Episode 9 – Vel'Torak's Bargain
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The night had never been so silent.
Even in the Inner Sanctum—a place of ancient knowledge and constant arcane hum—there was an unnatural stillness. A tension in the mana field itself, as though the world was holding its breath.
And in the center of it all, Zane stood before a half-summoned Vel'Torak, the First Sovereign of the Forgotten Summons.
His form was no illusion. He loomed tall, wrapped in ash-colored chains that floated around his form like sentient tendrils. Ember cracks glowed across his obsidian skin. His eyes were pits of molten gold—ever-watching, never blinking.
> "This world remembers less than it should," Vel'Torak said, his voice reverberating with primal weight. "It sleeps, dreaming of order… but you, Reclaimer, are the awakening."
Zane's knees nearly buckled under the pressure of the mana surrounding them. This wasn't a creature pulled from another dimension.
This was a memory incarnate. A god once sealed—and now partially unbound.
"Why now?" Zane whispered, trying to stay on his feet. "Why me?"
Vel'Torak tilted his head, the chains clinking like ancient bells.
> "Because you bear the sigil. The seal was broken the moment you remembered the truth: You were never summoned here, Zane Blackbourne… you were sent."
> "Not by the gods. Not by fate. By your past self."
Zane froze.
> "You chose to forget. You sealed us. And now, you awaken."
---
Master Rhain watched through his Arcane Eye.
From the tower's highest floor, the ancient summoner gripped the edge of the scrying mirror, his breath ragged.
"He made contact… with Vel'Torak," he murmured. "The first memory has returned."
Beside him, Headmaster Caelius paced anxiously. "Should we stop him?"
Rhain shook his head slowly.
> "It's too late. The seal has fractured. The Sovereigns are waking—and only Zane can contain them."
> "Or unleash them."
---
Vel'Torak extended a hand—a claw of molten shadow.
> "Make a pact with me. Not as master and servant… but as two fragments of the same chain."
> "You may command my power, but you must share your essence."
Zane hesitated. He could feel the truth of those words.
The pull in his blood. The echo in his bones. This creature wasn't foreign to him—it was a part of something buried deep inside. A part he had locked away.
But unlocking it meant danger.
The strength of a Sovereign… but the risk of losing himself.
"What happens if I say no?" he asked.
Vel'Torak's gaze grew colder.
> "Then I will return to the Hollow. Dormant. Forgotten. Until the next seal shatters, and chaos comes without control."
> "But you will not survive the second awakening unbound."
Zane's fist clenched.
He remembered Kaela's voice. Her belief in him. The friends he barely had time to know. The peaceful days that now felt like lies. He couldn't protect them like this.
"I… accept."
He extended his hand.
The pact ignited.
Chains of black fire coiled around their arms, burning into Zane's flesh like tattoos made of fate. His eyes flared golden for a moment. Power surged through his veins—not wild, but familiar.
His mind was flooded with visions:
A throne shrouded in endless chains.
A war that ended time itself.
His own face, screaming as he sealed seven Sovereigns away—by his own hand.
And then…
Silence.
The pact was complete.
Vel'Torak bowed his head.
> "You now bear my mark. I will obey."
> "But do not forget, Reclaimer… the more seals you break, the closer you come to your true self. And the truth… is never kind."
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Elsewhere, across the realm…
The Ashen Covenant moved.
A black-garbed priest knelt before a throne carved of bone and soulsteel. Seated upon it was a pale man with silver eyes and a serpent's grin—The Inheritor.
"Vel'Torak has awakened," the priest whispered.
The Inheritor smiled.
> "Good. That means the chain is cracking."
> "And soon… the Reclaimer will remember everything."
He stood, dragging a black blade along the floor behind him.
> "Let him wake the Sovereigns. Let him think he has control."
> "And when the final seal shatters, we will remind him why he sealed them in the first place."
---
Back at the academy, Zane collapsed.
The pact had drained him.
Kaela and Rhain rushed to his side. Vel'Torak vanished into a glowing sigil that now burned brightly across Zane's shoulder—a visible reminder of the pact.
He looked up, his voice barely audible.
"More are coming…"
Rhain nodded grimly. "Yes. And now we must prepare."
Kaela clutched his hand, her eyes full of fear and defiance. "We're with you. No matter what memories return."
Zane's gaze turned toward the sky—where one star had begun to pulse unnaturally.
A second seal was calling.