Chapter 37 — The Tenth Toll

DONG.

The tenth toll thundered through the night, deeper than all the rest. It wasn’t just sound—it was pressure, a crushing force that rippled through the marrow of every living thing. Windows shattered across the city. Men and women clutched their ears, blood trickling down their faces. Even the stars above flickered, dimmed, and vanished into a blank sky.

Kael staggered as the vibration tore through him. His sword trembled in his grip, its black flames sputtering as if afraid.

From the rift, the abomination convulsed. The chains that bound its grotesque form snapped free one by one, each break releasing a howl that pierced the night. Its eyes—hundreds of them—blinked open in unison, staring directly at Kael.

The girl with silver eyes finally moved, stepping forward onto air as if it were solid ground. Her voice rang clear, harmonizing with the toll.
“The tenth bell calls the Forgotten Sovereign.”

Kael spat blood, raising his blade.
“I don’t care what it calls. I’ll cut it down.”

The creature lunged. A mass of claws and chains swept down, collapsing stone towers like paper. Kael rolled aside, slashing upward with everything he had. His strike split one limb in half, black fire consuming the fragments—but three more replaced it instantly.

He fought like a storm, blade dancing in arcs of shadowed flame, each swing fueled by rage and desperation. Yet the creature only grew stronger, its presence blotting out the moonlight, its chains lengthening as if to bind the world itself.

The silver-eyed girl’s expression didn’t change. She simply whispered to the bell:
“One more toll.”

Kael froze, his chest tightening.
The tenth wasn’t the end.

There was still an eleventh.