Far from the center of Horozon, buried beneath the barren mountains like a dark tomb, lay Haxar Prison silent, dormant. It consisted of eight interconnected sections, each a domain of a different curse, a different punishment.
55Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡP1YzY8qxBK
But that morning... the stone walls began to breathe.
55Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡOrv5vxfevi
The first tremor rose from the deepest level. In the section of the Sealed, a creature with iron-forged runes down its spine suddenly opened its eyes. Not with sight but with bone.
55Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ5QSDooW08N
In the Arslar ward, a prisoner added a new scratch to the marks etched into the wall. "Have they arrived?" he muttered.
55Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡijlNOB2KWR
In the Seers' section, a blind woman who had long sat in endless silence suddenly raised her head. She heard the pulse of Xhu not through veins, but through the stone. Her lips parted:
55Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡw2HBJ9GAlw
"The shriek of corpses, like a lullaby."
55Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡahEmbZEHYt
The guards weren’t surprised by the noise rippling through the prison. Some struck the walls, others checked the seals.
55Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡxO0hg803Xl
Head Warden Marcho stood alone in the high watchtower. He pressed his fingers to an ancient seal carved into the wall. His eyes were shut. Then he inhaled sharply a deep, hoarse, stunned breath.
55Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡaO3R1NeU00
"This... this is not an army."
55Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡv8OWwJ66vz
He didn’t hear what was happening outside. But he felt the echo as if the world were folding inward.
55Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡhkSnG9NXrz
Rouma still lay unmoving beneath the seals. But his eyes were open.
55Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡUonlucjbhk
For he recognized Pegwalsge’s Xhu.
55Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡDDnvPGB2Tl
And now, he sensed another… a different flicker… icy, but constant… nearly immortal.
55Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡTVQ12E2bKa
The seals trembled faintly.
55Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡbPDrj81EPL
The spark burning within Rouma flared for a moment. His repressed Xhu flowed not outward, but inward. So deeply that others in their cells felt it too.
55Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡvTHmLX6jvL
Prisoners began to scream.
55Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡGn8D9Tt37m
But not from fear.
55Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡLw7UN1prx0
From memory.
55Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡLTFecMqy2Z
And what they remembered came with pain. Each of them realized that war was real, that Xhu had been called again, and above all, that Haxar was not just a prison it was a grave of the forgotten.
55Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡZkWcxBiYHA
Marcho turned from the wall. The seals flared to life one after another. Some glowed softly, others began to melt the stone.
55Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡzy7yFnAXbH
"This war will pull Haxar into it," Marcho said. "And I am ready."
55Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡZXxeUihhy9
The earth had already called him.
55Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡkTa0fd2snV
And Xhu... had now reached an unimaginable scale.
55Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ2Vlrdxfcgl
To the east of Horozon, the first echoes of war had crossed the mountains. When the nearest kingdom, Mellthur, saw the red signal lights tearing across the night sky, it awoke from its sleep with a nightmare.
55Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡLcbYi1dqdr
One of the watchtowers spotted the burning crimson flare and immediately sent word to the palace. The color, shape, and pulse of the light could mean only one thing:
55Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡMZ4Um8yVYZ
"Emergency distress call. The threat has breached the borders."
55Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡl3CJhWjlQC
The windows of the great hall in the heart of the kingdom were draped in darkness, yet inside, motion stirred. The war bells had not sounded, but the scent of the earth had changed. The wave of Xhu had reached the walls of Mellthur.
55Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡFLaYtDppN5
King Aswang sat silently upon his throne, wrapped in white furs. When the scout whispered the news, Aswang only narrowed his eyes. A dark thought veiled his brow.
55Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡvdgUBpcwWW
"If Horozon has lit the signal... this is no ordinary threat," he said. "Could it be Glatsyan...?"
55Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡY9iDEzCTVe
His voice was low and cold, as if he didn’t want the gods themselves to hear.
55Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡcuji3FdIWv
Aswang slowly rose. The guards and advisors in the room instinctively stepped back. Kings seldom rise. In that moment, silence gave way to tense anticipation.
55Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡbEQkB0UK5i
"Summon Commander Creasya."
55Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡqG1HCvL3sZ
The steel clad doors opened slowly. The figure who entered was silent as shadow, yet the Xhu that surrounded her created a pressure in the room. Commander Creasya, head of Mellthur’s Northern Garrison, wore dull gray armor cracked and scarred from old wars. His eyes were black, holding within them a threat as still as frozen water.
55Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡUj9d2PUGid
Aswang gave him a nod. Without explanation, he issued his command:
55Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡZhVkmpwQZ0
"Horozon has lit the signal. A battle is raging there. But this is no ordinary enemy. The vibration of Xhu has reached even here. I doubt you cannot feel it. This level of Xhu... perhaps one or more of the Glatsyan. Handle this swiftly."
55Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡDxHXyoHS8Y
Creasya bowed his head. "I feel it, Your Majesty. This is not an invasion. This is the resurfacing of something long forgotten."
55Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡeQfnuwzdmp
"Take your elite forces," said Aswang. "This is not merely a rescue mission. This is a witnessing. Be careful."
55Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡoJUAxTFI8u
"How many soldiers do you command me to bring?"
55Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡHfB3rK2iVy
"Bring those whose endurance you trust. The outcome will be decided not by numbers, but by strength of spirit."
55Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡsJq1V6Hhk3
Creasya knelt. "At your command, Your Majesty."
55Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡIVvkTeKdeo
Aswang walked to the window. The sky was still crimson. Something burned on the horizon.
55Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡW07Of5CjcT
"This Xhu... how can it be? I know this Xhu but it should be impossible..." the king whispered, unable to hide his shock.
55Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡn0Z5tAwT86
And Creasya, wasting no time, had already set off.
ns3.149.246.99da2
