Blood Hounds

Kael couldn't move.

The figure stood before him, flickering like a dying flame, but the eyes—those hadn't faded with time.

He had seen them before. He had known them.

"Kael… you cannot run forever."

The whisper slid under his skin, cold and familiar.

Rhia stepped closer, her voice cautious. "Kael… who is that?"

Kael's throat felt tight. He forced himself to speak.

"…Elias."

The name barely escaped his lips, but the ghost reacted.

The shadows that made up its form twisted, almost as if in pain. Then the whisper returned, sharper this time.

"You still remember."

Kael's breath was unsteady. "I thought you were dead."

Darian muttered under his breath. "Not the best thing to say to a ghost."

The figure—Elias—tilted its head. The movement was too slow, too unnatural. "I was."

Kael's grip on his sword tightened.

Elias had been his brother. Not by blood, but by bond. Once, long ago, they had fought side by side, sworn to protect each other.

And then Elias had died.

Kael had seen it happen.

Or at least, he had thought he had.

Rhia's voice was steady. "What happened to you?"

Elias didn't answer immediately. Instead, his hollow gaze fixed on Kael. "You left me."

The words hit like a blade to the chest.

Kael took a step forward. "I—" He stopped himself. His pulse pounded in his ears. "I didn't have a choice."

The shadows around Elias darkened. "Neither did I."

The air grew heavy. The symbols on the walls flared brighter.

Then the ghost lunged.

Kael barely had time to react.

Their blades met in a clash of steel—except Elias wasn't holding a weapon. His hand caught Kael's sword, stopping it mid-swing like it weighed nothing.

Cold flooded through Kael's arm, spreading like ice through his veins.

Elias leaned in, whispering softly.

"Do you remember what you promised me?"

Kael's vision blurred. His grip weakened. **Memories surged forward—**ones he had buried long ago.

A battlefield. Fire. A dying breath.

A promise he had never fulfilled.

And now, Elias was here to collect the debt.