Ascension of the Arcane king

THE TELEPORTATION GONE WRONG...

The teleportation spell had been rushed. Unstable.

When Elias, Seraphina, and Varian landed, the ground beneath them cracked under the force.

Elias barely had time to brace himself before his knees hit the dirt. His head spun, his body still reeling from the violent power surge.

Seraphina groaned beside him, clutching her arm. "That was not a smooth landing."

Varian exhaled sharply, scanning their surroundings. "It wasn't meant to be."

Elias forced himself upright. His magic still pulsed within him, but something was wrong. It felt… distant. Unresponsive.

Like something was blocking it.

He turned to Varian, eyes narrowing. "Where are we?"

Varian's gaze darkened.

"We're in the last place the gods would think to look for us."

He gestured to the ruins around them.

A city—half-buried in sand, its once-great towers collapsed into dust.

Seraphina's breath hitched. "No way… this is—"

Varian gave a grim nod.

"The Lost City of Auris."

Elias frowned. "I thought Auris was just a myth."

Varian smirked tiredly. "So were the Gods of Old. And yet, here we are."

A CITY SWALLOWED BY TIME....

Auris was massive.

Even in ruins, the city stretched for miles. The buildings—some carved from obsidian, others from enchanted marble—stood frozen in time, half-consumed by the desert.

Seraphina ran her fingers over a collapsed pillar, tracing the faint, ancient symbols.

"This place… it's older than anything we've seen."

Elias followed her gaze. A strange feeling crept over him.

Like a memory he had never lived.

Varian strode toward the largest structure—an enormous cathedral that stood defiantly amidst the destruction.

"We can rest here for the night," he said. "But we don't have much time."

Elias tensed. "Why?"

Varian's expression turned grim.

"Because Auris isn't as abandoned as it looks."

THE CITY OF GHOSTS...

The deeper they ventured, the colder it became.

Which made no sense—they were in the middle of a desert.

Elias walked ahead, scanning the ruins. The silence felt wrong.

Seraphina shivered. "Are we sure no one's here?"

Varian sighed. "No."

Elias frowned. "You just said—"

"I said it's not abandoned," Varian corrected. "I didn't say anyone here was still alive."

Before Elias could respond—

A whisper brushed against his ear.

"Turn back."

He froze.

Seraphina's eyes widened. "Did you hear that?"

Elias nodded slowly.

Varian, however, didn't react. "Don't answer."

Seraphina swallowed. "Why?

Varian's voice was quiet.

"Because the dead don't like to be acknowledged."

THE CURSE OF AURIS...

Wind rushed through the ruins, but it carried no sand.

Just whispers.

Soft. Endless. Like a thousand voices speaking at once.

Seraphina's grip tightened around her dagger. "Okay, I officially hate this place."

Varian kept walking. "Auris was once the greatest city of magic. The first kingdom to wield power beyond the mortal realm."

He stopped in front of a broken statue—an obsidian figure, her face worn away by time.

"But their power came at a cost."

Elias's jaw tightened. "What cost?"

Varian glanced at him.

"They tried to become gods."

The wind howled.

And the whispers grew louder.

THE WARNING IN THE STONE...

At the cathedral's entrance, long-fallen doors revealed a massive hallway lined with stone tablets.

Seraphina moved toward one, brushing dust off the cracked surface.

"There's writing here."

Elias stepped beside her, scanning the ancient script. Though the language was old—he understood it.

"The gods do not give power freely. For every gift, a sacrifice must be made."

A chill ran down his spine.

Seraphina read the next line aloud

"A king who does not control his power will be consumed by it."

The meaning was clear.

Auris had fallen because its rulers tried to claim what wasn't theirs.

Just as Elias had awakened something that should have remained buried.

His chest tightened. Was this… his future?

THE NIGHTMARE....

They decided to rest inside the cathedral.

Varian set up protective wards, though he looked doubtful they would do much.

Elias sat against a crumbling column, staring at the sky through the shattered ceiling.

Seraphina joined him. "You okay?"

He hesitated before sighing. "I don't know."

She nudged his shoulder. "That's an improvement. Before, you'd have just lied and said, 'I'm fine.'"

Elias chuckled, but the sound was hollow.

His mind was racing.

The throne inside his soul. The Gods of Old. The whispers in Auris.

Was he really any different from the kings who had come before him?

Seraphina's voice softened.

"You're not them, Elias."

He turned to her. "How can you be sure?"

She met his gaze without hesitation.

"Because you're afraid of becoming them."

Elias's breath caught.

Before he could respond—

The whispers returned.

This time, they weren't just voices.

They were screams.

THE CITY AWAKENS...

The ground trembled.

Elias sprang to his feet, power flaring instinctively.

Varian's voice rang out. "Get ready!"

The whispers turned into roars.

Shadows erupted from the cracks in the floor, twisting into monstrous shapes—half-human, half-nightmare.

Seraphina drew her daggers. "What the hell are those?"

Varian's expression darkened.

"The last kings of Auris."

Elias's blood ran cold.

The dead weren't just whispering anymore.

They were angry.

And they had finally woken up.