The eastern skies were no friend to light.
As Arjun, Ayra, and Raaka descended into the Vale of Hollow Wings, a pale mist clung to the earth like the breath of a slumbering beast. Trees stood tall and dead, their branches like skeletal fingers. Crows lined their limbs, thousands of them, watching—always watching—with glassy, knowing eyes.
The path narrowed as they approached the ruins of an ancient temple, overgrown with black vines and silent moss. Arjun’s hand brushed the carved walls. Symbols of an old kingdom long erased by time—the Kingdom of Vayal, once known for its wisdom, now whispered as cursed.
“This is where the Empress of Ravens makes her nest?” Ayra muttered, drawing her storm-threaded cloak tighter.
Raaka looked uneasy. “Feels like the forest is... breathing.”
Arjun nodded. “This place is saturated with karmic residue. Pain lingers here.”
> [System Alert: You have entered a Domain of Forgotten Karma]
Environment Buff: +15% to perception, -10% to vitality regeneration
Warning: High-level spiritual interference detected.
A rustle came from the woods ahead.
Not a beast. Not the wind.
Footsteps.
Figures emerged from the mist, hooded and masked. Each wore a robe stitched with black feathers, and on their chests glowed red karmic sigils shaped like chained ravens. Their faces were hidden, but the madness in their body language was unmistakable.
“The one with the broken thread has come,” said the one in front. “Arjun. The Ash Flame. The Karmic Child.”
Arjun stepped forward, voice firm. “I seek audience with the Empress.”
The cultists tilted their heads in unison—creepy, too synchronized.
“You do not seek her,” the leader hissed. “She has already seen you. In the threads. In the blood. In the fall of the White City.”
> [System Notification: Threat Level – Moderate | Cult of the Chained Wings: Fanatic Order, Loyalty 100%]
Ayra crackled with lightning. “Let me fry one. Just one.”
“Not yet,” Arjun murmured.
The leader raised both hands, as if to embrace them. “She calls for you, Arjun. Come, enter the Sanctum of Chains. Leave your allies. Only you may enter.”
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“No,” Arjun said. “We go together.”
The cultist laughed—a dry, grating sound.
“Then you shall face the test. Only the worthy may approach her throne.”
From the trees, shadows leapt.
They weren’t human.
Twisted creatures covered in raven feathers, their limbs too long, eyes glowing crimson. Fused together with chains and bone, as if nightmares had worn skin.
Arjun ignited the Unbroken Flame.
Ayra’s hair lifted as lightning raced across her arms.
Raaka spun his spear and shouted, “Time to break some birds!”
The creatures charged.
Arjun moved first, flame spiraling into his fists. He ducked a claw and drove a burning punch into a creature’s chest—it exploded into feathers and smoke. Another tried to flank him, but Ayra struck it down with a spear of lightning that burst from her palm.
They were fast, relentless, like death had forgotten to take them properly.
One lunged toward Raaka—he sidestepped and impaled it through the neck, then spun and severed another in two with a swift sweep.
But they kept coming.
Arjun activated a new system technique.
> [Skill Activated: Karma Vision – Unveiling Sin Threads]
Effect: Reveals karmic corruption and spiritual links.
His vision changed. The creatures glowed with tangled red threads—sinful karma, twisted by blood rituals. They were not born, but made. Sacrificed souls repurposed into flesh.
“These things were people!” Arjun shouted. “Twisted by the Empress’s cult.”
Ayra growled. “Then we end their suffering.”
Together, they began to cut through the horde. Arjun’s fire cleansed. Ayra’s lightning purified. Raaka’s spear danced like a viper.
Minutes passed. Dozens fell.
Until the cultists stepped back, and the fog thickened.
The ground cracked.
And from below, it rose.
A massive chained bird-like abomination, black as tar, with wings made of bone and metal feathers. Its face was hidden behind a golden beak-mask, and its heart pulsed with a visible blood-red core.
> [System Warning: Elite Entity Detected – Bound Sentinel of the Empress | Level 45]
Abilities: Ravenstorm Screech, Chain Vortex, Spiritual Suppression
Weak Point: Exposed Core
“I think we found the test,” Raaka muttered.
Ayra didn’t wait. She summoned a storm above and hurled a bolt—only for the creature to screech, redirecting the energy with a burst of spiritual pressure that knocked her back.
Arjun rushed forward. He dodged a massive wing strike, rolled beneath it, and punched the core—but the flame bounced off harmlessly.
“Too strong,” he growled.
> [System Suggestion: Sync Combat Bond – Flame + Storm]
“Ayra!” he shouted. “Channel into me!”
Without hesitation, Ayra linked hands with him. Their powers surged—flame entwined with lightning.
> [Skill Fusion: Tempestfire Surge – Unlocked Temporarily]
Effect: Damage doubled, elemental suppression bypassed for 10 seconds
“Now!” Ayra shouted.
Arjun leapt. The creature roared, wind and feathers swirling. But his body pierced the storm. A comet of fire and lightning, his fist crashing into the core.
It shattered in a scream of rage and release.
The creature burst into white-blue light—and was gone.
Silence returned.
The cultists fell to their knees.
“You… have passed…” the leader whispered. “Enter the Sanctum.”
Stone doors opened ahead, flanked by statues of chained birds.
Ayra gave Arjun a sideways look. “You still sure about this?”
“She’s one of us,” Arjun said. “And if she’s corrupted… I’ll free her.”
Raaka sighed. “We really need a vacation after all this.”
They entered the Sanctum.
Inside, it was deathly cold. Ravens perched everywhere—silent, unmoving.
At the far end of the chamber sat a throne of obsidian and silver feathers.
And on it, cloaked in shadow, a woman with eyes like empty moons.
“Welcome, Arjun,” the Empress of Ravens said softly. “I’ve been waiting… for a very, very long time.”
