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.
57Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡtA0JgQsyBG
But that morning... the stone walls began to breathe.
57Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ7Jrr8qVBp8
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.
57Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡrcX4LEs2Ts
In the Arslar ward, a prisoner added a new scratch to the marks etched into the wall. "Have they arrived?" he muttered.
57Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡnoTTVHsxbu
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:
57Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ2eWY705VbU
"The shriek of corpses, like a lullaby."
57Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡBS5EaRbPVU
The guards weren’t surprised by the noise rippling through the prison. Some struck the walls, others checked the seals.
57Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡtV4bLsFFl0
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.
57Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡozLSZAfOyu
"This... this is not an army."
57Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡfbS4Trg5uU
He didn’t hear what was happening outside. But he felt the echo as if the world were folding inward.
57Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡCnyolIA0vc
Rouma still lay unmoving beneath the seals. But his eyes were open.
57Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡMfbuyqlrXP
For he recognized Pegwalsge’s Xhu.
57Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡyQMTEaUwT0
And now, he sensed another… a different flicker… icy, but constant… nearly immortal.
57Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡjSeMrgobkn
The seals trembled faintly.
57Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡdwsiDdrVtN
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.
57Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡsYZ09u7g16
Prisoners began to scream.
57Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡbgOBlUi29Y
But not from fear.
57Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ1QxBD0zYNY
From memory.
57Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡziBl24xEvy
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.
57Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡXRRndBSm0Z
Marcho turned from the wall. The seals flared to life one after another. Some glowed softly, others began to melt the stone.
57Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ4aH6WmOYE2
"This war will pull Haxar into it," Marcho said. "And I am ready."
57Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡUSJVbleZs1
The earth had already called him.
57Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡARrQ1Y6CLH
And Xhu... had now reached an unimaginable scale.
57Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡSgh5cpzW1u
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.
57Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡP6LeNQmweb
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:
57Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ5uvzWgI5i0
"Emergency distress call. The threat has breached the borders."
57Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ3UcjLlKlgy
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.
57Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡBPYHWS7d9c
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.
57Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡyuyuLqXPws
"If Horozon has lit the signal... this is no ordinary threat," he said. "Could it be Glatsyan...?"
57Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ8YT2YU6NbV
His voice was low and cold, as if he didn’t want the gods themselves to hear.
57Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡivVzRfeai7
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.
57Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡaajg4bFrSJ
"Summon Commander Creasya."
57Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡCoLUfeHEqn
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.
57Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡDyknBV2442
Aswang gave him a nod. Without explanation, he issued his command:
57Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ078XyE9oBr
"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."
57Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡHoGmXc3hHe
Creasya bowed his head. "I feel it, Your Majesty. This is not an invasion. This is the resurfacing of something long forgotten."
57Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡZSSdoHbrwp
"Take your elite forces," said Aswang. "This is not merely a rescue mission. This is a witnessing. Be careful."
57Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ1vGosZ88Dd
"How many soldiers do you command me to bring?"
57Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡgKLM5oV3pO
"Bring those whose endurance you trust. The outcome will be decided not by numbers, but by strength of spirit."
57Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡpoJx62lx70
Creasya knelt. "At your command, Your Majesty."
57Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡxVoPhKe7Zg
Aswang walked to the window. The sky was still crimson. Something burned on the horizon.
57Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡVoipq1GQFY
"This Xhu... how can it be? I know this Xhu but it should be impossible..." the king whispered, unable to hide his shock.
57Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ5qtIPa0IbY
And Creasya, wasting no time, had already set off.
ns3.137.177.255da2
