Chapter 21 – The Howling Path
The storm was a living thing.
Wind screamed through the jagged teeth of the cliffs, slashing snow across Kael's cloak like a thousand glass shards. Each step felt heavier—dragged not only by cold, but by weight that pulsed from the Gracebound Protocol etched into his soul.
Beside him, Lys moved with silent grace, her breath visible in sharp bursts. Neither of them spoke as they climbed higher along the winding pass carved into the mountain's side.
Their destination: the Temple of the Howling Path.
Kael didn't know why the name felt familiar.
He only knew the Gracebound System had issued its next directive.
> [Mission Assigned: Ascend the Temple of the Howling Path. Endure all five trials. Completion Reward: Grace Unlock – Second Accord]
There was no time limit. No further instructions. Just the whisper of fate pulling him forward.
And the promise of something buried deep in those ruins.
They reached the summit at dusk.
A massive stone gate loomed before them, half-buried in snow and ice. Ancient draconic glyphs spiraled across the surface—some glowing faintly, others broken or chipped away by centuries of wind.
Kael stepped forward, brushing frost from the nearest rune.
"It's locked," Lys said, scanning the cliff edges. "I don't like this place."
Kael nodded slowly. The air thrummed with pressure—subtle, but insistent. Like a test had already begun.
Then the glyph beneath his hand pulsed. The entire gate rumbled.
A deep voice, neither male nor female, echoed from the stone:
> "First Trial: The Silence Between Roars."
The gate split open with a thunderous groan.
Beyond it: darkness.
Kael and Lys exchanged a glance—and stepped inside.
---
The first trial was soundless.
Not quiet—void.
No breath, no heartbeat, not even the scrape of their feet against the ancient stone floor. It was as though the world had paused, and they were walking inside the moment between seconds.
Kael felt it immediately—the strain on his thoughts, the way his memories trembled as if unsure they were real.
The pressure mounted with every step.
Lys staggered beside him, her mouth moving. No sound came out. Her eyes narrowed—she couldn't even hear herself.
Kael reached out and touched her shoulder. She turned toward him, frowning. He raised a hand slowly and pointed forward.
Don't stop walking.
Then came the illusions.
Flickers in the dark—visions of a young man screaming as chains wrapped around his arms. A woman with silver hair, her back to him, vanishing into a sea of ash.
Then—
A boy in a courtyard, sword in hand, bowing before a dragon crowned in moonfire.
Kael gritted his teeth.
> [Gracebound System Notification: Trial Integrity Stable. Progressing…]
The silence shattered.
A roar unlike any he'd ever heard tore through the corridor—shaking the foundations of the ruin. Kael dropped to one knee as shards of spectral flame erupted around him, but the illusions were gone. The path ahead lay open.
> [First Trial Complete. Progress: 1/5]
Lys blinked. "What the hell was that?"
"You didn't hear anything?"
"I saw something," she said slowly. "But nothing made a sound."
Kael nodded, saying nothing. He'd seen more. And he had heard it—the voice behind the roar, the whisper in the flame.
It had said: You remember more than you know, Kael.
He didn't answer it.
But he kept walking.
---
Elsewhere, far from the mountain—
A golden-eyed youth sat cross-legged beneath a thunder-twisted tree, meditating as the wind stirred his cloak.
Behind him, a masked figure stepped from shadow.
"He's entered the Temple."
The youth opened his eyes. "Already? Then the bloodline is awakening faster than expected."
"What would you have me do?"
"Nothing," the youth said, rising. "Let him walk the path. He'll come to us when the fire consumes what's left."
He turned toward the east—toward the mountains.
"Let the Crucible burn."