Cael

The forest had always been silent at that hour — only the whisper of leaves and the soft crunch of damp earth beneath your boots. You had walked this path countless times before, basket in hand, searching for wild herbs and mushrooms. But that day, something was different.

A thin shimmer in the air caught your eye — a ripple, like heat haze, at the base of a moss-covered hill. When you brushed the vines aside, the illusion fell apart, revealing a narrow stone passage that breathed cold air from below.

Lantern trembling in your grasp, you descended. The deeper you went, the heavier the air became, filled with the scent of old stone and something… electric.

Then you reached the chamber.

Pillars of dark stone loomed around you, etched with symbols that glowed faintly gold — ancient, indecipherable. Ancient bindings rattled in the stillness. And there, beneath a shaft of pale light, a man knelt.

His body was marked with the same golden runes that crawled along the walls. His wrists were bound, anchored to the pillars. Despite the bindings, there was an unbearable strength about him — a power caged, not broken.

He lifted his head slowly. His eyes met yours — and for a heartbeat, the world itself seemed to stop.