Alaric led Kieran to take a seat by the lake. Kieran knew they shouldn’t linger too long, but his energy was still struggling to regulate after the intense battle. Besides, it was all too clear that the priest was not quite ready to trust him yet.
While Kieran was able to maintain his usual neutral expression, Alaric’s suspicion of Death’s Chosen Contender was on full display. The elf’s golden eyes bored into Kieran, watching the man’s every move as they settled on the soft grass.
After a few moments of pretending he didn’t notice, Kieran turned towards the elf. “After all that, you still think I’m your enemy?”
“It is hard to believe that, after the millennia they have spent feuding, Death would see fit to save one of Life’s servants,” Alaric explained, his voice tinged with doubt. “The proof may be lying before me, scattered into thousands of bony pieces, but even so… it does not feel right. Trust… does not come so easily.”
“I suppose that is fair.” Kieran turned his focus inward, shrugging off the last remnants of pain. “But today’s events should at least be proof enough that your grove is no longer safe.”
Alaric remained silent for a while. Tension hung in the air around him as his expression went through a series of rapid changes, moving from suspicion to annoyance to begrudging acceptance.
Finally, the elf sighed heavily. “That… is something I can no longer deny. And I suppose I do owe you for saving my life.”
Kieran nodded and pushed himself to his feet. “We should leave as quickly as possible. It’s all too likely the Pale Watchers will attack again if we remain.”
“Yes… that is for the best,” Alaric replied, standing up himself. “Let us embark immediately. I assume you have a spell for the purpose? Or are we setting off on a long journey?”
“I have a spell that can transport us. You’re not bringing anything else with you?” Kieran asked, raising a curious eyebrow.
Alaric chuckled lightly. “Everything I need is on my person. If I left it anywhere else, it might get… covered.”
The two exchanged awkward glances. Then Kieran placed a hand on the elf’s shoulder. His instincts assumed that he needed to be touching an individual in order to bring them with him through Recall.
“Oh, before we go…” A shadow of apprehension passed over Alaric’s face. “Does that old wolf still prowl the peak’s streets and trails?”
Kieran gave him a confused look. “You mean Rah’Na? Yeah, she’s still around.”
Alaric turned pale at the news, but he quickly clenched his fists as his expression shifted to a look of conviction. “Very well. Let us go.”
Taking a second to check the flow of energy within him, Kieran put his focus on Recall. The world around them turned to darkness, then filled with stars and nebulae. Weightlessness took hold for just a moment. Finally, their legs landed on the ground once again.
When his vision clarified, Kieran realized he was back in the room Rah’Na had given him. The door was slightly open, allowing a bit of candlelight to come into the dark, windowless room.
Kieran pushed the door open and stepped into the hallway before calling out.
“Rah’Na? I’m back.”
Immediately, he picked up on rustling and then footsteps coming from the building’s common room. Moments later, the old wolf appeared at the end of the hallway and advanced towards them.
“Welcome back, Kieran,” Rah’Na exclaimed with a wolfish grin. Then her face became serious as she turned to Alaric. “And you return to the peak once again. Maybe this time, you will realize the futility of staying in your grove.”
Alaric hesitated before responding, shifting on his feet in discomfort. “If only it were so easy. Now, if you don’t mind, I will go to my usual haunt.”
“If you so insist.” Rah’Na’s usually pleasant growl sounded low and forceful.
Kieran stepped aside, allowing Alaric to pass. While Rah’Na’s face betrayed no emotion, it was clear to Kieran that the elf was, to put it mildly, terrified.
Alaric paused by Kieran and gave a slight bow. “When next you find a moment, come speak with me, that I may repay you for saving my life.”
Kieran simply nodded. Alaric took his leave, squeezing against the wall to get around Rah’Na without touching her. As soon as he was past the old wolf, the elf practically ran out of the building.
“I feel there is some history here I’m not privy to,” Kieran commented as Alaric’s footsteps faded into the distance. “He seems… afraid. Of you.”
Rah’Na scoffed as she walked back into the common room, Kieran following closely. “Much like yourself, I was sent to retrieve him during my time as Contender. He has feared me ever since I rescued him from his grove. Why, I do not know.”
The pair took their usual seats in the common room. Through the windows, Kieran could see that night had fallen, but he could still hear the sound of merriment from down the street.
“It’s good to know the survivors are doing well,” he said, gesturing towards the windows. “Celebration is a nice change of pace.”
“Yes, another group arrived while you were away.” Rah’Na looked at the windows, her genuine smile becoming wistful for a moment. Then she sighed and turned back towards Kieran. “Has Vahr’Khul given you a new task yet?”Did you know this story is from Royal Road? Read the official version for free and support the author.
Kieran shook his head. Leaning forward, he crossed his arms on the table in front of him, making sure his bracelet was visible. His eyes wandered subconsciously to the gem embedded in it.
“Well, orders or not, we must plan to deal with the Pale Watchers,” Rah’Na declared. “They will not stop pursuing you, not until you or their commander is dead.”
Kieran’s gaze snapped up to meet hers. His fingers tapped against the table as his mind started turning. He fully agreed with the old wolf, but he had no idea where to even start, not to mention his complete lack of confidence in being able to defeat both the Oculus and Bone Laureate at the same time.
He leaned back in his chair. “Of course. But I don’t think I’m ready for that fight just yet. At the grove, I fought a bone amalgam, and that was almost too much for me. Besides, we need to find the commander first. Both halves.”
Rah’Na chuckled, giving Kieran a comforting grin. “I don’t expect you to fight the damned duo immediately, Kieran. But there are things we can do in the meantime to push them back.”
“Well, I’m all ears.” Kieran’s eyes drifted back down to the gem in his bracelet. “At this point, I’ll do anything to get that damn Oculus to stop looking at me constantly.”
“Yes, blinding them to your presence would be a smart first step.” Rah’Na closed her eyes briefly in thought. “I have some ideas, but preparations are needed. In the meantime, get some rest.”
She opened her eyes and stood, heading for the door to join the celebration. “Oh, and good work rescuing Alaric from that bone amalgam,” the old wolf added. “He will prove invaluable to you over the course of this invasion.”
“Oh? How so?”
Rah’Na gave another wolfish grin. “See him in the morning and you’ll find out.” Then she pushed through the door, leaving Kieran in silence.
Alone with his thoughts, Kieran opened his skill screen. He was keen to know what the upgrade to Recall was.




General: Recall II
Domain of Death: Mend / Maim, Form of Death (Basic)
Domain of Defiance: Shield Counter
Total: 1000 essence




Marked with Roman numerals of all things, he thought as he opened the ability’s description.




Recall II
Spend an hour to mark a location. At will, return to the marked location via teleportation. The spell can carry the user and two other willing creatures.
Up to three locations can be marked for Recall.




Well, that certainly opens up more options, he considered. Though I’m not sure where else I would want to return to, just yet.
As he dismissed the screen, Kieran’s thoughts turned to the sight of Groveside overrun by rampant growth. He remembered the tug he had felt at discovering a new, more conceptual from of death. As soon as he thought of it, the tug returned, pulling his mind to contemplate the matter further.
Maybe it’s time for some meditation.
Settling into his seat as comfortably as he could, he closed his eyes.
Like the first time he made a breakthrough with his understanding, Kieran began by tugging on the stream of energy flowing through him. He found it significantly easier to manipulate the energy this time. He was able to redirect and move it like it was one of his own limbs. Intent was still required, but the action felt natural.
He grasped the thread and cast his thoughts through it, feeling the cold wash over him. The second time he attempted to meditate on death, this was the point where he had met a blockade. But now, there was no resistance. His mind swam through the stream of energy like a fish riding an ocean’s current.
Flashes of his own experiences coursed through Kieran’s mind. Groveside and the verdant chaos crawling over it, the broken-down walls and buildings all reclaimed by nature. Then came a vision of Eon’s Peak, its streets and buildings abandoned, the promenades and their seating areas empty of all former occupants.
Finally, Kieran’s vision was taken further, back to the Veil Between Worlds. He seemed to be staring down through the window-floor at the landscape of Lyruna beneath. As he stared, he was granted a glimpse into the history of the continent. He watched gatherings of hovels grow into sprawling cityscapes before finally falling still, nature claiming them again.
At the end of it all, Kieran brushed once more against the presence he had felt the first time.
It was enormous. Unbelievably so. And it was pulling him closer and closer.
In the vision, Kieran was facing away from the presence, but he fought to turn himself around. Using every ounce of his will, he managed to glimpse the very end of an accretion disk.
Fear crept into the back of his mind. It twisted his thoughts like the singularity twisted light before devouring it…
Kieran snapped up from his chair. His heart was beating fast, as if trying to break out from his ribcage. Breathing heavily, he turned his eyes to the fireplace, the images of his vision slowly giving way to the reality he was in.
He forced his heartbeat to slow down. His breathing regulated. And as his fear faded away, Kieran slumped back into his seat. He rubbed his eyes gently, trying to put everything together in his mind.
It was the second time he had glimpsed something that felt… greater. Its enormity felt like it eclipsed existence itself. And now he was even more convinced that this thing he could only catch glimpses of, the only thing that made him feel fear, was… Vahr’Khul. The actual entity, not a vessel or a projection.
It only makes sense that the presence of a god would feel… like that.
The more he thought, the more threads he connected. The growing cities, not unlike stars and planets forming in the early cosmos. Their eventual death. The abandoned cities, like stars going supernova or collapsing into black holes. And, finally, the inevitable truth that all of them would be absorbed into an even larger singularity one day.
The ever-patient singularity, waiting to deliver the Promised End.
Whether years, millennia, eons, or some even larger form of measurement, it made no difference. Their end would come, eventually.
He didn’t find it difficult to imagine Vahr’Khul as this singularity. They seem to be patient, content to let Kieran do what he liked so long as the tasks he was given were eventually completed.
True, those tasks had cut off his curiosity multiple times during his first days on Lyruna. But then again, it had been his choice to pursue the tasks rather than satisfy his craving for research. Vahr’Khul had made no threats. It was like the entity knew obedience was inevitable.
As inevitable as a singularity.
Weariness engulfed Kieran as his thoughts became more coherent. He knew that if he opened his skill screen, he would probably find a new skill awaiting him, but he found the growing wave of exhaustion too much to bear.
He barely fought against it enough to stand up and head for his room. Using the walls to support himself, he took long, shambling steps. When he reached the room, he practically fell into his bed.
His consciousness slipped away as soon as his body landed.