Chapter 132: The First Signs of Corruption
The Black Ruins stretched endlessly before them—a silent graveyard of a lost civilization.
But Kael knew better.
This place wasn't dead.
It was waiting.
And it was watching.
Kael's personal maid, Ilyra Xelthar, moved quietly beside him, her golden eyes scanning the ruins with a calculating gaze.
She had been completely silent since they left the Convergence, following his every command without question.
Too obedient.
Too unnaturally calm.
Kael sighed. "You don't have to act like a mindless servant, you know."
Ilyra blinked, tilting her head. "But I am your servant."
Raithon scoffed from behind them. "A Xelthar noble reduced to a mere maid. I never thought I'd see the day."
Ilyra turned to him with a bland expression. "Yes. And now I serve a Veyrin. The world is full of surprises, isn't it?"
Raithon scowled but said nothing.
Vasaria smirked. "I like her."
Thalric, watching from the side, frowned. "How do you even trust her?"
Kael glanced at Ilyra. "I don't."
Ilyra smiled at that. "Good. You shouldn't."
And that was the end of that discussion.
As they moved deeper into the ruins, the atmosphere thickened.
The wind had died.
The air was too still.
And every so often—Kael swore he saw shadows moving just out of sight.
Thalric's grip tightened on his sword. "We're not alone."
Raithon narrowed his eyes. "There's no mana signature."
Saria whispered, "That's what makes it worse."
Kael stopped walking.
The group halted.
He turned his head slowly.
And then—he saw it.
At the edge of the ruins, barely visible under the eerie twilight, stood a statue.
A massive stone figure, carved into a shape that wasn't human.
Its features were twisted, its body half-crumbling—yet something about it felt wrongly alive.
Kael exhaled. "Vasaria. What do you see?"
The vampire princess stared at the statue for a long moment.
Then, she whispered, "A warning."
The air shifted.
A whisper crawled through their minds.
Soft.
Distant.
"Who… walks here…?"
Kael froze.
Vasaria's smile vanished. "That's not normal."
Thalric and Saria drew their blades.
Raithon took a step forward, his mana flaring around him. "Enough of this. Show yourself."
The statue's head turned.
With the sound of grinding stone, the ancient figure moved.
Kael barely had time to react before it spoke again.
"You should not have come."
Then—
The ground split apart.
And something crawled out.