SHADOWS OF THE PAST
The forest was eerily quiet, but it wasn’t the calm that comes before peace. It was the tense hush of a world holding its breath, waiting for the next catastrophe. Kael moved cautiously, senses on high alert, every nerve vibrating with the faint echoes of the Ascended’s energy from the previous night.
Nara walked beside him, silver light rippling beneath her skin with each heartbeat. She held Lyra close, whispering soft words that only the girl could hear. Yet even in the quiet, Nara’s mind raced—every pulse of energy from the awakened Bloodbound that had begun to stir far beyond the forest reached her like tiny tremors in the fabric of reality.
“Kael,” she murmured, her voice tight with unease, “I can feel them—more than I expected. They’re not organized. Not yet—bu
