Location: Northern Desolation - The Valley of Echoes
The portal closed behind them, and at once, a bitter wind howled across a landscape of endless ruins.
Before Kael and his companions stretched a cursed land — broken weapons jutted from cracked ground like skeletal fingers, and the remains of once-great fortresses loomed in the distance, their towers leaning like drunkards lost to time.
This was the Valley of Echoes.A place where even gods hesitated to tread.A place where the dead whispered across the winds, telling tales of betrayal and glory.
First Steps Into Forgotten Ashes
Kael narrowed his eyes, feeling the heavy pressure that clung to the very air.
Each breath felt like inhaling the weight of a thousand regrets.
Velcia stood close, her axe slung over her shoulder.
"The energy here is wrong," she growled."Even the ground hates the living."
Mira twirled a small orb of shadow between her fingers.
"It's not just hate... it's mourning."
Zara drew her spear with a sharp shing, scanning the surroundings like a seasoned hunter.
Selene and Ishira whispered a protective enchantment around the group, their voices weaving like a gentle lullaby against the oppressive atmosphere.
Evelyne frowned, holding a holy charm tightly.
"The spirits here... they're trapped. Screaming for salvation they will never find."
Kael said nothing.
He could feel it too — the agony of the past clawing at the edges of his mind.
The Guardians of Memory
As they ventured deeper, broken banners flapped in invisible winds.
Suddenly —From the mists emerged ghostly figures, clad in shattered armor, wielding ethereal blades.
Their faces were blurred, forgotten by time, but their rage was as sharp as ever.
A Knight of Echoes raised its sword, pointing it directly at Kael.
"You… who abandoned us… who doomed us…"
"Face judgment!"
Hundreds more rose behind him — a phantom army, cursed to relive their final moments forever.
The Battle
"Here they come!" Zara shouted, taking stance.
Kael's blade flashed free, and the battlefield exploded into chaos.
Velcia cleaved through specters two at a time, roaring a war cry that shook the very air.
Mira danced between shadows, her daggers carving through the ghostly ranks.
Selene and Ishira unleashed dazzling waves of light and illusion, disorienting the enemy.
Evelyne sang a haunting hymn, her magic severing the chains binding the spirits to this world.
And Kael —Kael was unstoppable.
Each swing of his blade severed curses, each step he took undid centuries of sorrow.
"I will not let the past chain me!" he vowed.
The Broken Monarch Appears
Just as victory seemed near, the ground trembled.
From the depths of the valley rose a colossal figure — The Broken Monarch.
A skeletal king in shattered armor, a crown of black thorns fused to his skull.In his hands, he wielded a greatsword made of crystallized despair.
His voice was a thousand screams woven into one.
"You were supposed to save us, Kael'Tharion.But you let us fall.Now… you will fall with us!"
The Monarch charged, every step shattering the earth.
Kael met him head-on, their weapons colliding in a shockwave that split the clouds above.
Final Duel: Remnants of an Ancient Betrayal
The battle between Kael and the Broken Monarch shook the Valley itself.
The Monarch's strikes were heavy, laced with millennia of hatred and sorrow.
Kael countered with skill, strategy, and raw willpower — every move precise, every blow carrying the silent promise to redeem the past.
Behind him, his harem fought to hold back the remaining spectral knights, trusting Kael to do what only he could.
Finally, with a burst of golden power awakening faintly inside him, Kael shattered the Monarch's blade and drove his sword through the spectral king's heart.
The Monarch gasped — and for a brief moment, Kael saw a glimpse of the man he once was — loyal, noble, betrayed.
With a final, broken smile, the Monarch faded into dust.
The First Fragment
From the Monarch's remains, a brilliant crimson crystal floated upward.
Kael reached out — and the moment his fingers touched it, a surge of power shot through him.
Visions flashed — ancient spells, forgotten battles, and a part of his true divine essence returning to him.
The first fragment of his lost divinity was his once more.
The ground calmed, the spirits' angry cries softened into peaceful murmurs, and the Valley of Echoes began to rest at last.
A New Threat Watches
Unseen by Kael, from beyond the rift of realms, a dark figure watched.
Cloaked in writhing shadows, crowned in broken stars, it whispered to the void:
"So… the Fallen God awakens again."
"This time, we will not let him reach the throne."
The true war had only just begun.