The city was chaos.
People ran through the streets, screaming.
Buildings cracked under roaring flames.
The air was thick with smoke and fear.
Arin stood frozen.
His home…
His life…
Everything was burning.
"Elara!" he shouted. "What do we do?!"
Elara's voice was sharp.
"We survive first. Then we fight."
A shadow soldier turned its head toward them.
Its glowing eyes locked onto Arin.
Then it spoke.
Not with a voice…
But inside his mind.
HEIR…
Arin staggered back, clutching his head.
"Elara—I heard—"
"I know!" she snapped. "Don't listen!"
The soldier raised its hand.
Darkness gathered.
A blast shot toward them—
Elara pushed Arin aside, throwing up a barrier of light.
The force shattered stone.
Arin's breathing became ragged.
"I can't keep running…"
The pendant burned against his chest.
Elara shouted over the chaos.
"Arin! You don't understand what you are yet!"
Arin's voice cracked.
"Then tell me!"
Elara grabbed his shoulders.
"You are not just a boy with a relic."
Her eyes were fierce.
"You are the last key to the Shadow Throne."
A child screamed nearby.
Arin turned.
A small girl was trapped beneath fallen wood, flames creeping closer.
Arin's instincts screamed:
Run.
Hide.
Survive.
But his feet moved toward her.
"Elara—"
"No!" Elara cried. "It's too dangerous!"
Arin didn't stop.
He reached the girl, lifting the burning debris with shaking arms.
The pendant flared.
Shadows wrapped around the wood, pulling it away effortlessly.
The girl coughed, eyes wide.
"Th-thank you…"
Arin carried her to safety.
And in that moment…
The pendant changed.
Its glow deepened.
Not wild.
Not angry.
Controlled.
As though it approved.
Elara stared, stunned.
"You chose them…"
Arin looked back at the burning city.
"I couldn't leave her."
Elara whispered:
"That is why the throne chose you."
A horn sounded in the distance.
The Forgotten Lords were advancing deeper.
Kael appeared suddenly from the smoke, his expression grim.
"It's begun," he said. "The first fall."
Arin's voice was steady now.
"What do I do?"
Kael stepped closer.
"You make a choice."
Arin clenched his fists.
"Between what?"
Kael's eyes locked onto his.
"Between running from your legacy…"
A pause.
"…or becoming it."
The pendant pulsed like a heartbeat.
And far away…
Something ancient stirred.
Watching.
Waiting.
The Shadow Throne was waking.
Thank you for reading up to Chapter 10 of Legacy of the Shadow Throne!
Arin's power is awakening, the Forgotten Lords have arrived, and the true war has begun.
Chapter 11 will change everything…
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