Chapter 7: The First Awakening
761 Words
Steel rang through the mountain pass.
Kael and Commander Darius circled one another, each waiting for the slightest mistake.
Around them, the soldiers remained perfectly still.
No one dared interfere.
Everyone knew this duel belonged to the two greatest warriors in the kingdom.
Elara watched helplessly.
Kael blocked another strike, but this time he stumbled backward.
Blood trickled from a cut above his eyebrow.
Darius smiled.
"You're slower than you used to be."
Kael wiped the blood from his face.
"And you're still talking too much."
Darius lunged.
His blade flashed like lightning.
Kael barely raised his sword in time.
The impact echoed through the pass.
The force knocked Kael to one knee.
Elara's heart pounded.
He's losing.
"No..." she whispered.
Darius stepped closer.
"Yield."
Kael slowly rose to his feet.
"I'd rather die."
"As you wish."
Darius lifted his sword for the final blow.
Time seemed to slow.
Elara saw Kael's exhausted expression.
She saw the soldiers tightening their grip on their weapons.
She saw the sharp edge of Darius's blade descending toward Kael's neck.
Without thinking, she screamed.
"STOP!"
The world exploded.
A wave of invisible energy burst from Elara's body.
There was no flash of light.
No fire.
No lightning.
Just a violent distortion in the air.
The ground shook.
Dust erupted from the mountain path.
Every soldier was thrown backward as though struck by an invisible giant.
Horses reared in panic.
Weapons flew from trembling hands.
Even Darius was hurled across the battlefield, crashing into a massive boulder.
Silence followed.
Elara stood frozen.
The wind died.
The dust slowly settled.
She looked around in disbelief.
The soldiers struggled to stand.
Some stared at her with open terror.
Others simply ran.
"Monster!"
"It's the Invisible Force!"
"The prophecy is real!"
The words echoed through the valley.
Elara looked at her hands.
They looked completely normal.
"I... I didn't mean..."
Her knees buckled.
The power had drained every ounce of strength from her body.
She collapsed.
Before she hit the ground, Kael caught her.
"Easy," he said softly.
Her vision blurred.
"What... did I do?"
Kael looked across the battlefield.
Commander Darius slowly pushed himself to his feet.
His black armor was cracked.
Blood trickled from the corner of his mouth.
For the first time in years...
The commander looked afraid.
He stared at Elara.
Not with hatred.
Not with anger.
With disbelief.
"So it truly exists," he whispered.
Kael lifted Elara into his arms.
"We're leaving."
The remaining soldiers made no attempt to stop them.
They simply stepped aside.
None of them wanted to go near the girl who had defeated an entire company without touching a single weapon.
---
Hours later, night settled over the mountains.
Kael carried Elara into a small cave hidden behind a waterfall.
He gently laid her on a bed of moss.
She slowly opened her eyes.
"My head..."
"You exhausted yourself."
She sat up carefully.
"I remember shouting."
Kael nodded.
"Then everything went white."
"You released your Force."
Elara looked confused.
"But I didn't see anything."
"Neither did anyone else."
He sat across from her.
"That's what makes your power different."
"What do you mean?"
Kael picked up a small stone from the cave floor.
He placed it in front of her.
"Try to move it."
Elara stared at it.
Nothing happened.
"I can't."
"Exactly."
She frowned.
"So I only have power when I'm frightened?"
"Or when someone you care about is in danger."
Silence filled the cave.
Finally, Elara asked the question that had haunted her since Ascension Day.
"Am I a monster?"
Kael looked directly into her eyes.
"No."
"Then why is everyone afraid of me?"
"Because people fear what they don't understand."
A tear rolled down her cheek.
"I never wanted this."
"I know."
Kael stood and walked toward the cave entrance.
Outside, the rain had begun to fall.
"We'll reach Valeth tomorrow."
"You really think we'll find answers there?"
He watched the rain for a long moment.
"I hope so."
Far beyond the mountains, inside the royal palace, King Aldric stood before the shattered remains of an ancient stone tablet.
A messenger knelt before him.
"Your Majesty... Commander Darius has failed."
The king closed his eyes.
"So..."
He whispered the next words as if he had feared them for years.
"The Invisible Force has awakened."
He turned toward the palace window.
Lightning flashed across the sky.
"Prepare the Black Legion."
The messenger's face paled.
"Your Majesty... that army has not marched in over eight hundred years."
"It marches now."
Outside, thunder rolled across the kingdom.
War was coming.
- Writer
