THE CITY OF SHADOWS

Chapter 60

The City of Shadows

The gates of Noctaris opened without a sound.

They were carved from black stone unlike anything Kael had ever seen. Strange crimson runes pulsed across their surface, glowing faintly before fading again, as though the city itself had awakened from a long sleep.

No guards stepped forward.

No horns announced their arrival.

Only silence greeted them.

Kael exchanged a wary glance with Lyra.

"I don't like this," she murmured.

"Neither do I," Kael replied, resting a hand on the hilt of his sword. "Stay close."

The expedition entered the city.

Immediately, they realized Noctaris was unlike any kingdom they had ever known.

The streets were spotless.

The towering buildings, though ancient, showed no signs of decay.

Black crystal lanterns floated above the roads without chains or poles, casting a soft crimson light that never flickered.

Hundreds of people walked through the streets.

They looked... ordinary.

Children laughed while chasing one another.

Merchants sold fruit and bread.

Blacksmiths hammered glowing steel.

Families gathered outside their homes.

Not one of them seemed frightened.

Captain Rowan frowned.

"This can't be right."

"I thought this was the kingdom of darkness."

"So did I," Selene whispered.

The citizens stopped to look at the newcomers.

Instead of hatred...

They bowed respectfully.

One elderly woman smiled at Lyra.

"Welcome home."

Lyra froze.

"Home?"

Before she could ask another question, the woman disappeared into the crowd.

---

As they moved deeper into the city, Kael noticed something strange.

Every statue lining the streets showed the same image.

A king standing beside a wolf.

Not fighting.

Standing together.

Each statue carried the same inscription in an ancient language.

Selene brushed dust from one of the pedestals and quietly translated the faded words.

"One kingdom. One people. One promise."

Kael looked around.

"These statues are older than our oldest records."

Selene nodded.

"Much older."

She looked troubled.

"Our history is incomplete."

---

The group eventually reached the heart of Noctaris.

An enormous palace rose before them, built entirely from black crystal that reflected the sky like a mirror.

Its towers pierced the clouds.

Its gates stood open.

Waiting.

"No guards?" Marcus asked suspiciously.

"No army?" Rowan added.

Kael narrowed his eyes.

"He's expecting us."

As if answering his words, a calm voice echoed across the courtyard.

"I've been expecting you for twenty years."

A lone man descended the palace steps.

He wore black robes trimmed with silver rather than armor.

The crimson glow in one of his eyes was unmistakable.

The scar across his face matched the one Kael had seen in the vision.

The First Shadow King.

Yet...

He looked nothing like a monster.

He looked tired.

Ancient.

Burdened.

Kael stepped forward.

"You destroyed our northern fortress."

The man nodded once.

"I did."

"Why?"

"To get your attention."

Marcus immediately drew his sword.

"You murdered innocent people!"

The Shadow King calmly raised one hand.

"I harmed no one."

He pointed toward the palace.

"If you don't believe me..."

"See for yourselves."

The massive doors opened.

Inside stood the missing soldiers.

Alive.

Healthy.

Confused, but unharmed.

Captain Rowan stared in disbelief.

"They're alive..."

One of the rescued soldiers rushed forward.

"Your Majesty!"

"We don't know how we got here."

"One moment we were guarding the fortress..."

"The next we woke up inside this palace."

Kael slowly lowered his sword.

"If you didn't intend to kill us..."

"What do you want?"

The Shadow King's expression became solemn.

"To save your son."

---

The courtyard fell silent.

Kael's eyes hardened.

"You know about Lucian?"

"I know more about him than you do."

Lyra instinctively stepped beside Kael.

"If this is another trick—"

"It isn't."

The Shadow King sighed.

"For thousands of years I have waited for the child who carries both the Blood of the Crown and the Blessing of the Moon."

Selene stared at him.

"How could you possibly know that prophecy?"

The man gave a faint, sorrowful smile.

"Because..."

"I wrote it."

No one spoke.

Even the wind seemed to stop.

Kael's voice was barely above a whisper.

"Who are you?"

The stranger looked toward the statues surrounding the palace.

"My name..."

"...is Aether."

"I was the first king of humans."

He closed his eyes.

"And the brother of the First Wolf Queen."

Shock rippled through the group.

Selene's knees nearly gave way.

"That's impossible."

"Our histories say they founded separate kingdoms."

"They did," Aether answered.

"But they were born into the same family."

He turned toward Kael.

"The truth was erased."

---

Before anyone could question him further, the ground trembled.

A deep rumble echoed beneath the city.

The crimson crystal lanterns flickered violently.

Aether's calm expression vanished.

"No..."

He looked toward the northern mountains beyond the city walls.

"It's happening sooner than I feared."

Kael gripped his sword.

"What is?"

Aether pointed toward the horizon.

A massive crack split the sky itself.

From within it poured black smoke, darker than anything Kael had ever seen.

The smoke did not rise.

It descended.

Like an ocean falling from heaven.

The citizens of Noctaris looked upward in terror.

Children ran into their parents' arms.

The ground shook harder.

Then...

A giant hand made entirely of darkness reached through the crack in the sky.

Its fingers slowly wrapped around the edge of reality itself.

A voice echoed across the world.

Older than kingdoms.

Older than the moon.

Older than time.

"My prison is broken..."

Aether's face turned pale.

He whispered the name that had been forgotten for ten thousand years.

"The Void Emperor..."

Kael stared at the impossible sight above him.

He had believed the Shadow Devourer was the greatest enemy.

Then he believed the Shadow King was.

Now he realized...

They had both been preparing for someone else.

Someone far worse.