Chapter 26: The One Who Remembers
The Vowbound left the Cradle in tense silence.
Even the shadows didn't dare follow.
But Andrew couldn't stop glancing over his shoulder—not at what might be behind them… but at what he was dragging forward with him.
Elen's voice still echoed in his skull.
"Only one of them will stand beside you."
They made camp at the stone bridges of Vellune's Spine, a natural ridge overlooking the shattered valleys. It was the only safe way out of the region.
Mihai set a perimeter. Kaelira kept her hand on her weapon.
Selennia, meanwhile, pulled Andrew aside near the ridge's edge.
"You looked shaken."
"I remembered more than I wanted to."
"And what did you feel?"
Andrew turned his gaze on her.
"Guilt."
"And fear."
"Because part of me didn't feel bad… just powerful."
Selennia said nothing, but her jaw tightened. Like someone preparing for a war she didn't yet have the words for.
Then the fog rolled in.
Thick. Fast. Unnatural.
Mihai was on his feet immediately.
"This isn't normal mist—"
Then they came.
Not creatures. Not monsters.
One man.
Clad in black and gold, his cloak trailing behind him like smoke. His face was youthful—but his eyes were older than stone.
He carried no weapon.
But the moment Andrew saw him, his heart dropped.
Because he knew him.
"You…" Andrew breathed.
The figure bowed mockingly.
"Ah. He remembers me."
"At last, the mighty Lord of Shadows descends from his throne of ignorance."
"Reborn into a world he once razed."
Andrew's grip tightened on Ashren. The others drew their weapons.
"Who are you?" Kaelira asked.
The man smiled.
"He called me Ravan, once. His blade of loyalty. His hound of war."
"I helped him slaughter the kings of Eldenhal. Watched him chain the mages of Iriath."
"And I died... when I refused to follow his final command."
"Because I had mercy.""He did not."
Mihai cursed under his breath. "This one's not just a shadow."
Selennia's face went pale.
"He's a revenant."
Ravan raised his hand—and the fog thickened into cloaked soldiers, shadowbound revenants like him. Half-dead, fully loyal.
"I came to test a theory," Ravan said.
"Are you still him?"
"Or are you weak?"
Andrew stepped forward. Slowly.
"I'm not him."
"But I still have his blade."
Ashren howled as it was drawn—shadowfire flaring to life.
Ravan grinned.
"Good."
"Then let's see if the new you… deserves the throne the old you carved in blood."
-Battle Begins-
The Vowbound scattered as Ravan's soldiers surged.
Mihai met two head-on, slicing through corrupted bone and steel.
Kaelira danced between blades, her style sharper than ever.
Selennia cast protective sigils, shielding the back line.
But Andrew went straight for Ravan.
Their swords met—Ashren flaring against the revenant's mana-slick blade of memory. They moved like mirrored storms—one dancing with purpose, the other with vengeance.
"You were a god among men," Ravan growled. "And now you hesitate."
"That hesitation will get them all killed."
Andrew gritted his teeth, parrying a strike that shattered the ground beside him.
"I'm not a god."
"I'm not a monster."
"I'm something else."
Ashren pulsed—visions flashing behind Andrew's eyes.
A world in ruin.Elen, dying.A crown of shadows.
And Kaelira, watching him now with fear... but also faith.
Andrew roared—and unleashed Ashren's second breath.
A pulse of darklight rippled out, not killing—but revealing.
The revenants screamed as they were shown who they used to be.
"You were people!" Andrew shouted. "Not weapons! Not ghosts!"
Some faltered.
Even Ravan took a step back.
"You… You're not him…"
Ashren dimmed again, its power flickering—but Ravan vanished with the wind, retreating into the fog.
"But if you keep becoming him…""I'll be there. To end you."
The battlefield quieted.
Bodies fell. Mist faded.
And the Vowbound stood victorious—but shaken.
Kaelira approached him first, blood across her cheek.
"You saved us," she said softly.
"Not just with power."
"But with mercy."
Andrew looked down at his sword.
"Then maybe I really am changing."
Selennia stood farther back, watching him with unreadable eyes.
But she said nothing.