THE RISE BENEATH THE CITY
1151 Words
CHAPTER 1O
The c***k in the station floor spread like lightning across the glass.
Chunks of concrete collapsed into the darkness below as a deep, terrifying growl echoed upward through the tunnels. Dust filled the air, forcing Liora to shield her face while the crimson glow from the crystal pulsed wildly against her chest.
The Veilborn retreated.
Not in fear of Kael.
In fear of whatever was climbing out of the abyss beneath them.
Liora staggered backward as the broken ground continued to shake beneath her boots.
“What is happening?” she shouted over the noise.
Kael grabbed her wrist tightly.
“We have to leave. Now.”
Before she could respond, a massive claw burst through the cracked platform.
Steel screamed as the creature pulled itself upward from the darkness. Its body looked as though it had been stitched together from shadow and stone, with glowing red fractures spreading across its skin like molten lava beneath rock.
Its eyes opened slowly.
Crimson.
Ancient.
Hungry.
Liora froze instantly.
The creature’s gaze locked directly onto her.
Not Kael.
Not the Veilborn.
Her.
The crystal burned against her chest so violently that she cried out in pain. A flood of images slammed into her mind—towering gates of black fire, cities swallowed by darkness, thousands of people running beneath a blood-red sky.
And standing at the center of it all…
Herself.
“No…” she whispered.
The vision vanished abruptly.
Kael pulled her away just as the creature slammed its claw into the platform. The impact shattered the concrete where she had been standing seconds earlier.
“Move!”
The two of them sprinted across the underground station while the Veilborn scattered into the shadows. Behind them, the monster dragged itself fully out of the abyss, its roar shaking the entire district above.
Emergency sirens suddenly blared across Red Light.
Red warning lights flashed through the tunnels.
A cold mechanical voice echoed overhead.
“DISTRICT BREACH DETECTED. ALL CITIZENS EVACUATE IMMEDIATELY.”
The city had noticed.
And that meant the Council would arrive soon.
Kael cursed under his breath as they reached the stairwell leading back to the surface.
“We’re out of time.”
“What even is that thing?” Liora demanded while climbing the stairs two at a time.
Kael’s silence lasted too long.
Finally he answered.
“It’s called a Hollow King.”
Liora stopped halfway up the staircase.
“A king?”
“One of the first creatures sealed behind the Gate centuries ago.”
Her blood ran cold.
“You mean there are more of them?”
Kael looked up toward the shaking ceiling grimly.
“Thousands.”
Another explosion thundered below.
The Hollow King had begun climbing upward through the station itself.
Liora forced herself to keep moving.
Rain still poured heavily outside when they finally emerged onto the streets of Red Light. Chaos had already consumed the district.
People screamed while running through the flooded roads. Shops slammed their doors shut. Armed patrol vehicles sped past at dangerous speeds, their lights cutting through the rain.
Above the city, massive drones hovered across the skyline.
Searching.
The Council never showed themselves directly unless the threat was severe.
Which meant tonight terrified even them.
Kael pulled Liora into a narrow alley between two towering buildings.
“We need to disappear before they lock down the district.”
Liora yanked her arm free.
“No.”
Kael stared at her.
“No?” he repeated.
“You keep hiding things from me,” she snapped. “First the prophecy, then the Gate, now monsters crawling out from underground? I’m done following you blindly.”
Kael’s jaw tightened.
“This isn’t the time.”
“Then when is the time?”
For a moment, neither of them spoke.
Rain dripped steadily around them while distant screams echoed across the city.
Finally Kael exhaled slowly.
“The prophecy spoke about someone called the Veilborn Child,” he said quietly. “A person capable of opening the Gate between worlds.”
Liora’s stomach twisted.
“No…”
“The crystal chose you because your bloodline connects to the Gate itself.”
“That’s impossible.”
“I wish it was.”
The words hit harder than she expected.
Liora leaned against the cold brick wall, trying to steady her breathing.
“My family was ordinary.”
Kael looked away.
“No family connected to the prophecy was ever ordinary.”
Before she could question him further, a sharp beam of light swept across the alley entrance.
Voices followed.
“Search here!”
Kael instantly pulled Liora deeper into the shadows as armed soldiers entered the street outside. Unlike the shadow guards from before, these soldiers wore silver armor marked with the symbol of the Council—a black circle surrounded by crimson lines.
Elite hunters.
Liora lowered her voice.
“They found us too quickly.”
Kael’s expression darkened again.
“Yes,” he murmured. “Which means we still have a traitor.”
The soldiers moved closer.
Liora could hear their footsteps splashing through puddles only meters away.
Then—
A familiar voice echoed from the alley entrance.
“You’re making this difficult.”
Liora’s eyes widened.
A young woman stepped into view wearing a long dark coat with silver markings running along the sleeves. Her black braided hair clung slightly to her face from the rain, but her sharp golden eyes remained calm.
Dangerously calm.
“Selene,” Kael said coldly.
Liora looked between them.
“You know her?”
Selene smiled faintly.
“Of course he does.”
Kael stepped protectively in front of Liora.
“You shouldn’t be here.”
“And yet,” Selene replied smoothly, “I found you first.”
The soldiers behind her stopped advancing.
Not because they feared Kael.
Because they were obeying Selene.
Realization struck Liora instantly.
“You betrayed us.”
Selene tilted her head slightly.
“Betrayed is such an emotional word.”
Kael’s hand tightened around one of his blades.
“You told the Council about the crystal.”
“I told them about the girl,” Selene corrected calmly. “The crystal was simply proof.”
Liora felt anger surge through her chest.
“Why?”
Selene’s gaze finally settled fully on her.
“Because you have no idea what you truly are.”
The crystal suddenly flared bright red again.
Every light in the alley flickered violently.
Selene’s expression changed for the first time.
Concern.
Then fear.
“Kael…” she whispered.
But it was already too late.
The ground beneath Red Light trembled harder than before.
People screamed across the city.
Far above them, somewhere beyond the endless rain clouds, a massive c***k of crimson light split across the sky itself.
Liora looked upward in horror.
The sky was opening.
And from within that burning fracture… dark shapes began descending toward the city.
- Writer
