The chamber fell silent.
Even the crimson light rising from the fractured seal seemed to dim beneath the weight of the man's presence.
Voren stood at the broken entrance with his massive sword resting across one shoulder. His black armor bore the scars of countless battles, each crimson marking etched into the metal like dried blood. He looked less like a soldier and more like a siege weapon given human form.
The Black Blades stepped aside without a word.
Not one of them dared stand in his path.
Voren's eyes settled on me.
"So..."
"The Lost Keeper."
The title echoed through the chamber.
Captain Darius frowned.
"Lost Keeper?"
Veyra's expression hardened.
"I've never heard that name."
Neither had I.
Yet something about it stirred the mask.
Not pain.
Recognition.
Voren noticed the faint glow spreading across the porcelain.
A grin tugged at the corner of his mouth.
"I wondered if it would remember me."
He planted the tip of his enormous sword against the marble floor.
The impact sent cracks racing across the stone.
"You've grown."
I tightened my grip on my blade.
"We've met before?"
"Oh, no."
He chuckled.
"But the one wearing that mask certainly has."
The chamber grew colder.
Behind Voren, more Black Blades filled the corridor, their numbers impossible to count in the darkness. They waited silently, watching.
Waiting for an order.
Veyra stepped forward.
"If Kaelen sent you..."
"He did."
Voren's answer came without hesitation.
"He gave me only one command."
He pointed the edge of his sword toward me.
"Bring the Keeper alive."
Captain Darius moved immediately, raising his shield between us.
"You'll have to come through us."
"I was hoping you'd say that."
Without another word, Voren moved.
The giant crossed half the chamber in a single step.
His sword descended.
Darius barely raised his shield in time.
The impact exploded through the room.
Stone beneath the captain's boots shattered.
He was driven to one knee.
Blood trickled from the corner of his mouth.
"Commander!" Ellis shouted.
Voren smiled.
"Good."
"I dislike weak opponents."
Ellis and Merek attacked from opposite sides.
Their blades struck Voren's armor almost simultaneously.
Sparks flew.
Neither sword pierced the black steel.
Voren twisted.
His armored elbow crashed into Merek's chest, throwing him several meters across the chamber.
Ellis ducked beneath the backswing of the enormous blade, but the force of the wind alone sent him stumbling.
"Darius!" Veyra called.
"Fall back!"
The captain shook his head.
"No."
He pushed himself upright.
"If he reaches Uriel..."
"He reaches the Gate."
Veyra understood immediately.
She moved to Darius' side.
The two veterans stood shoulder to shoulder.
Sword and shield.
Commander and captain.
Voren laughed.
"There you are."
"The warriors Kaelen spoke about."
He rolled his shoulders.
"Don't disappoint me."
The clash that followed shook the chamber.
Veyra struck first, her sword dancing toward the gaps in Voren's armor with astonishing speed.
He blocked every strike with the flat of his massive blade.
Darius slammed his shield into Voren's side.
The impact forced the giant one step backward.
Only one.
He retaliated with a kick powerful enough to send the captain skidding across the marble floor.
Ellis rushed to intercept before Voren could press the advantage.
Lyra's arrows rained from above, forcing the giant to lift his sword in defense.
One arrow found a gap beneath his shoulder plate.
It drew blood.
Voren looked down.
Then up at Lyra.
He smiled.
"Excellent shot."
He tore the arrow free.
"I'll remember you."
Lyra answered by nocking another.
Meanwhile, the sphere of darkness hovered above the fractured seal in complete silence.
It made no attempt to interfere.
It simply watched.
As if it had seen battles like this countless times before.
I charged.
Our swords met with a deafening clang.
The force traveled straight through my arms.
Voren's strength was monstrous.
He studied me as though examining an old weapon.
"So..."
"This is the Keeper now."
"You're smaller than I expected."
I pushed forward.
"You talk too much."
He laughed.
"And you don't talk enough."
His blade swept sideways.
I ducked beneath it, feeling the air split above my head.
The backswing came immediately.
I barely managed to block.
Even then, I was thrown backward several steps.
The mask whispered.
Too slow.
I ignored it.
Use me.
"No."
Voren heard the word.
His smile faded.
"So it speaks."
The chamber fell strangely quiet around us.
"You still resist it."
I stared at him.
"You know the mask."
"I know what it costs."
For the first time...
His voice carried no mockery.
Only certainty.
Before I could ask another question, the Black Blades surged forward.
Their patience had ended.
"Protect the Commander!" Darius roared.
The soldiers moved as one.
Ellis intercepted two assassins before they reached Lyra's position.
Merek recovered despite his injuries, fighting with relentless speed beside Garron, who had returned to the battle with his ribs bound in cloth.
Tovin and Lyra formed a deadly combination.
Every arrow forced an assassin into the path of Tovin's spear.
Years of training showed in every movement.
These men and women trusted one another without words.
Veyra cut through the chaos with calm precision, issuing commands even while fighting.
"Ellis, left!"
"Merek, behind you!"
"Garron, hold the stairs!"
Each order arrived exactly when needed.
No one questioned her.
No one hesitated.
The line held.
For now.
Then the chamber shook again.
Not from battle.
From below.
The fractured seal widened another inch.
Crimson light erupted through the crack.
The sphere of darkness finally reacted.
Its voice rang louder than before.
"The chains weaken."
"The First Gate remembers."
Voren looked toward the seal.
For the first time since entering the chamber...
Concern crossed his face.
"No..."
He lowered his sword.
"This is too soon."
The Black Blades stopped fighting instantly.
Every one of them turned toward the Gate.
The deep voice beneath the earth spoke again.
This time...
Everyone heard it.
"Keeper...."**
The word rolled through the chamber like thunder.
The crimson light surged upward, engulfing the dragon seal.
The ancient statues lining the walls trembled.
Hairline fractures spread across their stone bodies.
One by one...
Their heads turned toward me.
Not the Gate.
Me.
The nearest guardian slowly rose from its kneeling position.
Its blue eyes had changed.
They now burned with brilliant gold.
The same gold glowing through the cracks in my mask.
It lifted one stone hand and pointed directly at me.
Its ancient voice echoed through the chamber.
"The Keeper has returned."
The remaining eleven guardians stood together.
Their voices merged into one.
"Protect the Keeper."
The chamber exploded into motion.