CHAPTER 11: Blood of the third
735 Words
The Realm felt… wrong. Shadows twisted unnaturally, coiling like living things at the edges of May’s vision. She stiffened, sensing it before she understood — a whisper in her mind.
May… come to me…
The voice was deep, commanding, and impossible to ignore. Not Zayn… she realized immediately. This was darker, older, dangerous.
“Who’s there?” she called, gripping her staff. The air shimmered, and a sudden pull tugged at her chest, stronger than any energy she had felt before. She stumbled forward.
You have what I need… your blood… your power…
The world blurred, and when she blinked, she was somewhere else entirely — a twisted version of the Realm, jagged rocks floating in a void of swirling shadows.
A figure stepped from the shadows. Tall, imposing, cloaked in darkness — it wasn’t him exactly, but it was him. A clone of Kaelthorn, the Monster King, eyes blazing with unnatural light.
“I am what Kaelthorn left behind… what he could not take with him,” the clone said, voice dripping with menace. “And now… you will see his story, little Third Anchor.”
May’s stomach twisted. “What do you want from me?”
“Your blood,” it said simply. “Not just any blood… the blood of the Old Third’s descendant. Your mother’s sacrifice once sealed me away. Without her bloodline, the seal would have failed. And now… you hold the key.”
The clone’s eyes burned as he spoke. “I was once one of the Old Five, as your mother’s allies knew. I loved… someone I thought would be by my side forever. But she was taken from me, executed by the King of the Realm he swore to protect. My heart shattered… and the light left me. I broke the first seal, embracing darkness… and all of this followed.”
May’s hands trembled, energy humming around her. “So… that’s why… you need me?”
“Yes,” it hissed. “Your blood carries the legacy of the Old Third. It can break the seal fully… and free me. Free Kaelthorn. And in return… you would gain nothing but destruction.”
May clenched her fists. “I won’t let you use me. Not now. Not ever.”
The clone lunged, shadows flaring around him. May twisted and rolled, energy coiling around her fists, bending momentum around her strikes.
“You cannot stop what is coming,” the clone hissed.
“I may not be able to stop it alone… but I won’t go down without a fight!” May shouted.
A shallow cut on her palm bled, unnoticed, as the battle raged.
The bead of her blood flicked to the shadowed ground. The moment it touched, the seal pulsed violently, cracks spreading across the jagged rocks. The energy was raw, ancient, tied directly to the sacrifice of the Old Third — and now to her.
The clone roared, staggering as the Realm itself seemed to tremble.
Suddenly, Xander and Ze appeared, energy crackling around them. “Step aside!” Xander shouted, launching fire and forcing attacks that caught the clone off guard. Ze’s wind and water struck precise points, restraining it.
May saw her opening. With every ounce of energy, she struck, sending the clone crashing into the shadowed floor. Shadows dissolved into nothingness with a deafening screech.
The seal pulsed violently again — and then shattered completely. Energy exploded outward, shaking the void and rippling across the Realm. May stumbled, chest heaving, staring at the broken fragments.
When the light dimmed, she looked around. The other side of the Realm had returned to a calmer state, but tension lingered like a storm waiting to strike.
Xander gave a faint grin, exhausted. “You really do have a flair for drama, May.”
Ze’s calm eyes met hers. “The darkness will come again. Soon. But today… you survived. And the seal… it’s broken. That changes everything.”
May’s hands trembled, blood still faintly dripping. She looked at the distant horizon of shadows. “Then we fight. All of us. Together.”
Zayn’s voice echoed in her mind, protective and tense. “May… are you alright?”
She exhaled, determination blazing. “I’m fine. I survived. And now… we prepare.”
The shadows lingered at the edges, watching, waiting. The Monster King Kaelthorn’s influence had begun seeping through, and the real battle was only just beginning.
- Writer
