Elara's consciousness returned slowly her vision flickered.
White... then grey... then darkness.
She inhaled slowly.
"Zei...rsulair...? Mikaela...? Samael...?"
Her voice echoed into nothingness.
No answer.
Only silence.
Panic to her chest, but she forced herself to stand. Her body felt heavy.
"One by one..." she whispered, calling out again.
"Khai... Zarek... anyone..."
Nothing.
She clenched her fists.
"I can't stop here..."
Ahead of her, through the dim haze, she noticed something it is a staircase.
It spiraled downward.
Elara begin to felt strange.
Still... she walked.
Each step echoed unnaturally, like the sound was being swallowed before it could exist.
As she descended, the air shifted.
Memories began to flicker at the edge of her vision.
Not hers.
But.
"...This is..."
She stepped forward slowly, reaching out as if she could touch it.
"...Riven's memory."
A young version of him stood there a distant, alone, carrying a loneliness too heavy for someone his age. And then... her.
Their first meeting.
The warmth disappeared instantly.
The staircase beneath her feet groaned.
She looked down.
The stone... was changing.
Slowly.
Subtly.
Until she realized it was no longer stone at all.
Her next step landed with a wet sound.
She froze.
The floor beneath her had turned into something... alive.
Flesh.
The deeper she went, the more the place resembled the inside of something organic.
Something Eldritch.
The smell hit her next rotten and suffocating.
Elara swallowed hard but did not stop.
"This place..." she murmured, her voice quieter now. "...it's like I'm walking inside the Eldritch itself."
Elara pressed forward, deeper into the abyss.
Each step sinking slightly into flesh that resisted, then yielded. The air grew thicker, harder to breathe, as if the place itself rejected her presence. Then she stopped.
Before her stood a massive gate.
Unlike the horrors behind her, this gate was not made of flesh. It was carved from ancient stone, towering and immovable. Across its surface spread intricate roots, twisting and branching in endless patterns.
Elara stepped closer, the roots pulsed faintly, as if responding to her touch.
Without hesitation, she pushed the gate open.
The chamber beyond was vast... but silent.
Too silent.
At the center lay the Eldritch Dragon.
But it was no longer raging.
No longer monstrous in motion.
It lay still.
Collapsed.
Its massive body fell faintly, as though something inside it was barely holding it together.
Elara approached slowly, every step cautious.
She moved closer to its head.
The creature's jaw hung slightly open.
And inside, her heart stopped.
"Riven...!"
There he was.
Unconscious.
Suspended within the dragon's maw, his body partially consumed by tendrils of black flesh that wrapped around him like a cocoon.
His skin was pale. His breathing shallow.
Like he was being slowly erased.
Elara rushed forward without thinking.
She climbed onto the dragon's jaw, ignoring the slick, breathing surface beneath her feet, and reached him.
"Riven... can you hear me...?"
No response.
Her hands trembled but only for a moment.
Then her eyes turned amber color.
Light ignited from within her.
She placed both hands gently toward his face.
A warm, golden glow spread outward, pushing back the creeping corruption. The tendrils recoiled, hissing as if burned by her touch.
The light deepened. The darkness began to retreat. Riven's breathing steadied. His fingers twitched his skins color returned faintly.
Elara exhaled, relief through her feeling but she did not stop because she knew this wasn't over.
Her gaze shifted toward the Eldritch Dragon. Without hesitation, she released one hand from Riven and summoned the Necro Sword.
The blade formed instantly and with the last of her strength, she swung. The blade carved through more than flesh it sliced through the very thread that bound the creature to existence.
Then a second whiteout consumed everything.
From within that silence...
Riven his eyes slowly opened.
The first thing he saw was her.
"Elara..." his voice was weak. "...you saved me... thankyou..."
Elara froze. Then her expression broke.
Tears started in her eyes as she gently held his face.
"It's been a long time... Riven..." she whispered, her voice trembling between relief and exhaustion.
Riven gave a faint and tired smile.
A moment of peace.
The Eldritch forces had stopped. The people of Eldar stood still, weapons lowered, as if time itself had paused to witness what had just occurred.
The dragons hovered in the sky, watching. Elara slowly helped Riven sit up, her hand still holding his.
"We stopped this battle..." she said quietly.
Riven looked toward the horizon, his expression turning serious despite his weakened state.
"...But it's not over."
Elara nodded.
Her grip on the Necro Sword tightened slightly.
"No..." she said, with her serious voice.
"It won't end... until we stop Azathoth."
YOU ARE READING
Ashes Whisper
FantasyAshes Whisper is a novel that follows the story of Elara, a young woman cursed with the ability to absorb the souls of the dead. As the war takes a heavy toll on Elara, she struggles to keep fighting, and her curse becomes increasingly difficult to...
