Chronicles of The God Slayer of Shadows-Chapter 40 - Forty

The blue flames crackled low, casting wavering light on stone walls scarred by old battles. Around a circular stone table, five figures sat cloaked in shadow—veterans of a war the world had long forgotten.

Kael leaned forward, fingers curled around a chipped mug. "He's alive. The boy carries Ardonis' mark... and his blade. I saw it clear through the mirror pool."

Lira, her dark hair braided with tiny silver leaves, tapped her fingers on the stone. "So the Shadow's power chooses again. After all this time."

Orric, the youngest among them but hardened by years, scoffed. "Let's not celebrate yet. He's still raw. Doesn't even know what he is. Or what was taken from us."

Seraphen, the blind seer, spoke softly from the far end. "He will remember. In his own time. Shadows never forget."

Lira's gaze drifted toward the fire. "The Order of Light still hunts us in whispers. They crushed what we built, turned our names to curses. If this Adrien rises, it will shake their thrones."

Kael's voice was sharper now, filled with the edge of old wounds. "They took everything when they burned the Obsidian Fields. My kin... Ardonis... all gone. If this boy carries even a spark of what he once was, I want him kindled into a flame."

Orric nodded. "A fire to burn their temples."

Lira looked up. "He needs guidance, not kindling. If we throw revenge into his hands, we'll only birth another god."

Seraphen interrupted gently, "Ardonis chose vengeance once. But in the end, he chose the world."

A moment passed in silence.

Then Lira turned. "Nymira."

From behind a pillar stepped a slim figure wrapped in gray and green. Her fae eyes gleamed like moonlight on steel. She bowed her head. "You called?"

"You're to find the boy," Lira said. "Watch him. Speak to him only when the time is right. If he's still walking the right path... bring him here."

Kael added, his voice low and bitter, "Tell him nothing of us unless he asks. But if he remembers... tell him we've been waiting. And the ones who tore down the old world still walk free."

Nymira's expression hardened. "And if others seek him?"

"Then they'll find shadows waiting," Kael said grimly.

Without another word, Nymira turned and vanished into the stone halls.

As her footsteps faded, Seraphen murmured, "The cycle stirs again. But this time... may the shadows guide his hand."

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