Chapter 20- The Shadow's Oath
1061 Words
Chapter 20 – The Shadow’s Oath
The village square was unrecognizable.
Smoke coiled into the sky, flames devouring homes as soldiers pressed forward with merciless precision. The ground was littered with broken tools, shattered shields, and bodies both villager and soldier alike.
Kaia’s breath came in ragged gasps as she loosed another arrow, but her quiver was nearly empty. Ruel fought fiercely, but his blade was nicked and his movements slowing. Hara’s whip snapped, though her arms trembled with exhaustion. Lina bled from a cut across her forehead, her axe shaking in her hands.
And Uncle Wonie—sweat pouring down his face—used his staff to block a crushing blow, his knees nearly buckling beneath the weight.
The soldiers, though bloodied, remained many. Too many.
The captain sneered, his voice cutting through the chaos.
“You dare defy the King? Look at you now—weak, broken, outnumbered. Your resistance ends tonight. Burn the rest of them! Leave no traitor alive!”
The soldiers roared in unison, their advance unstoppable.
Kaia’s heart twisted. Around her, she saw fear in every villager’s eyes, despair heavy in the air. A mother clutched her child, crying. An old man staggered back, weaponless. Her people were falling, one by one, and she knew they could not win.
Unless she ended it.
Her bow slipped from her trembling hand.
“No…” Uncle Wonie gasped, seeing the look in her eyes. “Kaia, don’t.”
Kaia lifted her chin, tears threatening to fall. “It’s me they want. If I give myself up, they’ll leave the others alone. This fight will only bring more death.”
“Kaia, no!” Ruel shouted, his voice cracking with desperation. “We’ll fight to the last breath before we let them take you!”
Hara shook her head furiously, whipping another soldier back. “Don’t you dare even think it!”
But Kaia’s decision was already made. She stepped forward, her body trembling but her voice steady.
“Enough!” she cried, raising her hands. “I surrender!”
The square went silent.
The captain’s grin spread, sharp and cruel. “At last. The little archer shows sense.”
Behind her, Uncle Wonie dropped to his knees, tears streaming freely down his weathered face. “Kaia… my child…” His voice broke, his grief too heavy to contain.
Ruel’s sword slipped from his hand, clattering to the ground. “No… Kaia…” His eyes brimmed with tears of rage and helplessness.
Kaia forced herself to keep walking, her feet heavy as lead. Each step felt like a betrayal to her heart, but if it meant saving them… she would bear it.
She reached the center of the square, the captain raising his hand to seize her—
—and then the air grew cold.
A wind unlike any before swept through the burning village, extinguishing flames in its wake. Shadows curled across the ground like living serpents, slithering toward her.
Kaia froze, her heart pounding.
From behind her, something stirred. A presence so powerful, so dark, that every soldier in the square faltered.
The shadows rose, wrapping around Kaia like a cloak, shielding her trembling frame.
And then—he emerged.
Prince Reino.
His chains were gone, his form wreathed in black mist that flickered with golden fire. His eyes blazed like molten suns, his voice a low growl that shook the earth.
“No one… touches her.”
The soldiers stumbled back, fear breaking their formation.
“W-What is this?!” one cried, his voice trembling.
“Kill him!” the captain barked, though his voice lacked conviction. “He’s nothing but a cursed beast!”
The soldiers charged.
Reino moved.
The shadows exploded outward, slicing through the air like blades. Soldiers screamed as tendrils of darkness wrapped around their bodies, yanking them off their feet and hurling them into walls. With each strike, the ground trembled, his power unstoppable.
One soldier raised his sword, only for Reino’s hand to snap out, gripping it mid-swing. With a twist, the blade shattered like glass. Reino’s eyes burned as he drove the man into the ground, the shadows swallowing him whole.
Kaia staggered back, her heart torn between awe and terror. Yet deep inside, relief flooded her chest. He had come. He had heard her.
“Reino…” she whispered.
Her whisper reached him. His head turned, his fiery gaze softening as it landed on her. For the briefest moment, the monstrous shadows seemed to calm.
But then the captain roared, charging with his spear raised. “I’ll kill the girl and you both!”
Before Kaia could react, Reino appeared in front of her, moving faster than sight. His hand shot forward, the shadows surging like a tidal wave.
The captain never reached her.
With a single strike, Reino’s shadows pierced his chest, lifting him into the air before hurling him lifeless into the flames.
The battlefield fell silent.
The surviving soldiers staggered back, eyes wide with terror. “It’s the cursed prince! He’s free!”
“Retreat! Retreat!”
Panic rippled through their ranks, and within moments, the once-proud army scattered, fleeing into the night like frightened dogs.
The villagers stood in stunned silence. Smoke curled upward, the fires dying into embers.
Kaia stared at Reino, her chest heaving. He stood tall, shadows still writhing at his feet, his body trembling as if barely containing the storm within.
Uncle Wonie’s voice broke the silence, trembling with awe and fear. “So… the cursed prince lives.”
Reino turned, his golden eyes meeting Kaia’s. For a heartbeat, the shadows hushed, and he spoke softly, only to her.
“You are safe now.”
And then the shadows hissed, writhing hungrily, pulling at him as if trying to reclaim him. Reino’s body stiffened, his jaw tightening in pain.
Kaia reached out instinctively. “Reino—!”
But before she could touch him, the shadows surged, swallowing him in darkness once more.
The night swallowed his figure, leaving only silence.
Kaia dropped to her knees, tears falling freely, her heart torn between gratitude and despair.
He had come. He had saved her.
But the curse was pulling him further away.
Reino finally breaks free and saves Kaia, but the shadows show their terrifying hold on him. The villagers now know the cursed prince is real—and alive.
- Writer
