THE CRIMSON VOW CHAPTER 5
1172 Words
THE CRIMSON VOW
Chapter Five: The Army Beyond the Veil
The gate kept rising.
Stone mountains trembled beneath its weight.
Ancient ruins collapsed.
The sky itself seemed to bend around it.
Dante stared into the darkness beyond the colossal archway and felt something he rarely experienced.
Dread.
Not fear.
Fear could be defeated.
Dread was different.
Dread was the certainty that something terrible was coming.
And it was already too late to stop it.
The horn echoed again.
A deep, soul-shaking sound.
The shadows beyond the gate moved.
Then the first creature stepped through.
Silence fell across the mountains.
Even the wind stopped.
The thing was humanoid.
At least partially.
It stood nearly fifteen feet tall.
Its body was covered in black armor fused directly into pale flesh.
Glowing silver cracks spread across its skin.
Its face was hidden behind a smooth mask without eyes.
Without a mouth.
Without humanity.
Yet Dante could feel it staring at him.
Watching him.
Judging him.
The creature took another step.
The mountain shook.
Then another emerged.
And another.
And another.
Hundreds.
Thousands.
An endless army marching from the darkness beyond the Veil.
Seraphina's grip tightened around her sword.
"What are they?"
Elyria's face had gone completely pale.
"The Forgotten."
The name sent chills through the air.
Dante frowned.
"The Forgotten?"
Elyria nodded.
"They were the first victims."
"The first army consumed by the enemy."
The dragon growled.
A low sound filled with ancient hatred.
"They should not exist."
"But they do."
The Forgotten continued marching.
Perfectly synchronized.
No voices.
No commands.
No hesitation.
Like puppets controlled by a single mind.
Then something larger appeared behind them.
Much larger.
A giant.
At least fifty feet tall.
Its body seemed carved from black stone.
Chains wrapped around its arms and neck.
Each step shattered the ground beneath its feet.
Seraphina whispered a curse.
Even Dante remained silent.
Because that giant wasn't leading the army.
It was merely escorting something.
Something far worse.
A figure cloaked entirely in darkness.
Walking slowly through the gate.
The moment it appeared, every Forgotten warrior dropped to one knee.
The giant bowed.
Even the storm retreated.
The world itself seemed afraid.
Dante's mark suddenly burned.
So did Seraphina's.
Pain shot through their wrists.
A single name appeared inside their minds.
Not spoken.
Remembered.
As though it had always existed.
Malakar.
The Shadow Beyond Worlds.
The dark figure stopped.
Far away.
Yet Dante somehow knew it was looking directly at him.
At Seraphina.
At the Blood Vow.
The figure raised one hand.
The sky cracked.
A mountain exploded.
Millions of tons of stone vanished instantly.
No spell.
No effort.
Just a casual gesture.
The display of power stunned everyone into silence.
Then Malakar spoke.
His voice echoed across the world.
"I have found you."
The words shook reality.
Ancient runes across the ruins shattered.
The dragon staggered.
Even Elyria dropped to one knee.
Dante remained standing.
Barely.
His shadows fought against the pressure crushing his body.
Beside him, Seraphina's flames erupted instinctively.
Neither was willing to kneel.
Not to anyone.
Malakar laughed.
A cold.
Ancient sound.
"The King and Queen return."
The title again.
Always the same title.
Always the same implication.
"You are mistaken," Dante shouted.
"I am no king."
Malakar tilted his head.
For a moment the darkness around him shifted.
And Dante glimpsed countless eyes beneath the cloak.
Watching.
Waiting.
Hungry.
"You do not remember."
The answer chilled him.
"But you will."
The mark on Dante's wrist flared violently.
A vision struck him.
Not a dream.
A memory.
Someone else's memory.
His memory.
A battlefield.
Black skies.
Endless fire.
A silver crown resting upon his head.
Thousands kneeling before him.
And beside him—
Seraphina.
Only not Seraphina.
Someone who looked exactly like her.
Wearing crimson armor.
Holding his hand.
The vision vanished.
Dante staggered backward.
His heart thundered.
Impossible.
None of it was real.
It couldn't be.
Yet it had felt more real than anything.
Seraphina looked equally shaken.
Meaning she had seen something too.
Their eyes met.
Neither spoke.
Neither wanted to discuss what they had witnessed.
Not yet.
Maybe not ever.
Malakar took another step.
The world groaned.
The Veil behind him widened.
More Forgotten emerged.
More giants.
More horrors.
An army capable of destroying kingdoms.
Elyria suddenly stood.
Her golden eyes blazed.
"We leave."
The dragon immediately moved beside her.
Dante frowned.
"We're running?"
Elyria looked at him as though he were insane.
"Yes."
The answer was immediate.
"Absolutely."
For the first time since meeting her, she looked genuinely frustrated.
"You cannot defeat him."
Dante crossed his arms.
"I've been told that before."
"And were they right?"
"Usually."
Seraphina rolled her eyes.
Elyria pointed toward Malakar.
"That thing destroyed entire worlds before humanity learned how to write."
That got Dante's attention.
Entire worlds?
Not kingdoms.
Not continents.
Worlds.
The scale was unimaginable.
The dragon lowered itself.
"Get on."
"No."
Everyone looked at Dante.
The mafia king stared toward the distant army.
His silver eyes narrowed.
Something wasn't right.
Malakar had all this power.
All these soldiers.
Yet he wasn't attacking.
He wasn't advancing.
He was waiting.
Why?
Dante studied the dark figure.
Then noticed it.
A chain.
Thin.
Almost invisible.
Connected to Malakar's wrist.
The chain stretched backward.
Into the darkness beyond the Veil.
His pulse quickened.
Interesting.
Very interesting.
Malakar wasn't free.
Not completely.
The realization changed everything.
Dante smiled.
The dangerous smile his enemies feared.
Seraphina immediately recognized it.
"You're planning something stupid."
"I prefer ambitious."
"That's usually worse."
He ignored her.
His gaze remained fixed on the chain.
If Malakar was still bound...
Then there was time.
A chance.
A weakness.
Elyria followed his gaze.
Then her eyes widened.
She saw it too.
"The final seal."
Dante looked at her.
"What is it?"
Her voice dropped.
Almost to a whisper.
"The First King didn't imprison Malakar."
Silence followed.
Then she continued.
"He imprisoned himself with him."
The revelation hit like thunder.
Dante froze.
So did Seraphina.
The First King.
The man from the visions.
The original Heir.
The ruler who saved the world.
He wasn't dead.
He was still there.
Somewhere beyond the Veil.
Holding the prison closed.
For a thousand years.
Alone.
A terrible sadness settled over the mountains.
Even the dragon lowered its head.
Then Malakar smiled.
As if hearing every word.
"The prison weakens."
His voice rolled across the world.
"And the king grows tired."
The chain around his wrist cracked.
A single fracture appeared.
One tiny break.
But it was enough.
The entire world trembled.
Oceans surged.
Mountains split.
The crimson fractures spread faster.
Far faster.
Elyria's face drained of color.
"No..."
Malakar lifted his hand.
The broken chain rattled.
"Find the Heart, little heirs."
His smile widened.
"Because when this chain breaks completely..."
The last link snapped.
Darkness exploded across the horizon.
And something inside the Veil woke up.
Something even Malakar feared.
The scream that followed echoed across every kingdom in existence.
And every living creature knew the same terrifying truth.
The real enemy had just awakened.
- Writer
