The moon hung high over the cursed land of Drosgar, casting an eerie silver glow upon the land. In the depths of the long-forgotten temple, the air was still and cold—unnaturally cold. A single figure moved across the vast stone floor, her boots crunching against the frozen dust.
Elara, a young woman with striking silver hair, knelt before the ancient altar. Her breath formed delicate clouds in the bitter air.
"I can feel you..." she whispered, her voice trembling.
A sudden gust of wind surged through the temple, lifting her hair like ethereal tendrils. The ancient seals had long been broken—yet, even now, the magic that surrounded the frozen warriors held a strange, palpable power.
She touched the stone with trembling hands, feeling the pulse of ancient energy. It was faint, but unmistakable.
"Seven thousand years, and yet here you are, waiting..." Her eyes glistened, and though her words were soft, there was a deep, sorrowful understanding in them.
She closed her eyes and spoke the incantation. Words of old, passed down through her bloodline. Her fingers traced the symbols carved deep into the stone.
As she spoke, the ice began to crack. Slowly at first, and then faster, until the freezing grip around the warriors began to loosen. One by one, the warriors' forms were revealed, their bodies still and cold, encased in ancient frost.
"Who dares to wake us?" A voice, deep and gravelly, echoed through the hall. The first warrior, Kael, awoke with eyes that burned with fire, still fiery despite centuries of freezing slumber.
Elara stepped back in shock but quickly regained her composure.
"You are..." Kael began, his voice hoarse, "It has been so long, but the light—where is the light? Where is the God who promised us victory?"
Elara hesitated, biting her lip. She knew the truth, but it was not time to speak it. Not yet. Not to him.
"He... betrayed you." Elara's voice was filled with a mixture of sorrow and fury. "The God you followed was never the true God. It was a demon."
The warriors shifted, murmuring among themselves. Their bodies were still stiff, their movements sluggish from centuries of imprisonment.
A second voice joined in, this one smoother, with a touch of disbelief. It belonged to Rivena, a warrior of noble blood, his gaze piercing but uncertain. "A demon?" he repeated, his brow furrowed. "How can you say such things? The God of Light... he was everything we believed in. He gave us power—gave us purpose!"
Elara turned toward him, her expression unwavering. "It was all a lie." She could feel the weight of the truth pressing down on her chest. "He deceived you. He imprisoned the real God, locked him away for eternity, and used your trust to gain power."
A tense silence filled the air, broken only by the faint sound of the wind whispering through the temple.
Kael clenched his fists, flames flickering around his fingers as he stood. "Then what are we?" he demanded. "Are we nothing more than pawns in a game we didn't even know we were playing?"
A heavy pause followed, and Elara's gaze softened. She understood their confusion, their pain.
"You were formed as warriors by that demon," she said quietly. "Your very existence was manipulated. But you're not pawns. You were meant for something greater."
The warriors looked at one another, uncertainty clouding their eyes.
"What now?" Rivena asked, his voice low but laced with an edge of hope.
Elara stepped back, eyes glimmering. "We find the real God. We free him. But first, you need to remember who you truly are. You have been asleep for far too long."
She reached out to the first warrior, her hand hovering over Kael's shoulder. He recoiled instinctively, his fire flaring, but she didn't flinch.
"I'm the daughter of the God of Light," she said softly, her voice thick with the weight of her secret. "But I haven't awakened my full power yet. I'm... I'm still learning. But I need you. All of you. To defeat the demon and restore balance."
"The daughter of Light..." Thorne's gravelly voice interrupted, his expression unreadable as he rose to his full height. "I don't trust easily, girl. You better prove yourself worthy of this."
"I will." Elara said, her voice hardening with determination. "But we have little time. The demon is already plotting, and the kingdoms are on the brink of destruction. We need to move quickly."
The warriors exchanged glances, their confusion giving way to an unspoken understanding. For the first time in centuries, they felt something stir deep inside them. It was a spark of life—of purpose.
Kael stepped forward, his flames still flickering but now controlled, his expression dark but resolute. "Then let's begin. We've been waiting for far too long."
Rivena nodded in agreement. "The war we thought was over... it has only just begun."
Elara looked at them, a deep sadness in her heart. She hadn't told them everything. She hadn't told them that even she wasn't fully prepared for the darkness they would face. The demon was powerful—older than any of them could comprehend. But together, they could do it.
She turned and walked toward the temple's exit, the warriors following her step by step.
As they left the freezing chamber behind, Elara couldn't shake the feeling that they were walking into something far worse than they could imagine. The real God, the one who had been trapped, remained silent for now—but his words echoed in her mind, a constant reminder.
"The light is fading... but only you can bring it back."
End of Chapter 1