Chapter 26 The Chains of Fate

Rise of the Dark Cover

Chapter 26: The Chains of Fate

The silence after the battle felt heavier than the fight itself. The retreat of Draven’s warriors had left an unease lingering in the cavern, a reminder that their enemies were no longer just chasing them—they were waiting.

Alex wiped the sweat from her forehead, her grip still tight on her sword. The adrenaline hadn’t fully faded yet, and she could still hear the warrior’s words echoing in her mind. You’ll come to us, eventually.

She turned to Leo. He hadn’t moved since the warriors left. His golden-dark energy still flickered at his fingertips, his breathing shallow. He looked at the portal, the swirling abyss of the Void, like it was whispering a secret only he could hear.

“Leo,” she said carefully.

He didn’t respond.

Alex stepped closer, placing a hand on his arm. “Hey. Look at me.”

Leo blinked, his golden eyes flickering with confusion before settling back into focus. He exhaled, shaking his head. “I’m here.”

“Are you?” Kayla asked bluntly. She had her arms crossed, her sword still in hand. “Because you didn’t exactly jump in to fight back there.”

Leo clenched his jaw. “I didn’t need to. They weren’t here to fight. They were here to see me.”

Mira stepped forward, her light magic glowing faintly. “Because they think the Void belongs to you?”

Leo exhaled sharply, running a hand through his hair. “I don’t know what they think. But they’re not wrong about one thing—I can feel it.” His voice dropped lower. “The Void doesn’t just want me. It’s waiting for me to make a choice.”

Ethan leaned against a rock, arms crossed. “So, what’s the choice?”

Leo hesitated. “To control it… or to let it control me.”

The words settled like a weight on all of them.

Kayla shook her head. “Yeah, no. Not an option.”

Mira looked at the runes around the portal again, studying the way the energy pulsed. “Draven’s warriors left too easily. That means they already know what their next move is. We need to figure out ours.”

Alex straightened. “Then we start by learning what we can. The gods won’t help us, but there has to be another way to understand what’s happening.”

Leo scoffed, his expression dark. “The gods aren’t going to give us answers because I don’t belong to them anymore. I never did.”

Alex didn’t like the way he said it.

She stepped in front of him, searching his expression. “Leo, we’re in this together.”

His jaw tightened. “Yeah. Sure.”

She wasn’t convinced.

Before she could push further, Mira inhaled sharply. “There’s something else.”

Everyone turned to her.

She pointed to the far side of the cavern, where the rock wall was covered in markings—runes similar to the ones around the portal, but older. Some had faded with time, but the energy in them still pulsed faintly.

“These runes,” Mira said, stepping closer. “They weren’t just sealing the Void. They were containing something.”

Kayla frowned. “Containing what?”

Mira traced a rune with her fingertips, her magic flickering against the surface. “A name.”

The energy reacted instantly. The runes flared brighter, and the air grew heavier, the cavern trembling slightly.

Ethan tensed. “Oh, that’s never good.”

Leo stepped forward, staring at the glowing symbols. “A name?”

Mira nodded slowly. “Not just any name. A prisoner.”

The light from the runes grew even stronger, and then, as if responding to her realization, the rock shifted. The wall cracked, splitting apart with a deep groan, revealing something buried inside the cavern.

A figure.

Encased in stone, frozen mid-motion, but unmistakably humanoid. The energy surrounding it was overwhelming, pulsing with both divine and Void power.

Alex’s breath caught. “That’s not just a prisoner.”

Mira stepped back. “That’s a god.”

The cavern went deathly silent.

The figure trapped in stone wasn’t like the Olympians they had met before. This god was older, his features sharp, his form powerful. Though he remained motionless, his presence alone was suffocating. The energy radiating from him was raw, untouched by time, as if he had been locked away before history itself had begun.

Leo took another step closer, drawn by something he didn’t understand.

Ethan put a hand on his shoulder. “Yeah, buddy? Maybe don’t get too close to the scary god statue.”

Leo ignored him. His golden-dark energy flickered against the stone, reacting to the ancient power buried beneath it. The god’s prison wasn’t just holding him. It was feeding off of him.

Kayla pointed her sword at the figure. “Is he dead?”

Mira shook her head. “No. He’s sleeping.”

Alex exhaled. “And if he wakes up?”

Mira’s expression darkened. “Then we have a much bigger problem than the Void.”

The runes around the stone pulsed again, and for a split second, Alex thought she saw the god’s fingers twitch.

Leo stared at the figure, his voice barely a whisper. “Who is he?”

Mira hesitated before answering. “I don’t know his full name. But according to these runes…” She exhaled. “He was called the Chainkeeper.”

Ethan frowned. “That’s a terrible name. I hate it already.”

Kayla ignored him. “Chainkeeper of what?”

Mira studied the ancient markings again. “A god of balance. But not like the Olympians. He wasn’t given balance—he was forced to maintain it.”

Alex’s pulse quickened. “You mean… like what the gods are trying to do to us?”

Mira nodded slowly. “Yes.”

Leo stepped even closer to the stone prison, ignoring the tension in the group. “If he was locked away, then that means he failed.” His golden-dark energy flared at his fingertips. “Or worse… he tried to stop it.”

Kayla’s grip on her sword tightened. “Leo, don’t.”

But it was too late.

The moment his energy touched the stone, the entire cavern shook.

The runes exploded in a cascade of light, and the energy holding the figure prisoner shattered into pieces. The god’s body sagged forward, the stone shell crumbling away as he breathed for the first time in eons.

Alex took a step back, sword raised. “Leo, what did you just do?”

The god’s eyes snapped open.

The cavern froze.

His gaze swept over them, his presence filling every corner of the space. His voice, when he finally spoke, was deep and ancient.

“You have awakened me.” His golden eyes locked onto Leo. “And you… are not what I expected.”

Leo didn’t move. “Who are you?”

The god straightened, shaking the dust from his body. He looked down at his hands, flexing his fingers like he was remembering how to move. Then, he looked back at Leo and smiled.

“I am the one who chained the Void before the gods learned to fear it.” He tilted his head. “And now… I will see if you are strong enough to do the same.”

The air pulsed violently, the energy inside the cavern shifting, and Alex knew—this god wasn’t just awake.

He was testing them.

And the Vanguard’s war had just begun.