The wastelands stretched on endlessly — a gray ocean of ash and broken stone.Selene's boots scraped against ruined pavement, her legs burning with every step.
The Citadel had been cold and lonely —but this...this was worse.
This was a world abandoned by gods and men alike.
Lucian moved ahead of her, silent as ever — a living shadow wrapped in midnight.
Selene stumbled, nearly falling.
A heartbeat later, strong fingers caught her elbow, steadying her before she could hit the ground.
She blinked up at him at the black-clad figure whose very presence seemed to warp the air around him.
Lucian's face was impassive.Wordless, he released her and continued walking.
But something flickered inside Selene a realization.
He was watching her.Not just as a king watching a vassal but something gentler, something closer.
He cared.He just didn't know how to show it.
That night, they camped beneath the broken ribs of an ancient bridge.
Selene's stomach twisted painfully from hunger.Their supplies had long since run dry.
She curled up by the fire, trying to hide her shivers.
When Lucian returned from his silent scouting, he knelt beside her.
Wordlessly, he placed something on her lap:a cloth bundle, warm and fragrant.
Bread.Cheese.Even a scrap of dried fruit.
Selene stared at it, wide-eyed.
"Where did you—?" she began.
Lucian stood and turned away, his voice low.
"Eat."
That was all he said.
Selene bit into the bread, tears prickling unbidden at the corners of her eyes.
He had scavenged it for her.Fought or traded or stolen — she didn't know, didn't care.
He was keeping her alive.
And in his own silent way...he was protecting her.
—
Later, as she lay awake beneath the cracked bones of the world, Selene watched the stars pale and cold and distant.
She thought of Lucian.
Of his crushing power — how a single ripple of his aura had turned a wight to dust.Of the endless loneliness wrapped around him like a second skin.
And she wondered:
How could someone like him — a being whose mere presence bent reality have been defeated?How had the world managed to put him to sleep for centuries, forgotten in the ruins of the Citadel?
Selene turned the questions over and over in her mind.
There had to have been somethingor someone — mighty enough to bring him low.
And if that enemy still existed...Would they be waiting?
Would they still want him dead?
Her thoughts spiraled — not just fear for Lucian, but for herself.
Because if they had once defeated him...then what chance did she stand?
—
The fire burned low.Ash drifted across the stars.
And far beyond the cracked horizon, unseen by either of them, something stirred.
A figure watched from the shadows of a broken tower —an old enemy wearing a new face, ancient hatred simmering in hollow eyes.
Lucian was awake again.The world would tremble.
And the past was not finished with him yet.