Episode 4:The Outcast’s Blade
960 Words
The roar of the ancient Titan echoed across the mountains long after Aurelia and Rowan fled the ruined temple.
Birds burst from the treetops.
The ground trembled beneath their feet.
Even the forest of echoes,which had stood silent for centuries,seemed to hold its breath.
Aurelia looked over her shoulder.
“What was that?”
Rowan tightened his grip on his staff.
“I don’t know……”
“And that frightens me.”
Hours later,they stopped beside a crystal clear stream.
Rowan unfolded the starweave map.
The glowing thread had changed.
The path to the next trial had appeared.
The Shrine Of Tides.
But another mark had appeared as well.
A Black Flame.
It moved.
Following them.
Rowan’s expression darkened.
“They’ve found us.”
Before Aurelia could ask who,an arrow shot from the trees.
Thwack!
It struck the map,narrowly missing Rowan’s hand.
A dozen of figures emerged from the shadows.
Each wore black amor carved from obsidian.
Their faces were hidden behind bone white mask.
The leader stepped forward.
“The Hollow Hunters.”
“We finally found the princess.”
Without warning the hunters attacked.
Aurelia drew her dagger while Rowan unsheathed the hidden blade inside his walking cane.
Although old,Rowan moved with surprising speed.
His blade flashed through the air,knocking two hunters backward.
“You trained with a sword?”
Aurelia asked.
Rowan smiled.
“ I told you……”
“I wasn’t always an old man.”
The battle raged,but the hunters were unlike ordinary soldiers.
Whenever one fell,black smoke gathered Around them,rebuilding their bodies.
“They can’t die!”Aurelia cried.
“They’re bound by dark magic!”rowan shouted.
“We have to escape!”
They ran deeper into the forest.
Branches whipped across Aurelia’s face.
The hunters followed without making a sound.
Suddenly—
A massive axe flew through the air.
CRASH!
It split a tree in half,blocking the hunter’s path.
Everyone froze.
From atop a fallen oak stepped a lone warrior dressed in a weathered black cloak.
A massive sword rested across his shoulder.
His steel-gray eyes were cold and unreadable.
He looked at the hunters.
“You’re trespassing.”
One hunter laughed.
“Move aside,exile.”
The stranger sighed.
“You people never learn.”
Before Aurelia could blink,he disappeared.
Clang!
The sound of steel rang through the forest.
One hunter’s mask shattered.
Another was sent flying into a boulder.
The mysterious warrior moved with incredible speed,his sword flowing like water.
Unlike Rowan’s precise strikes,his attacks were powerful and relentless.
Within moments,the hunters lay scattered across the ground.
But instead of disappearing……
Their shadows crawled together,forming one enormous creature.
A beast made entirely of darkness.
Its glowing red eyes locked onto Aurelia.
“The princess…”
“It belongs to the king.”
The monster lunged.
The warrior pushed Aurelia aside just in time.
“Stay down!”
His sword clashed against the creature’s claw.
For the first time…
His blade failed to cut.
The beast laughed.
“Steel cannot kill darkness.”
The warrior pushed frowned.
“That’s inconvenient.”
Rowan stepped forward.
“It isn’t darkness.”
“ it’s fear.”
He slammed the end of his staff into the earth.
Golden runes spread across the forest floor.
“Aurelia!”
“The heart crystal!”
She looked at the golden mark on her wrist.
“I don’t know how!”
“You don’t control it.”
“You trust it.”
Closing her eyes,Aurelia placed her hand against the creature’s chest.
For a moment…
Nothing happened.
Then the golden mark blazed with light.
A wave of warmth burst outward.
The monster screamed.
Its body cracked like glass before dissolving into thousands of glowing golden feathers.
Silence returned to the forest.
The mysterious warrior stared at Aurelia.
“…Light magic.”
“I thought it disappeared centuries ago.”
He turned toward Rowan.
“ you’ve been keeping dangerous secrets.”
Rowan smiled.
“And you’ve been spying on us.”
The warrior shrugged.
“I was curious.”
Aurelia stepped forward.
“You saved us.”
He looked away.
“I saved myself.”
“ if those things escaped the forest,they’d become my problem.”
She smiled
“ Even so…”
“Thank you.”
For a brief second,the warrior almost smiled back.
Almost.
Before anyone could speak again,a Raven with crimson eyes landed on a nearby branch.
Tied to its leg was a black scroll.
The warrior opened it.
His expression hardened.
“They’ve found me.”
Rowan looked at the royal seal stamped in black wax.
“Another bounty?”
The warrior nodded.
“King Malachar has doubled the rewards.”
Aurelia frowned.
“Why”
Rowan answered before he could.
“Because…”
“This is Kael Ravenshade.”
“The greatest swordsman Elyndor ever produced.”
“The man the kingdom believes betrayed the crown.”
Aurelia stared at him in shock.
“The traitor?”
Kael’s eyes darkened.
“They can call me whatever they like.”
“I stopped caring years ago.”
He turned to leave.
But after taking only a few steps,he paused.
Without looking back,he said,
“The shrine of tides isn’t safe.”
“The king’s soldiers are already waiting there.”
Then he disappeared into the trees.
Aurelia watched until he was gone.
“He doesn’t seem like a traitor.”
Rowan folded the starweave map.
“Sometimes…”
“The truth wears the face of a villain.”
“And sometimes…”
“Evil sits upon a throne.”
Far away,hidden among the trees,kael glanced back one last time.
“The princess…”
“So she’s alive after all.”
For the first time in years,a flicker of hope stirred in the heart of the kingdom’s most hated man.
- Writer
