----Page 28----
The world around me was dead.
I stood in the middle of a wasted woodland. Trees snapped in half like broken bones. The soil cracked and dry, and not a single breeze brushed past my skin.
The sky above glowed a sickening bloody red, while thick clouds, black as ink, crawled slowly across it, like bruises spreading over heaven itself.
I walked forward.
My footsteps made no sound.
No rustle of leaves. No whisper of wind.
Even my breathing felt muted, trapped inside the silence.
And then, a cold chill slid down my spine.
What is this place? Where am I?
My voice didn't echo. It simply vanished.
Then...
From the corner of my eye, something shifted. Three shadows stood among the dead trees.
At first they were just silhouettes, distant, unmoving.
But as they stepped into the red moonlight, my heart lurched violently.
"Klen? Lira? Siris?"
The three of them staggered forward, but there was nothing alive in their movements.
Each was bound by heavy iron shackles on their neck, wrists, and ankles. Long chains dragged behind them, connected to massive black iron spheres that scraped the ground with metallic groans.
Their eyes were hollow. Empty. Completely drained of life.
When they opened their mouths, only deep, guttural groans leaked out, broken, rattling, as if they were trying to speak but could only produce sounds of agony.
"K Klen? Lira? Siris? What happened to the three of you?"
They didn't answer.
They only dragged their chains closer and closer, leaving dark marks on the cracked earth.
My breathing quickened. My feet refused to move.
The air around them warped like heat haze. Shadows crawled up their bodies like living tendrils.
Then Klen raised his head, and his hollow eyes locked onto mine.
A chilling groan seeped into my skull, deep, cracked, guttural, like it came from rotting lungs.
Lira's hand twitched upward as she walked slowly toward me.
Siris' chains rattled louder and louder, each step sharper than the last.
The red sky shook. The moon bled darker.
And the forest behind them began to melt, branches dissolving like ink under water, as if all reality was being swallowed whole.
The ground beneath my feet cracked open. Shadows surged upward, wrapping around my legs, pulling me down.
I gasped.
And the three of them suddenly screamed, their voices distorted, overlapping, inhuman groans that sounded almost like broken, half-formed words.
"Kiii noooon"
The shadows swallowed my eyes.
I fell into the darkness.
°°°°
And then...
I jolted awake with a violent gasp.
The inn's wooden ceiling blurred above me. Lantern light flickered against the walls.
My chest heaved, my hands trembling with cold sweat.
Tauren's voice hit my ears almost instantly.
"Master!! Are you alright?"
Lysera sat beside my bed, worry tight across her face.
"What happened?" I asked.
"You collapsed last night," she answered softly.
"Guess you don't remember anything that happened..."
Tauren said, arms crossed while floating mid-air.
"There was a surge from the Chronicles," Lysera recalled.
My hand instinctively moved to my side, but the Chronicles wasn't there.
Tauren pointed to the small desk.
"It's over there. And don't touch it yet, Master. Not that we don't know what happened. We just want to be safe."
Lysera leaned closer.
"When you picked it up last night, it glowed black and red, like it was reacting to something. Then some kind of energy burst out from it, and you just fell."
I swallowed hard.
"That explains the dream then..."
"Dream?"
Before Lysera could answer, the wooden door of my room swung open with a loud creak.
°°°°
Rubal stepped in first, waving off dust from his coat.
"We're back! And oh, good. He's alive."
Kraust followed with his usual calm expression.
Behind them walked a tall night elf woman, skin pale as moonlight, long midnight-silver hair braided neatly, amber eyes glowing faintly, glasses perched on her nose.
She wore a purple cloak layered with charms and rings. Her posture was graceful and strict.
Kraust strode straight to me.
"Kinon, did you know that you really scared the coins out of me yesterday? You good now?"
Rubal gave a slow nod.
"We were worried. It looked yes, everyone was worried about what happened back there."
"I hate to admit it, but even I wasn't sure of what happened. I can't really answer."
"Yeah, I think I'm okay now," I said, though it came out shaky.
Rubal exhaled deeply, then glanced back at the elf.
"But before anything, we've got news. A lot happened at the palace, and it's terrible."
°°°°
Rubal and Kraust sat down, tension settling over the room.
"After you passed out, Princess Verline immediately ordered her men to march to the capital because no healer could wake you," Rubal explained.
"She's more worried about you than anyone else."
Lysera insisted that I was just unconscious, and my life wasn't in danger.
"So Princess Verline eventually calmed down," Rubal added.
"And then on the road, we met Lady Lumina. She teleported all of us to the capital in a blink of an eye. Isn't that amazing?"
"After we arrived, we were immediately summoned for an audience with the King."
"We spoke to the King. He wanted to reward us for what happened in the burned village of Idonia," Kraust continued.
"And guess what? We refused. We don't take money we didn't earn, even from the King," Rubal said.
"But when we arrived, the palace was already in chaos."
"According to the soldiers, Princess Verline suddenly disappeared from her chambers," Kraust said quietly.
Lysera gasped. Tauren cursed under his breath.
"And worse," Rubal added.
"The only trace left behind was a note saying the Princess's life for the Chronicles, to be delivered by Kinon himself."
I clenched my fists under the blanket.
"They wanted the Chronicles, and they wanted to use the Princess as a bargain."
I muttered.
Then the elf standing behind Rubal cleared her throat. My gaze drifted to her.
"Um, who is she?"
Rubal blinked, then groaned.
"Right! Damn it, I almost forgot again." He stood and gestured dramatically.
°°°°
"This is Lady Lumina Sel'Nareth, elite scholar of the Empire, and Head Archivist of Seldene."
Lumina gave a polite bow.
"It is a pleasure, Bearer of the Chronicle."
I stiffened.
"You know about the Codex?"
Her amber eyes glimmered.
"I have studied ancient relics my entire life. When word reached the capital that a boy carried the Chronicles of Origin, I was sent immediately. Also, to inform you that the Princess was abducted, and you are the only one who can save her."
"And she teleported us to the capital just a flick of her fingers. Schwooosh. We were there," Rubal added.
Lumina folded her hands calmly.
"Teleportation circles are simple tools when one understands the equations behind their creation."
Lysera whispered, "That's convenient."
Lumina stepped closer to the Codex on the desk.
"Kinon," she said quietly.
"Did you know the Chronicle you possess is only one of a pair?"
My heart skipped.
"There's another one?"
She nodded.
"If your Chronicle records, writes, and creates, the other exists to destroy, erase, and corrupt."
The room fell completely silent.
"It is called the Nullscript."
°°°°
Then a chilling vibration rippled through the floorboards.
My breath caught. Tauren shivered violently. Lysera reached for her rapier.
Rubal and Kraust exchanged sharp glances.
Lumina's eyes narrowed, glowing brighter.
"That aura," she whispered.
A heavy, suffocating pressure swept through the inn as if something massive and malevolent had appeared nearby.
Something dark. Something searching. Something familiar.
My nightmare's groan echoed faintly in my ears.
"Found you."
The entire inn trembled.
A loud scream echoed from the first floor.
Immediately, everyone ran toward it.
A monstrous figure emerged, humanoid, with long arms and legs, sharp shark-like teeth, reeking of rot. Its eyes rolled unnaturally, tongue hanging out as it devoured the inn's staff.
"What is that thing?"
The stench hit first, thick, rotting, like iron mixed with decay.
The monster's long limbs swung like twisted branches, smashing tables and lanterns as it lunged toward the terrified inn staff. Its teeth snapped with wet, echoing cracks.
"Everyone, get back!"
Lumina shouted, fingers tracing sharp arcs in the air. Faint blue runes ignited on the floor, pulsing with energy.
The teleportation circle bloomed beneath her feet, a radiant lattice of intricate symbols. Its light bathed the room, throwing shadows against the walls.
Rubal grabbed Tauren midair, dragging him away. Kraust shoved Lysera behind him. I stumbled forward, heart hammering, hands trembling. My instinct was to reach for the Codex, its black-and-red energy already pulsing violently.
The monster swung toward me, claws scraping the wooden floor, splintering it into shards. Its eyes, black and rolling, fixed on me.
"Now!"
Tauren shouted, tail flicking, wings buzzing with tension.
The Codex surged in my hands, crackling with black and red sparks. Shadows erupted from it like living tendrils, wrapping around the monster, pulling it back as it thrashed. A deep, inhuman groan filled the inn, mixing with the monster's screeches.
Lumina's hands moved faster now, tracing the circle with exacting precision. The runes flared violently, expanding into a radiant circle that swallowed the room. Its energy licked at the monster, binding it in a writhing cage of black and red.
"Step onto the circle, now!" Lumina barked.
The floor beneath us shimmered, blue light flooding the room. I stumbled, dragging Lysera behind me, Rubal and Kraust tugging Tauren into the center.
The monster roared, swinging wildly, but the Codex's energy twisted around it, forcing it onto the circle with us.
Then with a blinding flash, the room disappeared.
Wind roared in our ears. The city, the inn, the screams—they all vanished. The ground dropped away beneath us, replaced by a cold, open clearing outside the Seldene Capital, sunlight spilling across broken stones and scattered leaves.
The monster hit the ground with a deafening thud, snarling, claws scraping the earth as black smoke hissed from its mouth.
I dropped to my knees, clutching the Codex, heart hammering. Sparks of black-and-red energy flickered around it, tendrils still holding the creature back.
Lumina's amber eyes narrowed.
"It came with us. That was intentional. We won't let it escape and attack the city again. You'll have to deal with it here."
Rubal's orange hair glimmered in the sunlight.
"Fine by me. Let's put it down before it tears the countryside apart too."
Kraust's fists clenched, jaw tight.
"Watch its movements. Don't underestimate it."
Tauren hovered close.
"Master, the Codex's energy… it's reacting again. Be careful."
I nodded, gripping the Codex tighter. The black-and-red tendrils coiled around the monster, but it still moved, hissing and growling, its power palpable.
The clearing became our battleground. Dust swirled around broken trees and shattered stones. The night air filled with tension, the groaning of the restrained monster mingling with the pulse of the Codex.
This wasn't just a fight. The monster wasn't going to give up easily.
Finally, with one massive pulse of combined energy from the Codex and Lumina's glyph, the monster crashed to the ground, chained and restrained. It thrashed, but the energy held firm, smoke curling from its gaping mouth.
I fell to my knees, chest heaving, the Codex still pulsing violently. Rubal and Kraust stood over the creature, panting, axes and swords ready.
Tauren hovered near me, tail flicking nervously. Lysera's hands shook slightly as she rested her rapier on her shoulder.
Lumina's amber eyes scanned the creature, then met mine.
"It's contained, for now. But it won't be the last. Whoever sent this… they know about the Codex, and they will send more."
The clearing fell silent except for the monster's low, guttural growls. The sunlight bathed the battlefield, shadows stretching long and thin.
I looked at everyone, breathing still heavy, sweat and dust coating our skin.
"We actually did it," I whispered.
Lumina's gaze shifted to the woods surrounding the clearing. Her voice was low, urgent.
"No. This is far from over. That aura we felt back in the city… it's growing stronger. And it's heading this way."
A cold wind swept across the clearing, carrying the faint stench of decay. Deep inside, the Codex pulsed again, black and red sparks flickering like living veins.
And in that moment, I realized this was only the beginning.
Then a sharp clap rang through the clearing.
Clap. Clap.
Everyone froze.
From the edge of the sunlit forest, a figure appeared, tall, imposing, moving with a calm grace that seemed almost casual despite his massive size.
Lumina whispered, tense and cautious.
"A celestial ogre."
He stepped forward, red hair catching the sunlight like molten fire, a pair of golden horns curving proudly from his forehead. His tanned skin gleamed under the sun.
A massive greatsword rested on his back, and his green cloak shifted lightly in the breeze.
He stopped a few paces from us, clapping slowly and deliberately, savoring our exhaustion.
"Magnificent," his deep voice rumbled.
"Never thought you'd defeat it so easily. Truly impressive."
I clenched my fists around the Codex. Tauren growled low. Rubal and Kraust moved closer, axes and swords ready.
The celestial ogre's golden eyes glinted sharply.
"Well, now that you're here, Wielder of the Codex…"
He tilted his head slightly, a smirk tugging at his lips.
"Shall we proceed? Let the true battle begin."
The sunlight didn't warm the clearing. It seemed colder, like the day itself had paused to watch.
I swallowed hard, Codex pulsing in my hands, shadows clinging to the monster's restrained form.
This was no longer just about monsters. This was something far bigger.
And with his words, the world around us seemed to hold its breath.