THE DEVIL'S BRIDE
Episode 38: The Kingdom of Ashes
By Rapwizzy Debaron
The journey back was silent. The skies above the shattered battlefield were heavy, as though the world itself was waiting for something to collapse… again.
Kael didn't speak. He couldn't.
Lucien rode ahead, his crimson armor stained with blood and regret. Evelyn sat close beside Kael, her fingers brushing his every now and then—not to comfort him, but to remind him that he was still here. Still him.
But nothing could prepare them for what lay ahead.
---
They crested the final hill—and there it was.
Elarion.
Kael's lost kingdom.
What once had been a land of golden towers and silver rivers… was now ash and bone. Crumbled statues. Burnt trees. Ruins whispering ancient pain.
Evelyn gasped softly.
Lucien lowered his head.
Kael… dismounted in silence.
He walked ahead, alone, into the skeletal remains of a throne room that once held gods at bay.
---
He touched the cracked stone wall.
A memory crashed into him.
A woman—dark hair, golden eyes—stood at the altar.
"I don't care what the world says," she had whispered. "You're not the Devil. You're mine."
Kael fell to his knees.
"I failed her."
Evelyn knelt beside him. "Who was she?"
"My wife," he whispered. "My queen. The one I burned when I lost control."
---
Lucien stood in the doorway, his voice cold but respectful.
"There are movements beyond the valley. Armored shadows. We're not alone."
Kael rose slowly. "The Council?"
"No," Lucien said. "Worse. The Gravewalkers."
---
In the distance, drums began to beat.
Low. Slow. Like thunder in a heartbeat.
---
The three stood in the ruins as the wind howled.
Kael touched his sword.
"Then let them come."
---
Far away, deep in the belly of a forgotten cave, Auren opened an ancient book. His fingers brushed over a name written in blood.
KAELTHORIN, FLAME GOD.
ENEMY OF HEAVEN.
LOVER OF CHAOS.
Behind him, six cloaked figures stepped forward.
"They've returned," one hissed.
"Then so must we," said another. "The Godslayers will rise again."
---
Meanwhile…
Deep beneath the ruins of Elarion, Evelyn wandered alone—drawn by something.
A voice called her name, faint but real.
She found a stone chamber. Ancient. Untouched.
In the center, a mirror covered in black vines.
She reached for it.
And something reached back.
---
To be continued…
The ghosts of Elarion are not at rest.
Kael's past refuses to stay buried.
And Evelyn has found a mirror that remembers her name.
Vote if you felt the heartbeat of the ruins.
Comment your theories — Who was Kael's wife? What secret does the mirror hold?
Follow @RapwizzyDebaron — Episode 39 is about to shatter everything you thought you knew.