The captured Lurker thrashed against the sanctum's reinforced cage, bound by layers of etched runes, silver-threaded sigils, and the hourglass symbol glowing on the floor beneath it. Every movement sent ripples through the barrier, but Kael knew it was secure—for now.
He stood just beyond the edge of the containment circle, arms crossed, mind turning.
The vision hadn't left him. That face.
That... thing.
It wasn't a beast like the others. It was human-shaped. Intelligent. And its gaze—cold, calculating—had pierced him even through the hourglass's temporal vision. A General.
"You saw him again, didn't you?" Elena asked, her voice low as she approached his side.
Kael nodded slowly. "Worse this time. He wasn't just watching. He knew I was looking."
"What does that mean?"
"It means he's aware of us. He's more than a commander—he's attuned to time magic. Possibly even a former human."
They both turned to the creature in the cage. It was silent now, watching them with a kind of... awareness. Not blind hunger like the others. This one understood it had been captured.
Kael stepped forward and activated the hourglass again—but this time he didn't try to enter its mind. He reached through it, using it like a lens, focusing on the threads of power that bound the Lurker to the abyss.
Time slowed.
And then... Kael saw it.
A chain of symbols etched in void-light connecting the creature to a central node—a throne carved into obsidian and bone. Upon it sat the General.
Tall. Regal. Cloaked in layered abyssal armor that shimmered with ancient runes. A crown of thorns spiraled across his head. His eyes, glowing crimson, turned again toward Kael.
"I see you, mortal," the General's voice echoed not in Kael's ears, but directly into his mind. "And now... you are marked."
Kael jerked back, breaking the connection. Blood trickled from his nose. He stumbled, catching himself against the wall.
"Kael!" Elena caught his arm. "What happened?"
"He... spoke to me. I wasn't just looking through the beast. I opened a path. He knows I'm here. I'm marked."
Elena's expression hardened. "Then we need to prepare."
Kael nodded, wiping the blood away. "This changes everything. The abyss isn't sending random attacks. They're maneuvering. They're testing our defenses, studying us. And this General... he's leading a campaign."
Seraphina, who had been watching silently, finally stepped forward. "Then we must return the favor. You've done what hasn't been done in centuries, Kael. You've pierced the command chain. That gives us an opening."
Kael turned to her. "Can we trace the link?"
"Not directly," she said. "But if we weaken enough of the anchor beasts like this one, we can destabilize the General's influence. That might force him to expose himself... or at least draw him into a battlefield of our choosing."
Greg smirked from across the room. "Now we're talking."
Kael thought hard. "We'll need a plan. A coordinated strike on multiple nodes. I'll need a small team to hit the ley-line fort in the Frostspire Wastes. It's the closest, and the Lurkers there are feeding the main chain."
"Count me in," Elena said immediately.
Seraphina nodded. "I'll stay and reinforce the sanctum. But I can create sigils to boost your powers temporarily."
Greg cracked his knuckles. "You'll need firepower. I'm coming too."
Kael looked at them—his team. Not soldiers. Not chosen. But people willing to fight back. Willing to rise.
"Then we move at dawn."
---
That night, Kael sat alone in the sanctum's garden.
He stared at the stars—what few remained. More were vanishing now, swallowed by the creeping veil of the abyss.
He thought of what the General had said. You are marked.
It wasn't a threat.
It was a challenge.
"I don't care who you were," Kael whispered to the sky. "But if you want to come for this world... you're going to have to go through me."
And in the shadows beyond the sanctum's barrier, something ancient stirred.
Watching.
Waiting