The night air hung heavy as Kaelen, Rina, and Eryndor Vale made their way through the desolate streets of Vael'Zyrenn's old district. What had once been a thriving part of the city was now little more than abandoned ruins, swallowed by time and neglect. The cobblestone streets were cracked, overgrown with vines that slithered through the broken masonry like veins of an ancient beast. The remnants of buildings loomed in eerie silence, their skeletal frames casting jagged shadows beneath the pale glow of the twin moons.
Kaelen adjusted his cloak, his fingers resting lightly on the hilt of his dagger. He had spent years in the slums, slipping through alleys and avoiding the watchful eyes of enforcers, but this place… it felt different. The silence wasn't just emptiness, it was expectant, like the city itself was holding its breath. Every shift of the wind felt like unseen eyes tracing their movements, every whisper through the broken windows a hushed warning.
Eryndor led them with purpose, his golden eyes gleaming in the dim light. "The tomb lies beneath what remains of the old cathedral," he murmured, his voice barely more than a whisper. "It was sealed centuries ago, but time has a way of unravelling even the strongest of bindings."
Rina scoffed, keeping her steps light as she scanned their surroundings. "Wonderful. So we're walking straight into an ancient graveyard where the dead might not stay dead."
Kaelen smirked. "Wouldn't be the first time we've done something reckless."
Eryndor chuckled, the sound oddly calm for their situation. "A fair point. But tread carefully. This place is not like the Sanctuary. It does not welcome the living."
They moved deeper into the ruins, passing collapsed archways and statues eroded beyond recognition. At their feet, pieces of stained glass crunched under their boots, remnants of what had once been divine murals. The deeper they ventured, the thicker the air became, filled with the scent of dust, damp stone, and something more primal, a lingering presence, as though the very ground remembered the weight of the fallen.
The old cathedral stood at the heart of the ruins, its once grand towers reduced to skeletal spires that clawed at the sky. The great doors, once adorned with celestial carvings, were now shattered, leaving only a gaping entrance into darkness. The air was colder here, thick with the weight of forgotten prayers and unfulfilled oaths. Shadows stretched unnaturally long inside, refusing to dissipate despite the moonlight seeping through the broken windows.
As they stepped inside, their footsteps echoed in the vast emptiness. Broken pews lay scattered across the floor, their wood rotting and splintered. At the far end of the chamber, beneath the collapsed remains of the altar, lay a massive stone slab covered in inscriptions worn by time. The carvings were deep, purposeful, etched by hands that had meant for them to last beyond their own mortality.
Eryndor knelt before the slab, brushing away dust and debris. "This is it," he said softly. "The entrance to the Harbinger's tomb."
Kaelen felt the pull again, that strange sensation deep in his chest, like a forgotten memory clawing its way to the surface. He ran his fingers along the inscriptions, feeling the cold stone beneath his touch. The moment his palm pressed against the centre, the symbols ignited with a faint, golden glow.
A deep tremor rumbled through the cathedral. The ground beneath them shifted as the stone slab groaned and slowly slid aside, revealing a spiralling staircase that descended into the earth. A damp breeze rose from below, carrying the scent of old stone and something else, something untouched by the passage of time.
Rina peered down into the darkness, her expression unreadable. "Well. That's not ominous at all."
Kaelen tightened his grip on his dagger. "Only one way to find out what's waiting for us."
Eryndor smiled faintly. "Then let us step forward into the past."
One by one, they descended into the tomb, their only light coming from the faint glow of the runes now lining the walls. The air grew colder with each step, the silence growing thicker. The deeper they went, the more oppressive the darkness became, pressing against them like an unseen force.
The staircase finally opened into a vast underground chamber. It was unlike any tomb Kaelen had ever seen. Towering pillars of black stone stretched into the unseen ceiling, each carved with symbols of celestial and abyssal origin. The walls bore murals depicting battles fought between beings that did not belong to this world—wings of fire clashing with claws of void, a great dragon's form coiling through the heavens, and at the centre, a lone warrior shrouded in shadow and flame.
Kaelen's chest tightened. That warrior… it was the same one from his vision.
At the heart of the chamber, a raised platform held a sarcophagus, its lid engraved with intricate patterns that seemed to shift when viewed from different angles. Unlike the rest of the tomb, this structure had been undisturbed, pristine, as if no force dared to desecrate it.
Rina exhaled, the breath she had been holding finally escaping. "I'm guessing this is where the fun begins."
Eryndor stepped forward, studying the inscriptions. "This tomb was sealed for a reason. The one who rests here was not meant to be disturbed."
Kaelen's gaze remained fixed on the sarcophagus. He could feel it, the resonance, the pull of something beyond time. Every fibre of his being told him that whatever lay inside was the key to everything.
He took a step closer, his hand reaching out, fingertips hovering over the cold stone. Then, the chamber trembled. A gust of air, impossibly strong for an underground space, surged through the room, extinguishing their lights. The temperature plummeted, and from the farthest reaches of the chamber, something stirred. A deep, resonant voice echoed in the darkness.
"Who dares disturb the Harbinger's rest?"
The shadows moved, shifting unnaturally, and Kaelen felt the weight of unseen eyes locking onto him. The presence that had been lingering in the air was no longer passive, it was awake. Kaelen's pulse thundered in his ears. He had come seeking answers. Instead, he had awoken something far older than any of them had anticipated. And it was watching.