Chapter 105: The First Forsaken Awakens
The air was different.
Kael felt it first—a pressure that wasn't just mana but something deeper, something woven into the very essence of the world.
The ruins around them trembled, and the strange sigils glowing beneath Leonel's feet pulsed with an eerie, rhythmic light.
Something was waking up.
And then—
A single whisper echoed through the cavern.
"At long last…"
Leonel staggered backward, his face pale, his body shaking. "That… wasn't me."
The Vanguard tensed, weapons raised, forming a tight formation.
At the center of the sigils, a figure slowly emerged.
It wasn't a monster.
It wasn't some terrifying, god-like entity of destruction.
It was a girl.
The Forsaken of Life
She stood barefoot on the stone, her long black hair cascading down her back, strands flowing as if caught in an unseen current.
Her skin was unblemished, glowing faintly with an ethereal shimmer.
But it was her eyes that struck Kael the most—
A deep, endless silver, like the reflection of the moon on an eternal lake.
She blinked, her expression unreadable, as if testing the feeling of existence itself.
Then—her gaze shifted to them.
She tilted her head, studying them with quiet curiosity.
"...You are different from those who sealed me."
Lucian's grip tightened on his sword. "What are you?"
She was silent for a long moment.
Then, she spoke.
"I am the Forsaken of Life."
The Truth of the Forsaken
The cavern fell into a stunned silence.
Mira was the first to break it. "...Forsaken?"
The girl—no, the entity before them—nodded.
"That is what we were called," she murmured. "Once, we were the Architects of Balance. Four of us, tied to the fabric of existence itself. Life. Death. Order. Chaos."
She paused.
"But the gods feared us. Feared what we could become."
Her silver eyes darkened. "So they betrayed us. Bound us. Locked us away."
She raised a hand, flexing her fingers as if testing her own body.
"And now… I am awake."
Kael swallowed. This wasn't just some ancient legend.
This was real.
Selene's voice was steady. "And the others?"
The Forsaken of Life's gaze turned distant.
"They still sleep. But not for long."
She exhaled softly, the weight of millennia behind her words.
"Chaos will rise first. And when he does… this world will burn."
Lucian frowned. "If you are truly Life, then why were you locked away?"
A flicker of something—sadness, perhaps—crossed her face.
"Because I refused to take a side."
Her silver eyes met his.
"Not all Forsaken seek destruction. But Chaos… Chaos was different. He wanted to rewrite existence in his own image. And so, the gods sought to destroy us all."
Kael exhaled. "And you want us to… what? Help you?"
She was silent for a long moment.
Then—she smiled.
"Yes."
A simple answer.
A dangerous answer.
"You are strong," she continued. "Stronger than those who came before you. But you are still mortal."
Her gaze flickered across them, as if weighing their souls.
"Would you fight for the future of this world? Even knowing that the heavens themselves might turn against you?"
The World Begins to Shift
Before anyone could respond—
A powerful shockwave exploded from the cavern entrance.
The Vanguard turned sharply, weapons raised.
A group of Xelthar commanders stood at the entrance, their faces twisted in shock and fury.
"You—" One of them choked out. "What have you done?!"
The Forsaken of Life didn't move.
She simply watched.
Kael turned back to her. "Are you going to fight?"
Her silver eyes gleamed.
"I have been asleep for thousands of years," she murmured. "It would be a shame if I forgot how to dance."
She raised her hand—
And for the first time since awakening—
The Forsaken of Life unleashed her power.