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5

Kael'vok’s grip was firm, his pace relentless as he dragged me deeper into the caverns beneath the ruined city. The tremors in the ground were growing stronger, the unsettling sound of shrieks and distant howls closing in around us. I had no idea what was coming, but whatever it was, it was massive—and it wanted me.

I stumbled over uneven ground, struggling to keep up with Kael'vok’s long strides. The weight of his hand on my wrist, the coldness of his touch, reminded me with every step that I was bound to him. Whether I liked it or not, I couldn’t deny the truth: he was my only chance of survival.

But the fear, the uncertainty, the anger—they burned beneath my skin like molten fire. The truth of the mark he had placed on me, the connection that tied me to him, was suffocating. I had no control, no agency in what was happening. I was trapped between his power and the monsters lurking in the dark, and the feeling of helplessness made my blood boil.

“Who are they?” I demanded, my voice barely rising over the sounds of the pursuit behind us. “Why do they want me?”

Kael'vok didn’t slow down, his eyes scanning the narrow path ahead. “They’re the ones who destroyed this world, who brought the plague that turned my kingdom into the wasteland you see. They’re ancient beings—invaders who feed on the life force of planets, leaving nothing but death in their wake.”

I could feel my pulse racing in my ears. “But why me? What does any of this have to do with me?”

“They don’t want you,” he said, his voice low and dangerous. “They want what’s inside you. The mark.”

I yanked my wrist from his grasp, forcing him to stop and turn to face me. The distant howls seemed closer now, but I didn’t care. I needed answers. “What the hell is this mark, Kael'vok? You keep talking about it like it’s some kind of curse, but you’re not telling me anything. What have you done to me?”

For the first time, Kael'vok hesitated. His glowing eyes flickered, the intensity of his gaze faltering just for a moment. “The mark,” he began slowly, as if weighing his words carefully, “is the key to my world’s salvation. It is power—raw, unfiltered, and ancient. It chose you, Alyssa. Not me.”

I narrowed my eyes. “You keep saying that, but what does that mean? Why me?”

His jaw tightened, and for a moment, he looked almost... vulnerable. But the expression vanished as quickly as it came. “Because you are human. Because your life force is strong, untapped. The invaders can sense it, and they will do anything to possess it.”

I swallowed hard, trying to process his words. My mind raced, piecing together the fragments of information he had given me. Life force. Power. The invaders who fed on worlds. And somehow, I had become the vessel for whatever it was that could save or destroy this place.

“Then why didn’t you just let them take me?” I asked, my voice trembling. “If they want the mark, why not let them have it?”

Kael'vok stepped closer, his towering frame casting a shadow over me. His voice dropped to a low, dangerous whisper. “Because if they take you, Alyssa, they will destroy everything. They will drain the mark, drain you, until there is nothing left but ash. You think you can escape me, but you have no idea what they will do to you.”

My chest tightened, a cold dread settling into my bones. I could see the truth in his eyes, the dark certainty that came from someone who had lived through the destruction of a world. And yet, despite the fear gnawing at me, I refused to be his pawn.

I turned away from him, staring down the tunnel we had come from. The sounds of the creatures pursuing us were growing louder, the air thick with their presence. We didn’t have time to argue, but I needed to understand.

“How do we stop them?” I asked quietly, my heart pounding in my chest. “If they’re so powerful, how can we fight back?”

Kael'vok hesitated again, and I could feel the tension rolling off him in waves. “The mark is the only thing that can stop them. It holds a power they fear. But it’s not enough on its own.”

I glanced at him, confused. “What do you mean?”

“The mark must be unlocked,” he said, his eyes darkening. “It’s dormant inside you, waiting to be awakened. But once it is, it will change everything.”

I stared at him, the weight of his words settling in. “Change... how?”

Kael'vok didn’t answer immediately, his gaze shifting to the tunnel behind us. “There’s no time,” he said, his voice tense. “We need to keep moving.”

He turned and began walking again, his pace quicker now, and I followed, my mind racing with questions. Every step I took seemed to pull me deeper into a nightmare I couldn’t wake up from. The mark, the invaders, the power within me—it all felt too overwhelming, too unreal. And yet, the danger was very real, and I had no choice but to keep moving forward.

The tunnel narrowed as we descended deeper into the earth, the air growing colder and the walls slick with moisture. My breath came in short, sharp bursts, and I couldn’t shake the feeling that we were being herded into a trap.

Suddenly, Kael'vok stopped, his body tense. I nearly ran into him before I noticed what had made him halt.

Ahead of us, the tunnel opened into a massive underground chamber. The ceiling was so high that I couldn’t see it, lost in the shadows above. But it wasn’t the sheer size of the cavern that made my blood run cold.

It was the bodies.

Hundreds—no, thousands—of twisted, decaying forms lay scattered across the floor, piled on top of one another in grotesque, unnatural poses. Some were skeletal, others still covered in bits of rotting flesh, their faces frozen in expressions of terror and agony. The stench of death was overpowering, and I had to press my hand to my mouth to keep from gagging.

Kael'vok’s eyes flickered with something dark, something that looked like recognition. “This is what they left behind,” he said quietly, his voice hollow. “This is what happens when the invaders drain a world.”

I stared at the carnage, my heart hammering in my chest. “How do we fight this?” I whispered, feeling a deep sense of hopelessness creeping in.

Before Kael'vok could respond, the air in the chamber shifted.

The temperature plummeted, the cold biting into my skin like knives. The distant howls that had followed us through the tunnels grew louder, more distinct, as if they were coming from all directions at once.

Kael'vok’s hand shot out, grabbing my arm and pulling me back. “Stay close,” he growled, his eyes scanning the shadows. “They’re here.”

I turned, my breath catching in my throat as I saw the figures emerging from the darkness.

The invaders were massive, towering over even Kael'vok, their bodies a twisted blend of metallic armor and decaying flesh. Their faces were hidden behind grotesque masks, but their eyes—glowing with the same sickly light as Kael'vok’s—burned with hunger. They moved with an unnatural grace, their footsteps silent despite their size, and the air around them seemed to shimmer with power.

Kael'vok stepped in front of me, his body tense, ready for a fight. “You’re not strong enough to face them,” he said, his voice low. “Not yet.”

I wanted to argue, wanted to tell him I wasn’t going to let him protect me like some damsel in distress. But as the invaders closed in, their eyes locked onto me with a terrifying focus, I realized he was right.

I wasn’t ready for this.

The invaders moved in unison, their movements fluid, almost elegant, as they closed the distance between us. Kael'vok stepped forward, raising his hands, and the air around him crackled with dark energy. The ground beneath our feet trembled as the power radiated off him, and for the first time, I saw the full extent of his strength.

He wasn’t just a king of the undead. He was something more, something ancient and terrifying.

But even with all his power, I could see the strain in his eyes. He couldn’t hold them off forever.

One of the invaders lunged forward, its massive arm swinging toward Kael'vok with blinding speed. He deflected the blow with a surge of energy, but the force of it sent him staggering back, his chest heaving with the effort.

They were too strong.

I felt the mark burning inside me, a raw, untamed power begging to be unleashed. My body trembled, the energy pulsing beneath my skin, but I didn’t know how to control it. I didn’t know how to fight like he did.

And then, without warning, one of the invaders broke free from the others and charged toward me.

Time seemed to slow as the massive figure closed the distance. Kael'vok was too far away to stop it. I could feel the mark surging within me, but I couldn’t make it respond.

I was going to die.

But just as the invader reached me, a deafening roar filled the chamber.

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