Ashes of the Forsaken

The fire crackled between them, throwing long shadows across the ruins of Black Hollow Keep.

Kieran sat motionless, his mind still turning over Dame Corvalis's words.

The war had never truly ended.

The enemy had never been destroyed.

And worse—someone had brought him back for a reason.

Kieran had spent his second life hunting for revenge.

Now, for the first time, he wondered if he was just another pawn in someone else's war.

Dame Corvalis watched him carefully.

"You understand what this means, don't you?"

Kieran exhaled.

"It means I've been playing a game I didn't even know I was part of."

Dame Corvalis leaned forward, resting her elbows on her knees.

"There's something you need to know about the kingdom, Kieran. Something deeper than the nobles, deeper than the war council."

Kieran waited.

"The ones who buried the war—the ones who erased it from history—they didn't do it alone."

Kieran frowned.

"I assumed the nobles worked together to keep the lie intact."

Corvalis shook her head.

"No. The nobles are cowards. They enforce the lie, yes. But they didn't create it."

Her eyes darkened.

"The ones who truly buried the war are still watching. Still working to ensure no one like you or me remembers the truth."

She stared into the fire.

"And they do not tolerate loose ends."

Kieran felt a slow chill crawl up his spine.

"They call themselves the Keepers," Corvalis continued.

"No banners. No sigils. They don't sit on the war council, they don't walk the halls of power."

She met his gaze.

"Because they stand behind the throne itself."

Kieran's mind raced.

A hidden faction. Not just nobles. Not just historians.

But the true architects of the cover-up.

The ones who had made sure the war was wiped from history.

And the ones who had likely ordered his execution.

He exhaled.

"Why are they still here?"

Corvalis's lips curled slightly.

"Because their work isn't finished."

Kieran narrowed his eyes.

"If they erased the war, what else are they hiding?"

Corvalis's fingers tightened around the hilt of her sword.

"That's the real question, isn't it?"

She gestured to the ruins around them.

"Black Hollow Keep was once a fortress of war. But it didn't fall in battle. It wasn't conquered by an enemy."

She paused.

"It was abandoned."

Kieran frowned.

"Why?"

Corvalis met his gaze.

"Because the war never ended, Kieran. It simply moved into the shadows."

Kieran's breath slowed.

If the war never ended—then the Keepers had been maintaining it in secret.

How?

Had they been hunting the enemy in silence?

Or worse—had they been working with them?

The thought made his stomach tighten.

"If the Keepers are still out there, then they know I've returned."

Corvalis nodded.

"That's why you don't have time to waste."

Kieran exhaled sharply.

Everything had just shifted.

His enemies weren't just nobles protecting their political power.

His enemies were the very people who had shaped the kingdom's history.

And now—they were watching him.

Kieran stood, pacing beside the fire.

"I need to find them. I need to know who they are."

Corvalis nodded.

"That's where things become… difficult."

Kieran stopped.

Corvalis's expression darkened.

"They don't leave trails. No records. No names."

"But."

Kieran turned to her.

"There's one place where their influence is strongest."

Corvalis's eyes flickered.

"The royal archives."

Kieran frowned.

"I thought the war was erased from the records?"

Corvalis smirked.

"It was. But the Keepers don't destroy knowledge, Kieran. They hoard it."

His pulse quickened.

"So the truth still exists."

"Somewhere deep within the royal archives, yes."

She leaned forward.

"And that's where you'll find your next target."

Kieran's grip tightened.

"Who?"

Corvalis exhaled.

"Lord Davos Revelle. The king's personal historian."

Kieran stilled.

A man who controlled the kingdom's history itself.

A man who had spent years ensuring the war remained forgotten.

And if the Keepers truly existed—then Davos Revelle was one of them.

Kieran clenched his jaw.

"If he's the one guarding the truth, then I need to get to him."

Corvalis sighed.

"It won't be easy. The royal archives are in the heart of the palace, and Revelle is under constant watch."

Kieran smirked.

"Then I guess I'll have to be careful."

Corvalis shook her head.

"You don't understand. If you go after him, you won't just be facing nobles or hired swords."

Her expression was grim.

"The Keepers will come for you."

Kieran's smile faded.

But he didn't hesitate.

"Let them try."

Corvalis sighed.

"If you truly plan to do this, you'll need more than just information."

Kieran tilted his head.

"What do you suggest?"

She stood, adjusting the straps of her armor.

"You'll need allies."

"You'll need leverage."

Her gaze hardened.

"And above all, you'll need to strike first—before they realize what you're planning."

Kieran exhaled.

The hunt had begun.

The Keepers had spent years erasing him.

Now, it was his turn to erase them.

Kieran stared into the fire, his mind racing.

The Keepers.

A hidden faction buried beneath the kingdom's history.

The true architects of the great lie.

And now, he was going after one of them.

Lord Davos Revelle.

The king's personal historian.

A man who had spent his life erasing the past.

Kieran clenched his jaw.

He wasn't just fighting nobles anymore.

He was fighting the men who had built the kingdom itself.

Dame Corvalis leaned forward.

"The royal archives aren't just a library, Kieran."

"They are a fortress."

Kieran listened carefully as she continued.

"Only the king's most trusted scholars are allowed inside. The halls are guarded by the royal sentinels—elite warriors trained for one purpose: to kill anyone who trespasses."

She met his gaze.

"You will not get a second chance."

Kieran smirked.

"Then I'll have to make my first one count."

Corvalis shook her head.

"You don't understand. You're not just breaking into a vault of knowledge. You're walking into the heart of the kingdom."

"If you're caught, you won't just die."

"You'll be erased all over again."

Kieran exhaled.

"Then I guess I'll have to make sure no one catches me."

He turned toward her.

"I need access. You know this kingdom better than anyone. Where's the weakness?"

Corvalis hesitated.

Then, she sighed.

"There is one way in."

Kieran's pulse quickened.

"Go on."

"There's a passage beneath the royal archives."

Corvalis's voice was low, careful.

"A forgotten tunnel, built centuries ago. It was meant to be an escape route for scholars in case of war."

"But after the war was erased, so was the passage."

Kieran tilted his head.

"Then how do you know it still exists?"

A smirk ghosted across Corvalis's lips.

"Because I've used it."

Kieran blinked.

Corvalis chuckled.

"You think you're the first one to seek the truth, Kieran?"

Kieran frowned.

"What did you find?"

Corvalis's smirk faded.

"Nothing."

A pause.

"Because I never made it inside."

Kieran's fingers curled into a fist.

"You were caught?"

Corvalis shook her head.

"No. I was stopped."

Her gaze darkened.

"Before I even reached the archives, they were waiting for me."

Kieran's stomach tightened.

"Who?"

Corvalis exhaled.

"The Keepers."

A slow, uneasy silence stretched between them.

Kieran had expected resistance.

Expected guards. Traps. Magic defenses.

But this?

"They knew I was coming before I even set foot in the tunnels."

Corvalis's voice was grim.

"That means they have eyes everywhere."

Kieran absorbed the information.

If the Keepers had already stopped her once…

That meant they were still watching.

Still waiting.

And now, they were watching him.

Kieran exhaled, steadying his thoughts.

"Then I'll have to be faster than them."

Corvalis arched a brow.

"What are you thinking?"

Kieran's gaze hardened.

"I need to move before they do."

"I won't give them time to react."

"They expect me to sneak in like a thief."

He straightened.

"So I won't."

Corvalis's eyes narrowed.

"You're going to walk right through the front door."

Kieran smirked.

"Exactly."

Corvalis sighed, pinching the bridge of her nose.

"You really do have a death wish."

Kieran chuckled.

"Maybe. But if they're already watching me, then I need to make them think I'm not a threat."

Corvalis crossed her arms.

"And how do you plan on doing that?"

Kieran's smirk faded.

"By making them believe I'm already on their side."

If the Keepers were watching, then they needed to see exactly what Kieran wanted them to see.

Which meant—

He had to act like someone they wouldn't want to kill.

Someone who wasn't a threat.

Someone who was useful to them.

Corvalis narrowed her eyes.

"You're planning to pretend you're working with them."

Kieran nodded.

"Not just with them. For them."

Corvalis exhaled.

"That's risky."

Kieran shrugged.

"So is walking into a room full of assassins."

The first step was simple.

Kieran needed to find an entry point.

He needed to be somewhere the Keepers would notice him.

Somewhere important enough to warrant their attention.

And that meant…

"The war council."

Corvalis blinked.

"You're joking."

Kieran shook his head.

"The nobles think I'm dead. The war council doesn't acknowledge my existence."

He smirked.

"So let's change that."

Kieran knew how the game worked.

The war council was made up of powerful nobles, generals, and advisors.

If he wanted the Keepers' attention, then he needed to disrupt the game.

And the easiest way to do that?

Make himself a piece worth playing.

Corvalis sighed.

"You're insane."

Kieran grinned.

"Then it's a good thing insanity runs in the blood of the forgotten."

Corvalis finally nodded.

"Fine. If you're going to do this, you'll need support."

"You'll need a reason for them to believe you belong in that room."

Kieran exhaled.

"Then I'll make them believe it."

He turned toward the darkness.

"But first… I have a meeting with a certain Duke."

Corvalis raised an eyebrow.

"Calderon?"

Kieran smirked.

"It's time he repaid his debt."