In a place unseen by eyes — where darkness gathers
There was no place. There was no time. Only a breathing void between worlds, where there was no sound, no light, no life. There, upon a stone table that was not a table but a tomb for a thousand dead worlds, sat the Titans.
But one seat was empty.
Kinrith's seat.
The silence was heavier than usual. Even the darkness seemed to hold its breath.
Azilrath (King of Ruin, his voice shattering silence like collapsing mountains): "Kinrith is dead. Lirin killed him."
He did not say it with sarcasm. He did not say it with anger. He said it as a fact. A fact that could not be denied.
Sarin (The Pale Huntress, whispering like snow falling on graves): "Lirin... the weakest of us. Killed Kinrith."
She laughed. A short, cold laugh, like someone seeing something funny in a scene no one else found amusing.
Sarin: "Didn't I tell you? Chaos is the true order."
Morfath (The Hollow King, his voice like an ancient, insatiable hunger): "It doesn't matter who killed him. What matters... how did he die? Did he suffer? Did he scream? Did he taste fear before his silence vanished forever?"
His eyes gleamed with lust. His hunger for emotions never died.
Filmira (The Crimson Scar, his voice like coagulated blood): "Kinrith was foolish. He isolated himself. He thought his silence was enough to protect him."
He looked at the empty seat. Smiled a smile that did not reach his eyes.
Filmira: "But Lirin... is not foolish. Nor is she as weak as we thought."
Azilrath: "The weakest of us killed one of us. That means the balance of power has changed."
Sarin: "Oh, are you afraid, Azilrath? The King of Ruin afraid of a little girl?"
Azilrath (growling): "I fear no one. But I do not underestimate threats."
Morfath: "Lirin is not the threat. The Black Knight is the threat. The human who fought Kinrith with a sword from the First Rift."
Sarin: "A human... amusing. How long has it been since we killed a human?"
Filmira (with deadly calm): "The human does not matter. What matters is what he carries. What he knows. How did he get a sword from the First Rift? And who opened it?"
Silence fell.
Then, from the shadow where no one sat, a voice came.
Kalygran (cold, indifferent, like someone talking about weather that does not concern him): "Lirin killed Kinrith. That's all. No need for screaming. No need for plans. No need for fear."
He appeared from nowhere. He did not enter. He did not exit. He was just there.
He sat on a chair that had not existed a moment before. He did not look at anyone. He just spoke.
Kalygran: "Kinrith was too weak to remain. And whoever dies, does not deserve to stay."
Azilrath (with a tense voice): "Does it not concern you that one of us has fallen?"
Kalygran: "No."
Sarin: "Does it not concern you that Lirin has gone out of control?"
Kalygran: "No."
Morfath: "Does it not concern you that the Black Knight knows secrets he should not know?"
Kalygran (yawning): "No."
He finally looked at them. His eyes were like two holes in the fabric of reality.
Kalygran: "Lirin is weak. The Black Knight is human. Neither poses a real threat. Let them play. Let them dream. Let them think they can change things."
He smiled.
Kalygran: "Then... I will show them the meaning of despair."
He stood. He did not wait for a reply. He disappeared as he came.
Azilrath: "That arrogant one..."
Sarin: "That boring one..."
Morfath: "That hungry one like me... but he does not admit it."
Filmira (quietly): "Kalygran is waiting. He wants to see us move first. He wants us to reveal our cards."
He looked at the others.
Filmira: "And I will not disappoint him."
Azilrath: "What do you intend?"
Filmira: "The Kingdom of the Scaled Sands. The great lizards. The oldest who fought us. If they fall, hope falls with them."
Sarin (with curiosity): "The lizards? Their skin is hard, their eyes sharp, their hearts cold. Would killing them not be... enjoyable?"
Filmira: "I will not kill them. I will send a message. A message to Lirin. To her knight. To everyone who thinks they can stand against us."
Morfath: "A message? Would you not rather eat their hearts?"
Filmira (smiling): "Sometimes a message is more painful than death."
He rose. He did not say goodbye.
He disappeared into the darkness, leaving the Titans looking at each other.
Azilrath: "The game has begun."
Sarin: "The game began long ago. We just did not notice."
Morfath: "Let them play. The hungry always eat in the end."
---
Kingdom of the Scaled Sands — City of the Sun — Before the Attack
Filmira stood on a distant sand dune, looking at the city from afar.
He was beautiful. Not human beauty. Different beauty. Deadly beauty. His face was like white marble, but his eyes were red like frozen blood. His long black hair moved with the wind like a serpent.
He wore a dark red robe, dragging behind him like a tail of blood. When he walked, he left a trail of blood on the sand, but there were no wounds on his body. The blood came out of him for no reason. His body itself was the wound.
Filmira (to himself): "The great lizards. The first to say 'no' to us. They fought the Knights of the Black Sun alongside their fathers. They killed thousands of our soldiers."
He smiled.
Filmira: "Time to remind them that they are still weak."
He raised his hand. From his palm, thick black blood sprang forth, forming a cloud in the air, then exploding into thousands of droplets. Each droplet that fell on the sand turned into a shadow knight.
The army formed in moments.
Filmira: "Go. Besiege the city. Kill anyone who approaches the walls. But do not breach it. Do not touch the king."
One of the shadow knights looked at him. He had no face, but his question was clear.
Filmira: "Lirin will come. She cannot resist. Saving the weak is in her blood now."
He laughed. A short, cold laugh.
Then he gestured with his hand. From his shadow, two emerged. They were not like the rest of the army. They were different. Larger. Darker. Fiercer. Their faces bore strange human features, as if they had once been human, before the blood consumed them.
Filmira (looking at them with disdain): "Sefas... and Malorik. My sons. Fruits of relationships no one acknowledges. You are the only ones who inherited something of my blood."
The first, Sefas, was tall, thin, his body covered in armor of frozen blood that pulsed like a living heart. He carried two long swords, each dripping black blood. His eyes were red, but they held a shadow of ancient sorrow.
The second, Malorik, had wings. Wings of black blood, spread like the sails of a schooner. His body was covered in wounds that never healed, each wound bleeding black blood that fell to the ground below. He looked at Filmira with fear, obedience, and suppressed betrayal.
Filmira (in a cold voice): "You are not my sons. You are mere tools. Mistakes that your ignorant mothers carried, and I tolerated your existence because you are useful."
He stepped toward Sefas. Touched his face with a finger of blood. Sefas trembled, but did not retreat.
Filmira: "Go to the eastern wall. Lirin is on her way. Kill her. Do not return empty-handed."
He looked at Malorik.
Filmira: "And you... go to the sky. Milerni is flying there. Kill her. Make her death slow."
Malorik nodded silently. His eyes burned with ancient, unhealing pain.
Filmira: "If you fail... I will make you wish your mothers had miscarried you before you were born."
The two disappeared into the darkness.
---
Kingdom of the Scaled Sands — City of the Sun — During the Attack
Filmira stood atop the tallest tower in the city. He did not fight. He did not need to. He only watched.
He saw his soldiers killing lizards. He saw smoke rising. He saw children running and crying. He saw mothers screaming.
And he smiled.
Filmira (to himself): "This is true beauty. Pain. Fear. Despair. These are the emotions worth having."
Then he felt them.
Lirin. The Black Knight. Milerni.
They landed outside the walls.
Filmira smiled.
Filmira: "You came. Good."
He looked down. He saw the Black Knight standing at the main gate, his blue sword gleaming in the darkness. He saw Lirin climbing the eastern wall. He saw Milerni circling in the sky.
Filmira: "You split up. Foolish. That will make killing you easier."
Then he looked to where he had sent his sons.
Filmira (to himself): "Show me if you deserve to exist."
---
The Eastern Wall — Lirin vs. "Sefas"
Lirin was climbing the wall quickly when she felt him.
Heavy air. Cold. The smell of ancient blood. Then she heard a voice. Not from outside, but from inside her.
Sefas (his voice echoing in her mind, both sad and angry): "Lirin... the small... the weak... who fled from Kinrith."
She stopped. She looked up.
He was standing there. Waiting for her.
Sefas (in a voice like gravel falling into a well): "Mistress Sarin sends her greetings. She says she will visit you soon. But before she comes... my father sent me to play with you."
He uttered the word "father" with a bitterness his eyes could not hide.
Lirin: "Your father? Filmira?"
Sefas (laughing a broken laugh): "Yes. I am one of his mistakes. The product of a relationship he does not acknowledge. But he kept me. Because I am useful."
He looked at his swords.
Sefas: "Everything I do is to prove to him that I am not a mistake."
Lirin (quietly): "You are not a mistake. He is the mistake."
Sefas's eyes hardened. For a moment, he seemed to want to believe her. But he shook his head.
Sefas: "Do not try to manipulate me. I will kill you."
He lunged at her.
He was fast. Faster than she expected. His two swords shot out like arrows. A strike from the right, a strike from the left, a strike from above. Lirin dodged the first with difficulty, the second grazed her shoulder, and the third almost reached her neck had she not ducked at the last moment.
She retreated two steps. Looked at her shoulder. Blood was flowing. Black.
Poison...
Sefas: "My father's blood. It does not kill quickly. It kills slowly."
Lirin: "I will kill you before the poison reaches my heart."
Sefas: "Try."
He lunged again. This time, Lirin did not dodge. She blocked. Her darkness formed around her arms like black shields. The two swords struck the darkness and stopped. But Sefas was strong. He pushed her back. She crashed into the wall behind her. The stone cracked.
Sefas: "Where is your strength? Where is the Titan who killed Kinrith?"
He struck her in the stomach. She fell to her knees.
She did not raise her head. She stayed bent, breathing with difficulty. The poison was spreading through her body. She felt her left arm go numb.
Sefas (approaching slowly): "My father said you would be a disappointment."
He raised his swords to end the battle.
Lirin (suddenly): "Do you know why your father despises you?"
He stopped.
Lirin (raising her head, her eyes gleaming with a strange blue light): "Not because you are a bastard. Because he sees himself in you. Weak. Needy. Human."
Sefas (trembling): "Silence..."
Lirin: "You are not a mistake. He is the mistake."
Sefas (screaming): "Silence!"
He charged like a madman. But Lirin was not there. She disappeared. Appeared behind him.
She punched the back of his head. He fell to the ground.
He did not give up. He rose quickly, his red eyes burning with anger and pain. He charged like a madman. He no longer planned. He just struck. But Lirin was calm. She dodged. She retreated. She waited.
Then, at the right moment, when Sefas misstepped, she struck.
One blow. Her darkness pierced his frozen armor and reached his heart.
Sefas (falling to his knees, black blood flowing from his mouth): "Father... will he be proud of me now...?"
Lirin (looking at him with sorrow): "You never needed his pride."
Sefas (smiling a broken smile): "Perhaps... perhaps I was..."
He turned to black dust, vanishing in the wind.
Lirin fell to her knees for a moment. The poison was still in her body. But she took out a small vial from her pocket—an antidote the Black Knight had given her before the journey—and drank it. The poison faded slowly.
She rose. Continued climbing.
---
The Sky — Milerni vs. "Malorik"
Milerni was circling above the city when she felt him.
The wind changed suddenly. She looked behind her.
He was there. Flying.
Malorik (in a voice like a howling wind, tired): "Daughter of Voide. Mistress Sarin has heard of you. She says your beautiful neck will be a fine gift for her."
Milerni: "Tell her that Voide does not forget."
Malorik (laughing an empty laugh): "Voide is remembered by no one. Voide will never return. Like me."
Milerni: "What do you mean?"
Malorik: "I am Filmira's son. A bastard. He kept me because I am useful. If I were useless, he would have let me die."
Milerni: "..."
Malorik: "Do not look at me with that look. I do not pity myself. I will kill you."
He swooped down on her.
The aerial battle was fierce. Malorik was fast, faster than Milerni expected. His blood wings struck like whips.
Milerni transformed into her small crow form to evade the strikes. She flew between his wings like an arrow, then returned to her natural form behind him and struck.
Milerni: "This is for my father!"
A punch to his back. Malorik groaned, but did not fall. He turned quickly and struck her with his wing. Milerni crashed into a tower wall. She fell onto the roof of a house.
Malorik (circling above her): "Where is your strength?"
He struck her with a long blood sword that suddenly appeared in his hand. Milerni dodged with difficulty. The sword split the roof behind her. She rose quickly. Transformed into her crow again and flew high.
Malorik descended after her. He no longer circled. He stood on the opposite roof, looking at her with tired red eyes.
Malorik (with sudden quietness): "You know... I never wanted this. I never wanted to be his son. But he made me this way."
Milerni: "You still choose."
Malorik (smiling a sad smile): "Choice is a luxury I do not have."
They charged at each other. His long sword against her sharp claws. He was taller, stronger, but she was faster. She struck his shoulder. He struck her leg. She fell to her knee. She rose.
Malorik: "You are stubborn."
Milerni: "I will show you true stubbornness."
She suddenly transformed into her giant crow form. Her massive wings broke part of the building. Stone flew in all directions. Malorik retreated to avoid the stones.
In that moment, she swooped down on him. She struck him with her iron beak. It pierced his chest.
Malorik (screaming, but his scream was liberation more than pain): "Finally... it's over..."
Milerni (still in her giant form, looking at him with her golden eye): "Why do you not resist?"
Malorik (whispering, black blood flowing from his mouth): "Because... I was waiting for someone to end it... for a long time..."
Milerni: "..."
Malorik: "Tell him... tell my father... that his weak son... has died..."
Milerni (quietly): "I will tell him nothing. He does not deserve it."
Malorik smiled. A genuine, pure smile. Then he turned to black dust, vanishing in the wind.
Milerni returned to her natural form. She was gasping. Her leg wound was still bleeding. But she was crying silently.
---
The Main Gate — The Black Knight vs. Filmira
The Black Knight fought fiercely. Every shadow that died, two took its place. His blue sword cut through the darkness like light. But each strike took something from him.
He forgot the color of his mother's eyes.
He forgot the sound of his little sister's voice.
He forgot the shape of the village where he was born.
But he did not forget why he was fighting.
Suddenly, the shadows stopped advancing. They retreated.
The Black Knight looked around.
Then he saw.
Filmira stood before him.
Filmira (in a soft, oily voice): "The Black Knight. The human who fought Kinrith."
He raised his hand. Blood formed in his palm into a long red sword, pulsing like a living heart.
Filmira: "Come. I will show you how weak you are."
The first strike was fast. Faster than any ordinary fighter would expect. But the Black Knight was not ordinary.
He dodged it.
Not with supernatural speed. Just... he moved before the strike began. As if he knew where it would come.
Filmira (slightly surprised): "Luck."
He struck again. The Black Knight dodged again. He moved a small step to the left, and the blood sword passed by his head.
The Black Knight was not faster than Filmira. But he moved at the moment Filmira began his movement. As if he read his intention before it became action.
Filmira: "You cannot dodge forever."
He launched a series of fast strikes. Seven strikes in less than a second. The Black Knight dodged four, blocked two with his blue sword, and the seventh struck his shoulder. But he did not retreat.
He countered with a quick attack. His blue sword met the blood sword. Blue light met red blood. The ground beneath them cracked.
They exchanged blows. Each strike sent shockwaves shaking the surrounding buildings. Each strike cracked the earth.
The Black Knight noticed something. Filmira moved in a pattern. He preferred horizontal strikes before vertical ones. He leaned to the right before a big attack.
The Black Knight was not faster. But he was smarter. He saw the movement before it began.
He changed the angle of his sword at the last moment. He struck not Filmira's chest, but his shoulder. Red blood flew. Filmira screamed. Not from pain—he rarely felt pain—but from shock.
Filmira: "How...?!"
He struck again. This time, he struck his other arm. Filmira retreated two steps. He was angry.
Filmira: "I will show you true power."
He raised his hands to the sky. The blood from his entire body exploded at once. All the shadows that had been besieging the city vanished, their energy returning to Filmira. He grew larger. Doubled in size. Became three times his original height.
Filmira (his voice deeper): "Now... I will show you the meaning of pain."
He struck the ground with his fist. It cracked in all directions. Waves of black blood erupted from his fist, sweeping everything in their path. The Black Knight jumped to evade the wave. But the blood was faster. It touched his foot.
He felt a deadly cold spread through his body. Then he felt something else.
He forgot.
He forgot where he was born.
Not the village. No. He remembered the village. But he forgot where it was located. He forgot the path to it. He forgot the color of the sky above it.
He fell to the ground with difficulty. He looked at his foot. It was covered in a thin layer of frozen blood.
Filmira: "This blood does not kill. But it paralyzes. And erases. Every touch... takes a part of you."
He charged at the Black Knight. His blood sword became larger, longer, fiercer. The Black Knight dodged with difficulty. His blue sword was still in his hand, but his foot was numb. And his memory... was being punctured.
He forgot his sister's name.
He knew he had a sister. He knew she died. But her name... vanished.
Filmira: "Where is your strength now?"
He struck the Black Knight in the chest. He flew backward, crashed into a house wall, fell to the ground.
But he rose.
He forgot his mother's name.
He knew she was beautiful. He knew she loved to sing. But her name... was lost in the darkness.
Filmira (astonished): "You are still standing? How much have you forgotten by now?"
The Black Knight (wiping blood from his mouth): "I have not forgotten what matters."
Filmira: "And what matters?"
The Black Knight: "Why I stand here."
He raised his blue sword. It still bled light. He looked at it. He remembered. Not the names. Not the faces. He remembered the feeling. He remembered love. He remembered anger. He remembered the promise.
Lirin... Freila... Milerni... King Borin...
He did not know their names at that moment. But he remembered their faces. He remembered Freila's voice calling "Nini." He remembered Lirin's look when she said "Thank you." He remembered Milerni circling in the sky, her golden eyes gleaming.
He charged again. This time, Filmira did not retreat. He struck with all his might.
The swords met. The blue light grew brighter. The red blood grew darker.
Suddenly, the blood sword shattered. Not into two halves. But into thousands of small droplets. They flew into the air like red rain.
Filmira (shocked): "Impossible..."
The Black Knight: "Everything can be broken."
He struck. Not Filmira's body. His soul. The blue sword pierced Filmira's chest and came out his back. But no blood came out. Light came out. Pure blue light.
Filmira (whispering): "You... how do you know my movements...?"
The Black Knight: "Because you repeat the same mistakes."
Filmira: "This... is not over..."
The Black Knight: "I know."
He pulled out his sword. Filmira fell to his knees.
Filmira: "I will return. I will be stronger."
The Black Knight: "I will be waiting."
Filmira disappeared into a cloud of black blood. The shadows that had been besieging the city vanished with him. Sefas and Malorik turned to black dust at the same moment.
The battle was over.
---
After the Battle — Gate of the City of the Sun
Lirin approached the Black Knight. She was panting. Her shoulder wound was still bleeding.
Lirin: "I fought Sefas. He was sad. He did not want to fight... but he found no way to escape."
Milerni (descending, her eyes red from crying): "I fought Malorik. He wanted to die. He had been waiting for someone to end his suffering for years."
The Black Knight looked at them. He said nothing.
King Ramuz emerged from the city. His steps were heavy, his golden scales dusty with ash and dust.
King Ramuz (Leader of the Lizards, in a tired voice): "You have saved our city. The lizards do not forget. Our gates are always open to you."
Lirin looked at the city behind him. Smoke still rose from several buildings. The walls were cracked. Corpses lay everywhere.
Lirin (quietly): "Your city... is no longer safe."
King Ramuz fell silent. His vertical eyes narrowed.
King Ramuz: "I know."
Lirin: "Filmira escaped. He is not dead. He will return. And when he returns, he will be angry. And he will not come alone."
The king looked at his people. At the women and children crying among the ruins. At the wounded warriors trying to stand.
King Ramuz (in a broken voice): "This is our land. We have lived here for thousands of years."
Lirin: "And you will die here if you stay."
A long silence.
The Black Knight (suddenly): "Come with us."
Everyone turned to him.
The Black Knight: "The Dwarven Kingdom. Kharad-Val. Its mountains are fortified, its halls deep. You can take shelter there. Temporarily. Until we find a way to face the Titans."
King Ramuz: "Abandon our land?"
The Black Knight: "You preserve your people. The land can be reclaimed. But the dead do not return."
The king looked at the Black Knight for a long time. Then at Lirin. Then at Milerni.
King Ramuz: "The dwarves... will they agree to host us?"
Lirin: "King Borin is a just man. He will not let his allies die."
Milerni stepped forward.
Milerni: "We will speak to him. We will convince him."
The king looked at his people again. At a small lizard child crying beside his mother's corpse.
He sighed.
King Ramuz (in a faint voice): "We will come with you."
---
Kharad-Val — Castle Gate — Hours Later
King Borin stood at the gate when the procession of lizards appeared on the horizon.
They were not many. A few hundred at most. The survivors of Filmira's massacre. They walked slowly, their wounded carried on the backs of the strong, their children holding their mothers' hands in fear.
Beside them walked the Black Knight, Lirin, and Milerni.
King Borin (in a low voice): "What is this?"
Milerni approached him.
Milerni: "Their city was destroyed. Filmira attacked them. The Black Knight defeated him, but he escaped. And he will return. They can no longer stay there."
King Borin: "And you want me to host them? Here? In my kingdom?"
Milerni: "We need them. And the lizards do not forget kindness. They will fight beside us when the time comes."
The king looked at the lizards. At their golden and grey scales gleaming under the setting sun. At their vertical eyes staring at the dwarven mountains with fear and hope.
King Borin (after a long silence): "Give me their word. The lizards' word of honor. That they will never betray our trust."
King Ramuz stepped forward. His golden scales were dusty, but his eyes burned with unbroken dignity.
King Ramuz: "I give you my word. In the name of every living and dead lizard. We will not forget this kindness. And we will never betray you."
He extended his hand. King Borin looked at it. Then grasped it with his iron fist.
King Borin: "Welcome to Kharad-Val. I will allocate the eastern halls to you. They have been empty for centuries. But they will serve you now."
King Ramuz: "Thank you."
The lizards began entering the castle slowly. The children looked around in wonder. The wounded were carried inside.
Lirin stood beside the Black Knight, watching the scene.
Lirin (quietly): "A new alliance. Dwarves and lizards. And the birds from Voide. And a former Titan."
The Black Knight: "We will need everyone we can get."
Lirin: "Do you think the Titans will come to us here?"
The Black Knight: "They will come. But they will hesitate. Kharad-Val is fortified. The mountains protect it. And the dwarven soldiers are not to be underestimated."
Lirin looked at the sky. The stars were beginning to appear.
Lirin: "How much time do we have?"
The Black Knight: "I do not know. But we will prepare."
---
Kharad-Val — Freila's Room — Night
Freila was asleep in her bed, her arm wrapped around the Black Knight doll.
Lirin sat beside her, looking at her small, peaceful face.
She gently touched her hair.
Lirin (whispering): "Freila... we brought new allies today. Great lizards. They will live with us now. You will like them."
No reply. Only quiet breathing.
Lirin: "The world is changing, little one. The Titans are approaching. But I will not let them near you."
She leaned down and kissed her forehead.
Lirin: "You are my trust. And I will protect you even if it costs me my life."
She sat on the chair by the bed and closed her eyes.
She did not sleep. She only thought.
Of the future.
Of the coming war.
Of everyone they had lost and everyone who remained.
Lirin (to herself): We will win. We must win.
---
In a place far away — where no one sees him
Kalygran stood on a distant mountain peak, looking at the Dwarven Kingdom from afar.
He saw the lizards enter the castle. He saw the dwarves welcome them. He saw an alliance forming before his eyes.
He smiled.
Kalygran (to himself): "They unite. They gather their strength. They think this will save them."
He laughed.
Kalygran: "Let them. Let them think they have hope. Then I will show them..."
He disappeared into the darkness.
Kalygran (his voice echoing): "I will show them that unity means nothing before true darkness."
---
In another place — in Filmira's lair
Filmira sat on a throne of frozen blood, his wounds still bleeding. His red eyes burned with anger he had never felt before.
Filmira (to himself): "Sefas... Malorik... are dead. I was defeated. By a human."
He gritted his teeth.
Filmira: "But this is not the end. I will return. I will be stronger. And I will kill them all."
He raised his hand. Black blood began to gather in his palm, forming a small sphere.
Filmira: "I will create new sons. Stronger. More obedient. And they will never betray me."
He laughed. A cold, mad laugh, choked with blood.
Filmira: "The game is not over yet."
---
TO BE CONTINUED...