Semua Bab The Shadow Knight: Bab 11 - Bab 20

The Screaming Peaks lived up to their name. Each wailing gust carried the voices of those who had sought the Soulstone before, their failures preserved in the very wind that scoured the jagged slopes. The Shadow Knight moved through this chorus of despair without faltering, drawn by a pull that transcended physical sensation."The entrance should be ahead," Serena said, her voice nearly lost in the howling. She pointed toward a narrow cleft between towering spires of black stone. "According to Vaurien's chronicle, the Sanctum only reveals itself to those it deems worthy of testing."As they approached the cleft, reality shifted. What had appeared to be merely a crack in the mountainside expanded, revealing an entrance carved from obsidian so dark it seemed to swallow the surrounding light. Ancient symbols adorned the archway, writing in a language that predated humanity yet somehow remained readable to the Shadow Knight's transformed senses.Enter and be judged. Leave as something els

The Deadwood Crossings stretched before them like a graveyard of titans. Trees that had once reached toward heaven now stood petrified, their bark turned to stone, their branches raised in permanent supplication to gods long forgotten. No birds sang in this forest of the dead. No insects skittered across fallen trunks. Only the wind moved, carrying whispers that might have been the voices of those who had perished here centuries ago."How far to the capital from here?" The Shadow Knight paused atop a ridge that overlooked the blasted landscape. His form seemed to absorb the twilight, stars glimmering within the darkness that composed his body."Three days if we travel conventionally," Serena replied, her violet eyes scanning the horizon. "Perhaps one if you use the shadow paths. But there's a complication."She pointed to a column of riders approaching from the south. Even at this distance, their purpose was clear. Armor gleamed with blessed silver. Banners bore the golden sun of the

The Broken Tower Inn huddled at the crossroads between four provinces, its crumbling exterior belying the safety it offered to those the Council branded heretics. No signage marked its purpose; reputation alone guided the desperate to its doorstep. Stone walls, blackened by ancient fire that had claimed the upper floors, rose into mist-shrouded night. Light leaked from shuttered windows, thin golden lines in darkness that served as beacons for the hunted.The Shadow Knight approached through swirling fog, his bone-structured shadow form causing tendrils of mist to recoil as if in recognition of greater darkness. Beside him, Serena moved with practiced stealth, her violet eyes scanning for Council patrols that frequently swept the borderlands."This is foolishness," she whispered, gesturing toward the inn. "The Council will have informants even here. Your appearance alone will cause panic.""Sometimes fear serves purpose better than stealth." The Shadow Knight continued forward, the co

The Scarred Plains stretched before them, a vast expanse of blasted terrain where ancient battles had rendered soil permanently infertile. Nothing grew here except memories of violence, the ground itself bearing witness to conflicts forgotten by all except the land. Jagged rock formations rose like broken bones from cracked earth, their shadows lengthening as the sun began its descent toward horizon."The celestial alignment begins tonight," Serena observed, her violet eyes tracking the sky where daylight still concealed celestial movements. "The Blood Moon will rise at midnight, directly above the capital."The Shadow Knight stood motionless, his transformed substance shifting slightly as the Choir of the Damned stirred within his bone framework. Their collective consciousness recognized significance beyond mere astronomical curiosity."The alignment enables the final trial," he said, harmonic voice resonating with undertones of countless contributing souls. "For which the previous t

The Transformation Circle lay hidden within the capital's shadow, nestled between abandoned temples and forgotten shrines where the city's earliest foundations had been laid. Unlike the grand cathedrals that dominated the skyline, these ancient places of worship predated the Council's theological dominance. Stone circles, worn smooth by centuries of ritual use, formed intricate patterns that converged at a central point marked by altar stone darker than midnight.The Shadow Knight approached this convergence with purpose that transcended mere intention. His transformed substance flowed around bone framework with cosmic awareness integrated through multiple trials. The sacrifice made upon the Void Throne had completed necessary evolution from personal vengeance to universal principle manifested through specific accountability."You truly mean to proceed," Serena observed, her violet eyes reflecting starlight as she maintained position at the circle's edge. "Even knowing what complete t