Chapter 76 – The March into Shadows

The desert stretched endlessly beneath a crimson sky, the horizon a blur between heat and eternity. Each step forward felt heavier than the last, not from exhaustion alone, but from the weight of what awaited at the Council.

Kael walked at the front, silent, his black cloak trailing behind like a blade cutting through the dust. Aria followed close, her eyes scanning the shifting dunes, alert for threats that weren’t only of sand or steel. Behind them, the fractured remains of their allies trudged forward, whispering, arguing, doubting.

The journey itself was a battlefield.

Rumors slithered among the group:
“The Council has already passed judgment.”
“Kael isn’t a savior—he’s the curse made flesh.”
“They won’t even let him speak.”

Each word was a dagger, aimed not at Kael’s body but at his spirit. He heard them all but gave no reply. His silence was both shield and confession.

Aria, sensing his turmoil, quickened her pace until she was beside him.
“They don’t understand. They can’t.”
Kael’s voice was low, almost drowned by the wind.
“Maybe they don’t need to. Maybe they’re right.”
She stopped him with a hand against his arm. “No. You’ve carried this world’s sins long enough. If they won’t listen, we’ll make them.”

Her conviction burned brighter than the desert sun, and for a moment, Kael let himself believe in it.

As dusk fell, the sky fractured into streaks of violet and gold. Ahead, rising from the sands like a mirage, loomed the obsidian spires of the Council’s citadel. Its walls shimmered with wards older than kingdoms, every rune a warning: Here, truth will be stripped bare.

The company grew restless. Some tightened their grips on weapons. Others faltered, questioning if they should have come at all.

Kael did not falter.

When the first gong rang from within the citadel, the sound reverberated through the desert, rattling bones and hearts alike. The gates, carved from stone that seemed to drink the light, began to part.

A gust of icy air swept out, unnatural against the desert heat. It carried whispers in a language no mortal should understand. Shadows writhed within the crack of the doors, promising judgment, ruin, revelation.

Kael stepped forward, his voice steady though his soul trembled.
“It begins.”

The gates yawned wider, and the company followed him into the mouth of the storm.