns of smoke. Eyes like dying stars. The Shadow King.
And beside him… another figure, standing between the King and the light. Kael.
Lucy gasped and stumbled back as the vision shattered. The light faded, leaving only the ruins and the echo of her own heartbeat.
Kael's face was unreadable. "You saw it, didn't you?"
She stared at him. "You were there. You fought for him."
He didn't deny it. "Yes. I served him once. I was his sword — his executioner. I destroyed the last flame myself."
Anger flared through her, sharp and sudden. "Then why help me now? Why save me if you're the reason the world fell?"
Kael's voice broke, quiet and raw. "Because I remember what it felt like to hold the light and destroy it. I can't live with that again."
Lucy turned away, her hands shaking. The warmth inside her pulsed — not in anger, but confusion. The light seemed to sense his regret.
Before she could answer, the air changed. A deep vibration rippled through the stones beneath them. The shadows at the edge of the courtyard thickened, forming tendrils that slithered toward the center.
Kael's head snapped up. "They've found us again."
From the darkness, a figure emerged — not a wraith this time, but something worse. A woman of pure shadow, her form shifting like smoke, eyes white as frost.
"The King calls for his lost Warden," she hissed. "And for the thief who stole his flame."
Kael raised his sword. "You'll have to take it from her first."
The shadow-woman smiled — a crack in reality. "Gladly."
She lunged. The courtyard erupted in chaos — Kael's blade clashing against mist, Lucy's light flaring in defense. The woman's laughter echoed like breaking glass as her darkness swallowed Kael whole.
Lucy screamed his name, her hand blazing brighter than ever. The warmth burned up her arm, through her chest, until she thought her heart would burst.
And then — light exploded outward in a wave of gold, pure and wild.
When the dust settled, Kael was on the ground, his cloak torn and blood dark against the stone. The shadow-woman was gone — dissolved into smoke.
Lucy rushed to his side, pressing a hand to his wound. Her touch glowed faintly, and the bleeding slowed.
Kael opened his eyes, weak but steady. "You're stronger than I thought."
Tears stung her eyes. "You saved me first."
He managed a faint smile. "Then I suppose we're even."
The light within Lucy dimmed to a soft glow, calm once more. But deep within the ruins, she could still feel something stirring — ancient and waiting. The fountain's glow had not gone out; it pulsed in rhythm with her heartbeat.
She looked toward the horizon, where the eternal night stretched on. Somewhere beyond it, she could feel the Shadow King watching — restless, aware.
Lucy stood slowly, resolve hardening like steel. "He knows I exist now," she whispered.
Kael rose beside her, gripping his sword. "Then it's time you learned to fight back."
The ruins of Solara hummed with sleeping power, and the first faint hint of gold touched the black clouds above.
The world wasn't ready for dawn —
But dawn was coming anyway.