Chapter 141: Threads of War

Darian’s Sanctum

Hidden beneath the Deadroot Caverns

Kael’s arms ached. His wrists bled where the obsidian cuffs bit into flesh, enchanted to dull regeneration. The cell reeked of damp stone, dried blood, and the metallic tang of corrupted magic. His throat was raw from screaming, but his will hadn’t broken. Not yet.

He had been locked here for days—maybe weeks. Time bled strangely in the sanctum, where shadows moved without light and whispers slithered beneath the floor. His strength had waned, but his mind remained sharp. Every detail he saw, every shift in the rituals, he committed to memory. If he survived this, he’d make sure the world never suffered this darkness again.

Across the ritual chamber, Mira knelt beside a rune-carved basin, pouring silver liquid into a shallow bowl. Her movements were precise, practiced—too calm. Like someone long used to drowning and pretending the water was air.

Kael’s voice cracked. “So this is what you’ve become? A servant to a madman?”

Mira didn’t look at him. “I’m surviving.”

“That’s what you tell yourself?”

She flinched—just barely. But it was enough.

The room pulsed with red light. The walls whispered. The gate’s dark energy was thick here—like breathing tainted ash. At the center stood Darian, his bare chest inked with moving runes, as though the spellwork had merged with his skin. His eyes no longer blinked. His veins shimmered like molten ink. Even the air around him vibrated with a low hum of power.

“He’s close,” Darian murmured. “I can feel her. Selene’s power has awakened fully.”

Kael spat blood. “You’re scared.”

“I’m prepared,” Darian replied, tone ice-cold. “She thinks she’s the answer. But she’s only the door. I am the one who chooses what comes through.”

He turned toward the altar—another relic had appeared. A corrupted twin of the medallion Selene bore, forged of obsidian and bone, glowing with volatile red shadow. The air above it shimmered unnaturally, like a heat mirage hiding something far worse.

“Once I anchor her eclipse to this,” he whispered, “the gate will open—fully. And all realms will kneel.”

Mira hesitated. “You said you wanted to seal the gate.”

“I did. Before I realized the truth. The gate doesn’t need to be closed. It needs a master. And I will be that master.”

She stood, slowly turning toward him. “And if it destroys you in the process?”

Darian’s smile widened. “Then I’ll be reborn.”

Kael’s eyes locked on Mira. “You don’t believe in him.”

She didn’t answer.

But something in her eyes shifted.

Temple Ruins – That Night

Selene sat with her back against a ruined column. The air still crackled with the residue of her eclipse magic. The moon hung low, casting sickly silver light over the bloodied stone. Her breath was slow, shallow, her skin slick with sweat.

Elias sat beside her, watching the horizon. His sword rested across his lap, but his focus was entirely on her. He hadn’t let go of her hand since the eclipse wave had settled.

“You shouldn't have used that much power,” he said softly.

“I had to,” Selene murmured. “Theron would have killed us. Or worse.”

Lyra returned, wiping blood from her blade. “The forest’s clear. Whatever was left ran. Probably back to the sanctum.”

Theron sat apart from them, his back against a boulder, head bowed. The shadows no longer whispered around him. He looked lost. Mortal. Human.

“You trust him?” Lyra asked.

“No,” Selene said. “But I believe he wants redemption. That’s enough for now.”

Elias stood. “So what’s the next move?”

Selene looked down at the embedded medallion in her skin, still faintly pulsing. “We take the fight to Darian. End this before he opens the gate fully.”

“And if he already has?”

Selene’s jaw clenched. “Then we close it. From the inside, if we have to.”

She pushed herself to her feet, swaying slightly. Elias caught her elbow.

“You’re not ready.”

“I wasn’t ready when my mother died. I wasn’t ready when I was cast out. I wasn’t ready when this power woke up. But I moved anyway.” Her voice cracked. “We don’t wait. Not anymore.”

Elsewhere – Sanctum Holding Cell

Later that night, Mira slipped through a hidden archway. The guards were gone—pulled to Darian’s final preparations. Her fingers trembled as she opened Kael’s cell.

He looked up, barely conscious.

“If you’re here to finish the job, at least look me in the eye,” he muttered.

“I’m not here to kill you.”

She stepped inside, slicing the cuffs with a silver blade. As the last