The staircase spiraled downward into a suffocating crimson mist. With every step, the bell grew louder—no longer faint and distant, but sharp, echoing through Kael's bones. He gripped the stone walls for balance, the Thorn mark on his chest burning hot and steady.
Selene walked behind him, her breath slow and tense.
"How deep does this go?" she whispered.
Kael didn't answer. He couldn't. The further they went, the more the air felt like liquid, thick with memory and grief. It wasn't just a place—it was a feeling.
When they finally reached the bottom, the mist parted like curtains.
They stood before a massive cavern. Pillars of bone twisted up from the ground like trees. In the center, suspended by invisible threads, hung a massive iron bell. It was ancient, cracked, yet still rang with every breath of wind, its sound hollow and haunting.
Below the bell, on a raised stone dais, was a single book.
Kael stepped forward. "This… this is what called me."
Selene grabbed his arm. "Be careful."
He nodded, then slowly approached the book. The cover was black and smooth, with no title. When he opened it, he saw pages filled with names—thousands of them, some glowing faintly, others scratched out violently.
On the last page, there was only one name.
His.
The book bled where the ink should be.
Suddenly, the bell rang again—louder this time, like thunder crashing inside his skull. The cavern trembled. Shadows twisted around them. From every pillar, forms began to rise—watchers made of ash and bone, their hollow eyes fixed on Kael.
"Selene," he said quietly, "I think I did something wrong."
"No," she said, drawing her blade. "You did something necessary."
The watchers didn't attack. They simply knelt, as if acknowledging something ancient.
Kael's hand burned. The seed pulsed. And the Thorn spread—its veins glowing across his chest, shoulder, and arm.
The bell rang a third time.
Kael collapsed to one knee, the sound breaking something inside his mind. He saw visions again: cities burning, gods weeping, a throne made of thorns, and himself seated on it, alone.
Selene caught him, holding him upright. "Kael. Look at me."
He gasped, the pain fading. The watchers had vanished. The bell had stopped.
The book had closed itself.
And in the silence that followed, a whisper echoed in Kael's mind.
You have been seen. You have been chosen. Become what was lost.