Chapter 84 – Shadows on the Run

The city was no longer a home—it was a cage.

Kael and Aria darted through collapsing alleys, the cries of the faithful chasing them like hounds. Each torchlight flickered like an accusing eye.

“Block the eastern gate!” someone shouted. “The Condemned cannot leave alive!”

Spears of light slammed into the cobblestones around them, cracking the streets. The heat seared Aria’s cheek. Kael’s shadows surged upward, forming walls that swallowed the holy fire, but even he staggered—each clash burned like judgment against his very soul.

“They’re not fighting to kill me,” Kael growled between breaths. “They’re fighting to erase me from history itself.”

Aria tightened her grip on his arm. “Then we’ll carve new history. Together.”

From the rooftops, assassins dropped—hooded, silent, blades glimmering with anti-magic runes. Kael twisted, his cloak of shadows flaring outward. In one heartbeat, three were engulfed, their screams swallowed by darkness. But ten more replaced them.

Aria drew her dagger, eyes fierce. She struck one assassin across the throat, then spun beside Kael as if they were a single blade cutting through the swarm.

At the end of the alley, the eastern gate loomed—massive, fortified, already closing under the Inquisitors’ command.

Kael’s heart thundered. If the gates shut, they would be cornered.

His hand trembled as he whispered the forbidden words. The shadows trembled, twisting unnaturally, clawing at reality itself.

“Kael—don’t,” Aria warned, fear lacing her voice. She knew that technique. An Erosion.

But Kael’s eyes burned. “If survival demands corruption… then let the world see what it made of me.”

He raised his hand.

The cobblestones split open, shadows pouring out like liquid night, forming colossal jaws. They bit down on the massive gate, crushing it into splinters. Soldiers screamed as they were dragged into the abyss beneath the earth.

The city shook with terror.

Aria stared at him, horror and awe battling in her eyes. “…Kael, how much more of yourself will you give up?”

Kael didn’t answer. He only looked back once at the burning city, then pulled her into the endless night beyond the ruined walls.

Behind them, bells tolled. Not in warning—
But in declaration.
The Hunt had begun.