The wind turned cold.Not a passing chill.A breath from something beyond.Lyla’s heart slammed against her ribs. The pit roared beneath her feet, no longer just a crack in the earth but a wound splitting the fabric of reality. The shadows were no longer shadows. They pulsed, thick and heavy, like veins filled with molten night.And from that night, it stirred.The thing that whispered her name.Eli reached for her arm. "Lyla"She couldn’t answer. Couldn’t move.The forest screamed again, louder than before. Roots shriveled. Branches cracked. The air, once thick with the forest’s ancient magic, grew thin. Brittle.The gate had been unsealed.And something wanted through.The Elder stood at the edge of the pit, his silhouette sharp against the crimson glow. His eyes, pale and cold, locked on hers."You felt it, didn’t you?" His voice was silk over steel. "The hunger. The power."Lyla bared her fangs. "I felt the forest fighting you."The Elder chuckled. "Ah. But the forest isn’t fighti
The ground split open.Not like a wound.Like a mouth.Lyla moved first, claws igniting with silver fire as she lunged for the Elder.But the Elder did not flinch.Did not defend.Did not even care.Because they had already won.The wind howled.The shadows beneath them unraveled not just darkness, but something alive.Something old.Something returning.Eli’s voice was sharp. “Lyla”Jorah’s golden eyes burned. “It’s not just them.”Dani’s smirk vanished. “We’ve been fighting the wrong war.”Caelum’s silver gaze was steady, his voice quiet. “No. We’ve been fighting the wrong enemy.”Lyla landed hard, skidding back just as the thing began to rise.Not a creature.Not a god.Something in between.Something born from the ashes of a fallen empire.The Elder smiled, stepping backward, into the shifting black."You thought you were the ending."The whispers in the wind became voices."But you were only ever the beginning."Lyla bared her fangs."Then let’s see how this story really ends."T
The shadows moved.Not like the remnants.Not like anything Lyla had ever faced before.This was older.Darker.Wrong.Eli shifted beside her, blade raised. “That’s not a remnant.”Jorah’s golden eyes narrowed. “No. It’s something worse.”Dani exhaled, rolling her shoulders. “About time.”Caelum didn’t speak, his silver gaze locked on the figure emerging from the trees.It stepped into the torchlight, slow and deliberate.Not twisted. Not broken.Whole.A survivor.An Elder.Lyla’s breath stilled.They had burned their empire to the ground.But at least one had crawled out of the ashes.The figure lifted its head, dark eyes filled with something ancient and knowing."You thought we were all gone."The wind shifted.The Bloodmarked tightened their stance.Lyla bared her fangs."We’re about to fix that mistake."The torches blazed.The last of the Elders smiled.And the final battle began.The forest held its breath.Lyla stood still, silver eyes locked onto the figure before her.An El
The night was too quiet.Lyla moved through the trees, the Bloodmarked following in silence. The ruins were behind them, but the feeling that weight pressing against her ribs had not faded.Something was still out there.Something that had survived.Eli walked beside her, his voice low. “We’re being watched.”Jorah’s golden eyes flickered. “I know. I can feel it.”Dani’s fingers brushed her daggers. “Then let’s make them regret it.”Caelum exhaled. “The Elders are dead, but their shadow lingers.”Lyla already knew.The whispers in the wind weren’t just ghosts of the past.They were warnings.She stopped, inhaling deeply.A scent.Faint. Old. But still there.Her silver eyes sharpened."They didn’t all die in the fire."The Bloodmarked tensed."Someone is waiting for us."The torches burned low.The wind carried the echoes of something just out of reach.And Lyla Blackwood stepped into the dark.Because whatever was left?She was going to find it.And this time she would make sure it d
The ruins were behind them, but the weight of what Lyla had done still clung to the air.The Elders were gone.Their rule erased.But power did not disappear.It waited.Eli walked beside her, his voice measured. "We burned their empire, but that doesn’t mean we burned their influence."Jorah’s expression was grim. "Some will still follow their teachings. Some will still believe in their order."Dani scoffed. "Then we make sure they don’t have the chance to rebuild."Caelum’s silver gaze flickered. "The past doesn’t let go so easily, Lyla."She knew that.She could feel it in the wind, in the shifting energy around them.The Elders were dead.But something of them remained.A shadow that had not been burned away.Lyla stopped, inhaling slowly."Then we find whatever is left."The Bloodmarked listened."And we finish what we started."The wind carried her words into the unknown.Because this was not just about what they had destroyed.It was about what still needed to fall.And Lyla Bl
The embers had faded, but the fire Lyla had lit would never go out.The Elders were gone.Their rule, their control nothing but dust on the wind.But the world would not stay empty for long.Power did not die.It waited.Eli stood beside her, watching the Bloodmarked gather. "They’ll expect a leader."Jorah nodded. "The packs will want answers."Dani smirked. "They’re not gonna like what they hear."Caelum studied Lyla carefully. "Are you ready for what comes next?"She already knew what came next."We don’t give them a new ruler."The Bloodmarked listened."We give them something better."The wind stirred, carrying her words across the battlefield."A world without masters."The warriors bowed their heads.The torches burned low.And the new world one without kings, without thrones, without chains began.The wind howled through the ruins, carrying the last traces of the Elders’ rule into the past.The Bloodmarked stood waiting.For a command.For a future.For her.Eli’s voice was lo