Chapter 7 – Chains of the Forgotten
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The Beginning of the End
Kaien awoke in darkness. The remnants of his dream—the one where the wraith's voice haunted him—clung to his mind like the aftertaste of something bitter. He could still hear its words echoing, sharp and cold:
"You are the key. The final piece. The chains are your burden. Your path has already been decided."
But what was his path? What choice did he have in the matter?
He opened his eyes, his breath shallow. The cold stone beneath him was the only thing that felt real. The rest—his thoughts, his confusion, the remnants of the wraith's warning—all seemed far away, and yet, it lingered like a shadow he couldn't outrun.
Riven was sitting across from him, her sharp gaze fixed on him. Her arms crossed, her expression unreadable, but Kaien could see the faint worry in her eyes. She didn't need to speak for him to know she was worried. The fight with the Celestarch, his newfound curse, the weight of what he had learned—it was all too much. And yet, it wasn't over.
"I couldn't sleep," he muttered, trying to shake off the exhaustion that lingered in his body. "Too much on my mind."
Riven nodded, standing up slowly. She didn't need to say anything. The weight of his burdens was obvious, and she knew him too well to offer hollow words of comfort.
"We'll find answers," she said quietly, though even she wasn't sure who she was reassuring—him or herself.
Kaien stood up, clenching his fists as his mind swirled. He had thought he understood the world. That the gods, the wraiths, the curse, it was all just pieces to a puzzle that he could eventually solve.
But now, it felt like the puzzle had no edges, no corners—just a vast, unending sea of unanswered questions.
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The path forward was unclear, but Kaien knew one thing: he could not go back. Not now. Not when he had seen the truth.
The gods were shackled, and so was he.
He felt it constantly now—an invisible weight pressing down on him, a chain that wrapped around his soul, tightening with every step he took. It wasn't physical, not like the chains that bound the world of mortals. It was something much darker, much more insidious.
The curse.
But it wasn't just a curse. It was a prison.
A prison that held him in place. A prison that wanted him to remain its prisoner.
And Kaien? He wasn't sure if he wanted to break free. If he did, what would happen? What was waiting for him on the other side?
He glanced at Riven, who was staring out into the distance, her face a mask of concentration.
"Do you think it's possible?" Kaien asked suddenly, his voice heavy. "To break the chains?"
Riven's gaze flickered to him, and for a moment, Kaien thought he saw something like fear in her eyes. "We don't have a choice," she replied quietly. "It's not just about you. It's about all of us. The gods may be shackled, but their grip on this world is still strong."
"And you think we can stop them?" Kaien challenged, his voice rough. He wasn't sure why he asked the question—perhaps because he wasn't sure he believed it himself.
Riven didn't answer immediately. Instead, she pulled something from her cloak—a small, intricately carved stone. It was rough in shape, but something about it felt ancient, heavy with meaning.
"I think the real question is…" she started, her voice low, "how do we stop them."
Kaien frowned, reaching for the stone, but before he could touch it, she pulled her hand back. "You're not ready for this," she said softly. "Not yet. But you will be."
His gaze hardened. "I'm done waiting. The gods have been manipulating us for too long. It's time to take action."
Riven looked at him for a long moment, as though considering his words. She had always been the cautious one, the one who saw the larger picture. But Kaien... Kaien was different. He was driven by something far more visceral.
"Alright," she said at last. "But we have to find the one who can help us. Someone who knows more than we do."
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The search led them to an ancient temple—a place lost to time, buried deep beneath the mountains where the gods were said to have once walked among mortals. This was where they believed they would find the answers.
As Kaien and Riven made their way through the winding corridors, the air grew colder. The stone walls were cracked and worn, covered in centuries of dust. But as they ventured deeper into the temple's heart, Kaien's senses tingled with the unmistakable presence of something… alive.
It wasn't a god. Not yet, anyway. But it was something older. Something forgotten.
The walls of the temple seemed to pulse, and Kaien felt an overwhelming sense of something staring back at him from the shadows.
They reached the center of the temple—a vast, open chamber filled with intricate carvings and stone altars. At the far end of the room stood a massive statue—of a god, or something that had once been a god. The figure was twisted, broken, its face obscured by a veil of cracked stone.
Riven stepped forward, her voice barely a whisper. "This is where they chained him. The Forgotten God."
Kaien stepped closer, his pulse quickening. The figure seemed to react to his presence, the air around it thickening as if the god—if it even was a god—was aware of their arrival.
"What do we do now?" Kaien asked, his voice low.
Riven placed her hand on the stone altar in front of them, closing her eyes as though seeking something. "We wake him."
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For a moment, nothing happened. The world seemed to hold its breath. Then, slowly, a rumble shook the ground beneath their feet. The air grew colder, and the very fabric of reality around them seemed to bend.
The statue cracked, the stone beginning to peel away, revealing an ancient, gaunt figure beneath. Its eyes were hollow, its skin a mass of broken veins and decayed flesh.
The Forgotten God was no longer a being of grandeur. It was something else—something far darker. And yet, there was a deep, sorrowful power about it.
"You've come," the voice was a rasp, weak yet unmistakably divine. "To ask… questions."
Kaien felt his pulse quicken. This was it. The key to the answers they needed.
"I need to know how to break the chains," Kaien said, stepping forward. His voice was unwavering, despite the intensity of the situation.
The Forgotten God let out a soft, bitter laugh. "You do not understand, child. Breaking the chains is not simply a matter of strength… or desire. It is a matter of sacrifice."
Kaien felt his heart skip a beat. "What kind of sacrifice?"
The god's hollow eyes fixed on him, and for a moment, Kaien could feel the weight of eternity pressing down upon him.
"The ultimate sacrifice…" the god whispered, "yourself."
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