The iron door continued to open.
Slowly.
Painfully.
Its hinges groaned beneath the weight of decades.
Adrian stood completely still.
Beyond the doorway was darkness.
Then came the sound again.
Footsteps.
One.
Two.
Then dozens.
Edmund stared into the darkness.
“Those aren’t soldiers.”
The old commander looked at him.
“They are.”
“After twenty-eight years?”
The commander nodded.
“Some of them.”
Adrian stepped forward.
The darkness slowly revealed a massive underground hall.
Rows of soldiers stood in silence.
Their armor was old.
Their weapons were worn.
Some carried shields bearing the crest of Valedon.
Others wore the insignia of houses that had disappeared generations ago.
They stood perfectly still.
Waiting.
Adrian’s eyes moved across the hall.
There were hundreds.
Not thousands.
But enough.
Far more than he had expected.
Edmund whispered,
“How?”
The old commander answered,
“Because we never surrendered.”
Adrian walked into the chamber.
The soldiers watched him.
No one spoke.
No one moved.
Then an elderly soldier stepped forward.
He carried a broken spear.
His armor was covered in scratches.
He looked at Adrian for several seconds.
Then he lowered his head.
“Prince.”
One word.
It echoed through the chamber.
Another soldier knelt.
Then another.
Soon, the entire hall was kneeling.
Adrian stared at them.
He hadn’t expected this.
He had spent years believing that House Ardyn had been completely destroyed.
That there was no army left.
No allies.
No kingdom.
Only ruins.
But here they were.
People who had waited in darkness for nearly three decades.
Waiting for a prince who hadn’t even known they existed.
Adrian slowly raised his hand.
“Stand.”
The soldiers rose.
The old commander smiled.
“They’ve waited a long time to hear that.”
Edmund walked toward the nearest soldier.
He stared at the man’s face.
Then froze.
“I know you.”
The soldier looked at him.
A faint smile appeared.
“You were twelve.”
Edmund’s eyes widened.
“Marcus?”
The soldier nodded.
Edmund grabbed his arm.
“I thought you died.”
“So did everyone.”
They laughed quietly.
But the laughter quickly disappeared.
Edmund looked around the chamber.
“How many survived?”
The commander answered.
“Four hundred and seventeen.”
Tomas, who had finally managed to force open the inner gate from the other side, entered the chamber.
He stopped when he saw the soldiers.
“What…”
He looked at Adrian.
“You knew about this?”
Adrian shook his head.
“No.”
Tomas stared at the army.
“Then what exactly did we just find?”
Adrian looked toward the commander.
“A forgotten army.”
The commander corrected him.
“No.”
He looked at the soldiers.
“The last army of Valedon.”
A sudden explosion shook the fortress.
Dust fell from the ceiling.
The soldiers immediately moved.
No panic.
No shouting.
Everyone knew what to do.
Weapons were raised.
Shields were lifted.
Officers began issuing commands.
Adrian watched.
The army hadn’t simply survived.
They had trained.
For twenty-eight years.
The commander turned toward Adrian.
“The Empire has reached the outer courtyard.”
“How long?”
“Minutes.”
Adrian looked around.
“How many soldiers?”
“At least five hundred.”
Tomas frowned.
“That’s more than us.”
The commander smiled.
“You misunderstand the fortress.”
Adrian looked at him.
“What do you mean?”
“This place was built to fight armies.”
The commander walked toward a large stone table.
A map was carved into its surface.
Adrian stepped closer.
The fortress was much larger than it appeared from outside.
There were underground passages.
Hidden chambers.
Defensive tunnels.
And something else.
A series of narrow corridors surrounded the entire mountain.
Adrian pointed.
“These.”
“Escape routes.”
“No.”
The commander shook his head.
“Attack routes.”
Adrian studied the map.
“They can reach the enemy camp.”
“Yes.”
“Without being seen.”
“Yes.”
Adrian smiled faintly.
“So the fortress isn’t a fortress.”
The commander smiled back.
“It’s a weapon.”
Another explosion.
This time closer.
The ceiling shook.
A soldier rushed into the chamber.
“Commander!”
The old man turned.
“The eastern wall has been breached.”
“How many?”
“Thirty.”
“Then send twenty.”
The soldier hesitated.
“Only twenty?”
The commander looked at Adrian.
“Twenty is enough.”
Adrian understood.
“They’re drawing the enemy inside.”
The commander nodded.
“The Empire believes numbers win battles.”
“And you?”
“We believe the battlefield decides the numbers.”
Adrian looked at the map.
For the first time, he understood why the old army had survived.
They didn’t need to match the Empire’s strength.
They needed to make the Empire fight where strength didn’t matter.
Adrian turned toward the soldiers.
“How many of you can still fight?”
No one answered.
Instead, the old soldier with the broken spear stepped forward.
“All of us.”
Adrian looked at him.
“You’ve been waiting twenty-eight years.”
The soldier nodded.
“For what?”
The man smiled.
“For this.”
Adrian’s expression hardened.
“Then today isn’t about defending the fortress.”
The soldiers listened.
“Today, we remind the Empire why Valedon was feared.”
A murmur moved through the chamber.
Adrian pointed toward the map.
“We don’t fight them where they expect.”
The commander nodded.
“We attack their command.”
Tomas smiled.
“I like this plan.”
Edmund looked at Adrian.
“And if it fails?”
Adrian looked toward the fortress entrance.
“Then we make sure they pay enough to remember us.”
The first imperial soldiers entered the fortress.
They moved cautiously.
Shields raised.
Swords drawn.
Their commander shouted,
“Search every chamber!”
The soldiers spread out.
They found empty corridors.
Abandoned rooms.
Old weapons.
Nothing else.
Then the doors behind them closed.
The soldiers turned.
A horn sounded.
The Valedonian army emerged from hidden passages.
The Empire was trapped.
The first clash was brief.
Valedonian soldiers struck from both sides.
The imperial formation collapsed.
Those who tried to retreat found another group waiting.
The fortress had become a maze.
Every corridor belonged to Valedon.
Every corner was a trap.
Every doorway could hide a soldier.
The Empire had entered expecting ruins.
Instead, it had walked into twenty-eight years of preparation.
Adrian remained near the central chamber.
He listened.
The sounds of battle echoed through the fortress.
Steel against steel.
Orders.
Footsteps.
Then silence.
Then more fighting.
The old commander stood beside him.
“You aren’t fighting.”
“Not yet.”
“Why?”
“Because I’m looking for someone.”
The commander studied him.
“The Emperor’s Hawk?”
Adrian looked at him.
“You know he’s here.”
“I knew he would come.”
“Why?”
The commander pointed toward the black book.
“Because he has been searching for the same thing.”
Adrian’s expression hardened.
“The Chronicle.”
The commander shook his head.
“No.”
Again that answer.
Adrian stepped closer.
“Then tell me what everyone is hiding.”
The commander looked toward the soldiers.
“Your father discovered that the Empire wasn’t the only power involved in the destruction of Valedon.”
“Who else?”
The old man’s face became grim.
“A group older than the Empire.”
Adrian frowned.
“What group?”
Before the commander could answer—
A voice echoed through the corridor.
“Commander.”
Everyone froze.
The old man’s expression changed.
Adrian turned.
A lone figure walked through the smoke.
Imperial armor.
A black cloak.
A silver hawk insignia.
The Emperor’s Hawk.
He entered the chamber alone.
No guards.
No soldiers.
Just him.
The old commander stared.
“So…”
“The Emperor finally sent you.”
The Hawk stopped several meters away.
“I came because I wanted to see whether the stories were true.”
Adrian stepped forward.
“What stories?”
The Hawk’s eyes moved toward him.
“That House Ardyn survived.”
Silence.
The Hawk looked around the chamber.
“Apparently…”
“The stories were incomplete.”
Adrian drew his sword.
“Why are you here?”
The Hawk didn’t draw his weapon.
“I’m not here to fight you.”
Tomas laughed.
“You marched five hundred soldiers into Valedon.”
The Hawk ignored him.
His eyes remained on Adrian.
“I’m here to warn you.”
Adrian narrowed his eyes.
“About what?”
The Hawk looked toward the old commander.
“Ask him what happened to the other three thousand soldiers.”
The room became silent.
Adrian turned toward the commander.
“You said they were taken.”
The commander nodded.
The Hawk spoke again.
“Taken where?”
The old commander didn’t answer.
Adrian’s voice hardened.
“Where?”
The commander finally looked at him.
“Below.”
Adrian frowned.
“Below what?”
The old commander pointed toward the floor.
“Below this fortress.”
A deep sound suddenly echoed beneath them.
Not an explosion.
Not footsteps.
Something else.
Something enormous.
The soldiers froze.
The Hawk’s expression changed for the first time.
Fear.
Adrian noticed.
“What is that?”
The Hawk whispered,
“Something that should have remained asleep.”
The entire fortress trembled.
Stone cracked.
Dust fell from the ceiling.
Then came another sound.
A distant roar from beneath the mountain.
Adrian tightened his grip on his sword.
The old commander closed his eyes.
“For twenty-eight years…”
“We kept it sealed.”
Adrian looked at him.
“And now?”
The commander opened his eyes.
“Now the Empire has broken the seal.”
The floor beneath them cracked.
A deep darkness appeared below.
And from somewhere beneath Valedon…
Something began to climb.
————————–The End ————————-
Next : The Thing Beneath Valedon
By : Zenryth