Part IV – Shadow and Stone
The violet flames that lit the Throne Hall flickered, as if they had heard the words just spoken by the voice of the King.
Silence had returned among the generals.
Thorgan was still standing, his gaze fixed in the void as though he could see through the stone itself. But it wasn't only contemplation: his hand still gripped the edge of his throne, as if holding back the strength he had learned to contain.
Umbraxis took a step forward.
> "Brother… may we reason for a moment?"
His voice was soft, yet it carried clearly through the columns, like a whisper no one dared ignore.
Thorgan looked at him. He didn't speak. But he slowly turned toward the center of the hall.
The other three generals remained silent. Lyrann simply watched with unreadable eyes, Varkan gave a barely perceptible nod, and Zephal closed his eyelids as if listening to the wind in silence.
Umbraxis stopped a few steps away from Thorgan.
> "You shattered the Keep. Once again, you proved the power of earth. And yet…"
He paused.
> "Something left you unsatisfied."
Thorgan didn't respond right away. But when he spoke, his voice was rough—like stone cracking.
> "It wasn't just stone that I destroyed. There was… something alive. Ancient. Something that endured even when hope had already turned to ash."
Umbraxis gave a faint, almost sorrowful smile.
> "Then you felt it too."
Thorgan clenched his jaw.
> "It was weak. And yet… blinding. As if it didn't belong in this world. A crack of light… in the mud."
Umbraxis nodded.
> "Not a crack. A spark. And it grows."
The torches dimmed, as if the darkness had drawn breath.
> "You broke the wall. But there was something that wall was protecting. Something now moving… slipping past maps, calculations. Even us."
Thorgan stared at him for a long time.
> "It's not my task to understand. I break. But if that light… interferes with our design, it too will be shattered."
Umbraxis turned, walking slowly back toward the center of the hall.
> "Perhaps not. Perhaps… it must be watched. Understood. Trained. Or… corrupted."
His eyes lifted toward the ceiling, blackened by time.
> "But not by you, brother. Not this time."
For the first time, Thorgan took a step back.
> "Then the dark flame will speak. Not the stone."
Umbraxis stopped. His final words were spoken to no one… and to everyone.
> "Stone builds and destroys. But it is shadow… that seeps into the foundation."
Silence fell once more.
No one dared speak.