Chapter 73 – The World Watches

The battlefield lay in ruins. Smoke curled skyward, carrying the stench of ash and blood. The rift still pulsed faintly, like a wound refusing to close, but the monstrous hand was gone.

Kael knelt at its edge, shadows slowly retreating into his body. His chest heaved with every breath, his face pale, but his eyes blazed with unbroken fire.

Silence stretched across the survivors until one soldier whispered the thought all feared to say aloud:
“…He struck back the abyss.”

Another answered, voice trembling.
“No. He commanded it.”

The murmurs spread, rippling like a tide across the weary ranks. Some looked at Kael with awe—others with suspicion, even terror. What man could wield shadows that answered only to gods?

Aria stood firm at his side, her staff planted in the fractured earth. “He is no monster,” she declared, her voice ringing clear. “He is the reason you still breathe.”

But her words only stoked the divide. One captain bowed his head, kneeling in reverence, while another gripped his weapon tighter, as though ready to strike Kael down if he moved wrong.

Kael rose slowly, ignoring them all. He had no patience for worship or doubt. His gaze lingered on the rift, still whispering faintly to him, though too quiet for others to hear. Not yet defeated. Not yet sealed.

As he turned away, the clouds above parted for a brief moment, moonlight spilling across the ruins. It illuminated his figure like a prophecy no one had written, but everyone suddenly feared.

That night, rumors spread faster than wildfire—
A warrior who broke the abyss.
A vessel of shadows.
A hero who should not exist.

And in the silence of the royal halls far away, the High Council listened. For the first time, their faith in the prophecy wavered. If Kael was not foretold, then what did his existence mean?

The world, once certain of its destiny, now stood trembling on the edge of a question no one dared answer.