Chapter 18 - Shadows in the Deep
Back in the capital city of Eldoria, far beneath the royal palace, the subterranean vaults remained quiet and secure.
The massive obsidian basin that had once served as Malachor’s dark anchor stone was now cold and shattered into a thousand harmless pieces. The golden runes glowing along the stone floor pulsed with a steady, protective rhythm, sealing the deep roots of the mountain against any intrusion.
Yet, deep within a forgotten fissure far beneath even the deepest royal crypts, something small stirred.
A tiny fragment of dark mana—a microscopic seed left behind by Malachor’s destroyed soul—had seeped down through the bedrock, settling into a dark underground lake where ancient, forgotten creatures slumbered.
The fragment drifted silently through the dark water, touching the dormant scales of a massive, shadowy leviathan that had slept beneath Eldoria even longer than the golden dragon.
May you like
The leviathan’s single, giant eye flickered open for a fraction of a second—not with malice, but with ancient curiosity. Then, it closed its eye once more, sinking back into the silent depths.
The seed was planted, but the world above was far too bright for it to grow anytime soon.
