First shadow
The road back to Eldrath was lined with fog and unease.
The faint glow of lanterns shimmered through the mist as Voltaro and his men approached the city gates under the cloak of night.
Their cloaks were drawn, their insignia hidden - no longer as heroes of the realm, but as shadows slipping through the cracks of a kingdom that had betrayed its own.
Eran's report still haunted Voltaro's thoughts.
The "Purity Program," the Elite Knight's corruption, the king's right hand orchestrating the abductions-all of it festered like a wound.
Yet Voltaro knew rage was a weapon best tempered.
One misstep could doom every soul still imprisoned beneath the capital.
"Keep your heads down," Voltaro murmured to his men as they passed through the main gate. The guards barely glanced their way-mercenaries came and went from Eldrath daily.
Raven walked beside him, his hood low, his voice little more than a whisper. "You're sure about this, Voltaro? If the king's right hand truly ordered it, we're walking into a nest of snakes."
Voltaro's crimson eyes flickered beneath his hood. "Snakes can only strike when unseen. Tonight, we cut their fangs without letting them know we're here."
Raven gave a low grunt of acknowledgment.
The group moved through the darkened alleys of Eldrath, following Eran's directions.
Beneath the opulent towers and marble halls of the kingdom's upper district, there existed another world - a labyrinth of forgotten tunnels, slave pits, and secret chambers built for those who profited from the suffering of others.
By dawn, Voltaro and his men had found one of the access points-a drainage passage near the old cathedral. The air was thick with the stench of decay and rusted metal.
"Here," Eran whispered, pointing to a section of wall half-covered by moss. "Behind this panel-there's a way down to the old cells."
Voltaro's gloved hand brushed against the stone until he found the hidden latch. With a soft grind of metal, the passage opened, revealing a spiraling stairway descending into the dark.
The deeper they went, the heavier the air became. Faint cries echoed from below-human, desperate, breaking the silence like ghosts chained to the earth.
Voltaro's jaw tightened. They're still alive.
At the bottom, torchlight flickered across the walls. Iron bars stretched endlessly down the corridor, cells filled with trembling figures - women, children, and the broken remnants of Ashenveil's once-proud people.
A low growl built in Raven's throat. "Bastards," he whispered.
Voltaro raised a hand, signaling silence. Two armored guards stood watch near the gate leading deeper inside. He moved with predatory grace, a blur in the darkness.
The first guard never saw him coming. A swift strike to the neck silenced him before his torch hit the floor. The second turned in alarm-but Raven's blade pressed through his chest before he could shout.
Voltaro caught the torch before it fell and lowered it gently to the ground. "Hide the bodies," he ordered.
As his men dragged them aside, Voltaro approached the nearest cell. Inside, a woman-pale, thin, her eyes filled with exhaustion-looked up in disbelief.
"Voltaro..." she whispered, her voice cracking.
He met her gaze. "You're safe now. Stay quiet-we're getting everyone out."
He snapped the lock with a strike of his blade. The sound of chains breaking filled the corridor like a whispered promise of freedom.
The Ashen Blades-those young orphans who had become his warriors-moved efficiently, unlocking cells, covering mouths, guiding the captives out one by one. Some wept. Others clung to their rescuers in disbelief.
But Voltaro didn't stop. There were more.
He followed the corridor deeper until he reached a reinforced gate carved with the royal insignia of Eldrath-a serpent coiled around a crown. The same mark from Eran's satchel.
"This must be where they're keeping the rest," Raven said quietly.
Voltaro nodded. "Keep watch. No noise."
He pressed his palm against the cold metal. The gate was locked by a complex mechanism, runic and sealed by magic. But Voltaro's eyes glowed faintly with crimson light.
"Step back."
A low hum filled the air as he placed both hands against the seal. Heat pulsed from his palms, his aura burning a dull gray flame that licked against the metal. The runes began to distort, melting away under his focused energy until the seal broke with a flash.
The gate creaked open.
Inside, they found another chamber - smaller, darker, and crueler. Torture instruments lined the walls. Shackles hung from iron hooks, and on a wooden table lay one of Voltaro's own men - beaten, bloodied, barely breathing.
"By the gods..." Raven hissed, rushing to his side. "It's Lioren."
Voltaro knelt beside him. The man's body was broken - ribs shattered, bruises black and deep. His lips trembled as he struggled to speak.
"Voltaro... I knew you'd come..."
Voltaro's hand tightened into a fist. "Who did this to you?"
Lioren coughed, blood seeping from his mouth. "The king's right hand... Lord Marius... He-he ordered it. Said it was justice for the Dusk Vale. Said we'd made him look weak before the nobles."
Raven's eyes widened. "Revenge. He's doing all this for his pride."
Voltaro's face darkened, his voice low and cold. "Pride that costs lives isn't worth the title it defends."
He tore a piece of his cloak and pressed it against Lioren's wounds. "Stay with me," he said, his tone steady despite the fury burning inside him. "You'll live."
But Lioren's eyes fluttered, the pain overtaking him. "Save them... please..."
Voltaro nodded firmly. "I will."
He turned to Raven. "Get him out-quietly. No one dies here tonight except those who deserve it."
Raven nodded grimly, lifting Lioren onto his shoulder as the others began leading the prisoners out through the escape tunnel.
Voltaro, however, lingered. He looked around the chamber - at the instruments of pain, at the banners of Eldrath that hung mockingly above them. Each sight etched deeper into his resolve.
He found a ledger on a desk nearby, filled with names, numbers, and symbols - a record of every life taken, every soul sold. At the bottom, signed in elegant script, was the name Marius Valen, the king's right hand.
Voltaro's fingers brushed the signature, his eyes narrowing.
"Now I know," he whispered. "And now you're marked."
---
The escape was silent, almost ghostly. Voltaro and his men guided the freed villagers through the old tunnels until the faint light of dawn broke through the cracks above.
They emerged in the forest beyond Eldrath's walls, where the first rays of sun pierced the mist. The freed villagers collapsed onto the ground, weeping softly as they breathed free air again.
Voltaro stood apart, his cloak billowing in the early breeze. His eyes were still fixed toward the distant spires of Eldrath.
Behind him, Raven approached, Lioren supported by two others. "He's fading, Voltaro. He won't make it much longer."
Voltaro turned, kneeling beside his injured man. Lioren's breathing was shallow, but his eyes fluttered open once more.
"We made it?" he whispered.
Voltaro nodded slowly. "You did. They're free because of you."
Lioren smiled faintly, tears mixing with blood on his cheek. "Then... Ashenveil lives again."
His hand fell limp.
Voltaro's eyes closed, and for a long moment, silence hung between them. The forest was still, save for the whisper of leaves.
Raven placed a hand on his shoulder. "We can't bring him back. But we can make them pay."
Voltaro rose slowly, his expression unreadable, his crimson aura faintly pulsing beneath the surface. "Not yet," he said. "We strike only when we hold the proof and the people's faith. Until then... we remain their shadows."
He looked over the freed villagers - tired, broken, but alive. His voice carried across the clearing, steady as stone.
"This kingdom has forgotten what it means to protect its people. But I will remind them. When the time comes, Eldrath will tremble-not from our swords, but from the truth they buried."
The wind shifted, carrying the scent of smoke from the city.
Voltaro turned back toward the spires, his cloak sweeping behind him like the wings of a storm.
That moment voltaro and his man's are get back to the village.
Raven..! My lord what we do?
Voltaro..! We become shadow....
Too be continue...