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.
169Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡNZgjynvikT
But that morning... the stone walls began to breathe.
169Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ8PzJj9DBsw
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.
169Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡC3WD6oAD7Y
In the Arslar ward, a prisoner added a new scratch to the marks etched into the wall. "Have they arrived?" he muttered.
169Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡozyYfHxVS0
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:
169Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡmPj6x2Q2bg
"The shriek of corpses, like a lullaby."
169Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡdV4qZ5DHur
The guards weren’t surprised by the noise rippling through the prison. Some struck the walls, others checked the seals.
169Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡETb85zKZPu
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.
169Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ908oZ6MFfL
"This... this is not an army."
169Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ2cy1l0fpfz
He didn’t hear what was happening outside. But he felt the echo as if the world were folding inward.
169Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡsGCFdkP1Lx
Rouma still lay unmoving beneath the seals. But his eyes were open.
169Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡqylJ8AcUYD
For he recognized Pegwalsge’s Xhu.
169Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡGbKbEnVnli
And now, he sensed another… a different flicker… icy, but constant… nearly immortal.
169Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡLEJKRWiVSm
The seals trembled faintly.
169Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ5unJZXj7QJ
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.
169Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡNL8cqyBoNe
Prisoners began to scream.
169Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡVNmkSADZSx
But not from fear.
169Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡuyBT9hUOAV
From memory.
169Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ18tqtJGywa
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.
169Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡNvIJEjCiJD
Marcho turned from the wall. The seals flared to life one after another. Some glowed softly, others began to melt the stone.
169Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡIEhXYMAxdi
"This war will pull Haxar into it," Marcho said. "And I am ready."
169Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡVOtYrBMMJz
The earth had already called him.
169Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡTJOpYnONsC
And Xhu... had now reached an unimaginable scale.
169Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡtCnU9t0hCw
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.
169Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡDkWJc3lATU
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:
169Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡXAdow8l71A
"Emergency distress call. The threat has breached the borders."
169Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ08mPKEjGJI
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.
169Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡJTRuzbvOVj
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.
169Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡQivF0aHwnE
"If Horozon has lit the signal... this is no ordinary threat," he said. "Could it be Glatsyan...?"
169Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡLlsYsfiXlV
His voice was low and cold, as if he didn’t want the gods themselves to hear.
169Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡxL2iFUHkRp
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.
169Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡn7oZxSqNkG
"Summon Commander Creasya."
169Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ9FqvtCSQr0
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.
169Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ72nfqoUA24
Aswang gave him a nod. Without explanation, he issued his command:
169Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡhNA6uwskwd
"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."
169Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡQK8MnPsdD8
Creasya bowed his head. "I feel it, Your Majesty. This is not an invasion. This is the resurfacing of something long forgotten."
169Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ2YeegopKWN
"Take your elite forces," said Aswang. "This is not merely a rescue mission. This is a witnessing. Be careful."
169Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡOsXM1JeAX9
"How many soldiers do you command me to bring?"
169Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡMMUN7KIlOB
"Bring those whose endurance you trust. The outcome will be decided not by numbers, but by strength of spirit."
169Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡe2yGje4WZV
Creasya knelt. "At your command, Your Majesty."
169Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡPbNzRT2Vk9
Aswang walked to the window. The sky was still crimson. Something burned on the horizon.
169Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ9whCPCwBDe
"This Xhu... how can it be? I know this Xhu but it should be impossible..." the king whispered, unable to hide his shock.
169Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡjUAtPlwim6
And Creasya, wasting no time, had already set off.
ns216.73.216.238da2
