The Valley of Shadows stretched on like a grave without end. Stone twisted in unnatural formations, and the sky above was veiled in ash-gray clouds. A cold, humming silence filled the air—one that made the bones of even the strongest men tremble. Rayyan and Nael moved slowly, torches casting long shadows that danced like spirits.
The deeper they walked, the more the world felt… wrong.
"It's like we're walking through someone's nightmare," Nael whispered.
"No," Rayyan replied grimly. "We're walking through a memory. Not ours—but something older than either of us."
---
The Sleepwalker
A soft chant echoed ahead. Not loud. Not terrifying. But wrong.
They crept forward and found an ancient shrine, buried beneath time. At its center lay a figure—pale, tall, with a crown of rusted bone. The shrine called him The Hollow Prophet.
His eyes opened.
There were no pupils. Only the void.
"You… are fire and starlight," the Prophet whispered. His voice echoed like a thousand broken hymns. "You awaken what should remain buried."
Nael stepped forward. "Who are you?"
"The one who told your father where to look," the Prophet said. "The one who whispered of the Forge of Souls. I gave Iblis his beginning… and now, his end approaches."
Nael's fists clenched. Flames licked at his fingertips.
The Hollow Prophet raised one hand. A wave of cold swept over the flames, snuffing them out.
"The Eye of the Sun will betray its bearer… unless it is tempered by something greater."
Rayyan stepped forward. "And what is that?"
"Submission."
The word rang with impossible weight. Nael looked away.
---
The Voice Beneath the Stones
The ground rumbled. The shrine cracked.
"He wakes," the Prophet said with a hollow smile. "One of the Veilborne Lords stirs. The first—Khazir, the Drowned Flame."
Suddenly, black mist poured from the walls. A roar thundered from below. The entire valley shook.
Rayyan and Nael were thrown back as the earth split.
From the chasm rose Khazir—a massive figure wrapped in molten stone and drowned shadows. His face was a blend of bone and magma. His presence screamed ancient rage.
"Your fire does not belong to you, child of the ash," Khazir snarled at Nael. "It was stolen from us!"
Nael's eye blazed. "Then come take it."
---
Wrath and Ice
The battle ignited.
Nael's Solar Eye unleashed a beam of sunfire that tore across Khazir's chest—but the Veilborne Lord only laughed, soaking in the light like it was warmth.
Rayyan summoned the ice-light of his sealed eye. Just once, the divine glow cracked open like a blink—and a spear of frost drove into Khazir's leg, freezing the magma.
"Nael, now!"
Nael roared, channeling the burning sigil in his chest. He leapt and slammed his fist into the frozen wound. Fire and ice exploded together.
Khazir screamed.
The chasm caved in, dragging the Veilborne Lord back beneath the earth—but not before his burning hand lashed out and struck Nael's side.
Nael fell, coughing blood. The Solar Eye dimmed.
---
Echoes of Truth
The Hollow Prophet knelt by Nael, eyes still void-black.
"You are not ready," he whispered. "But now, you see. Power must kneel before truth, or it will become the same monster your father became."
Rayyan carried Nael away from the valley as the shrine crumbled. The path forward would no longer be about defeating evil.
It would be about not becoming it.
---
To Be Continued…
In the distance, a figure watched from a dune, cloak rippling in the wind.
Sammael.
He smiled.
"So… one of them bleeds. And the Prophet awakens. How delicious."
He turned away.
"Tell the kings. The first war begins at dusk."