Skybound: The Atlas War

The clouds ahead no longer howled with fury—but they whispered.

Kairo stood on the forward deck of the Cloudreaper, the faint warmth of the Atlas glowing at his chest. Every now and then, it pulsed—not with urgency, but with awareness, like it sensed something up ahead. Something ancient.

Behind him, the crew moved with a quiet focus. Velka was perched atop the port lookout post, her eyes scanning the horizon. Cinder adjusted altitude, keeping them steady in the thin silver mist that veiled the upper edge of the skybelt.

"We're close," Kairo said. "The map's ink just shifted again."

Velka dropped beside him. "To what?"

Kairo unrolled the Atlas. The sky-chart shimmered, reshaping itself midair. A new path etched itself through what looked like a broken ring of mountains—floating stone spires that circled a hidden basin.

At its center: a glimmer of gold.

"The Watcher's Sanctum," he said under his breath.

Cinder raised a brow. "You're sure it's real?"

"The Atlas is."

As the Cloudreaper dipped below the mist, the floating ring revealed itself—massive pillars of rock forming a celestial arena. Ivy crept along their crumbling sides, and strange etchings glowed faintly on their surfaces.

Velka narrowed her eyes. "Those aren't just Watcher ruins… they're guarded."

Kairo followed her gaze. Dark silhouettes stood motionless at each outer spire. At first glance, they looked like statues—until one moved.

Armor of stone and metal. Helmets with no eyes. Each held a glaive carved from the bones of sky-serpents.

"They're alive," Velka murmured.

"Sentinels?" Cinder asked.

"No," Kairo said. "Wardens."

The Cloudreaper circled the basin, careful not to approach too close. In the center, rising from the mist, was a spire of gold-veined obsidian—weathered, ancient, and humming with quiet power.

And in front of it, a figure waited.

Tall. Robed in deep violet. His mask was carved from old ivory, with cracks running down the cheek like tears. He carried no weapon, yet the air around him felt like a blade pressed to the throat.

Velka's hand went to her dagger. "Who the hell is that?"

The figure raised a hand—not in threat, but greeting.

Then he spoke. His voice was calm, smooth, and impossibly distant, as if spoken through centuries.

"I am the Emissary of the Nullwind Court. You stand before a sanctum not meant for mortal eyes."

Kairo stepped forward, despite the weight pressing against his chest. "We came by the Atlas. It brought us here."

The Emissary tilted his head. "Then it is as the Court foresaw. The Skybound boy walks the threshold of the Forgotten Storm."

Velka's voice was ice. "You knew he'd come?"

"We know all winds that wander. But not all winds are welcome."

Kairo's brow furrowed. "What is the Nullwind Court?"

The Emissary's smile was hidden by the mask, but his silence answered.

Velka whispered to Kairo, "I've heard rumors. Of a faction that serves neither Watchers nor Assembly. They answer to silence. To stillness. To the death of motion."

"They seek to end flight," Cinder added grimly. "To return the sky to silence."

The Emissary's voice cut through the air again. "Enter, if you dare. The Sanctum awaits your storm."

As he turned, the golden doors of the obsidian spire creaked open.

Velka looked to Kairo. "This smells like a trap."

Kairo stared at the Atlas. The map's glow was steady, its path unchanging.

"Then we spring it carefully," he said.

The Cloudreaper hovered outside as the trio descended on ropes into the heart of the Sanctum.

Far above, cloaked skycraft watched silently from the clouds. No flags. No lights.

Only hungry eyes.

END OF CHAPTER 16