The barefoot boy’s knees slammed deeper into the shattered street.

Blood dripped from his trembling fist.

But the wall still stood.

Barely.

The gigantic horned beast roared again and smashed both claws against the cracked barrier.

BOOOOOOM.

Entire sections of stone exploded apart.

Soldiers were thrown backward across the battlefield.

One captain screamed in terror,

“Fall back! FALL BACK!”

But nobody could look away from the child.

Because the glowing markings across his arm were spreading faster now.

Up his shoulder.

Across his neck.

Burning gold beneath the rain like living fire.

The boy’s breathing became ragged.

Pain ripped through every muscle in his body.

He could feel the earth itself screaming beneath him.

The princess stared from behind the collapsing wall with wide terrified eyes.

She couldn’t have been older than fourteen.

Rain mixed with tears across her face.

“Y-you need to run…”

The child never answered.

Another impact shook the city.

The monster slammed forward again.

CRAAAAACK.

A massive fracture split through the center of the wall.

The beast’s gigantic claws suddenly punched through the stone.

Soldiers screamed.

The creature’s burning red eyes locked directly onto the princess behind the barrier.

Hungry.

Furious.

Ancient.

Then the child finally moved.

His glowing hand slowly rose toward the cracked wall.

And the battlefield began shaking harder than before.

At first—

the soldiers thought it was thunder.

Then entire buildings started trembling.

Loose stones floated upward into the air.

Broken weapons vibrated across the battlefield.

The captain’s face turned pale.

“No…”

An old priest standing beside the royal guards suddenly dropped to his knees in horror.

“That power…”

Lightning exploded across the black sky.

The child clenched his fist.

And the entire street erupted upward.

BOOOOOOOOOOM.

Gigantic pillars of stone burst from beneath the city like volcanic mountains.

Not one wall.

Hundreds.

Massive black rock towers exploded upward around the monster from every direction.

The beast roared furiously as the ground trapped its enormous body inside a prison of stone.

The city shook violently.

People fell to their knees.

Windows shattered across the capital.

And for the first time—

the monster stopped moving.

Dust consumed the battlefield.

The barefoot child stood at the center of the destruction breathing heavily while glowing cracks spread across both arms now.

The soldiers stared speechlessly.

One whispered,

“He stopped it…”

But then—

the monster laughed.

A deep horrifying growl echoed from inside the dust storm.

The captain froze.

The old priest’s face turned white.

Because monsters did not laugh.

Then something enormous moved inside the stone prison.

THOOOOOOM.

One pillar exploded apart.

THOOOOOOM.

Another shattered.

The beast slowly stood back up inside the collapsing cage.

Blood covered its black armored skin now.

But its eyes burned brighter than before.

And something far worse had appeared across its chest.

Golden markings.

The exact same markings glowing across the child’s arms.

The battlefield fell completely silent.

The boy’s eyes widened.

The old priest whispered in terror,

“It can’t be…”

The horned beast slowly stepped forward from the shattered stone prison.

Every step cracked the streets beneath it.

And then—

it spoke.

“You still live…”

The entire army froze in horror.

The monster’s voice sounded ancient.

Like mountains grinding together beneath the earth.

The child staggered backward.

Rain poured harder across the battlefield.

The beast lowered its massive head toward him.

“I searched for you… for ten years.”

The princess stared in disbelief.

The captain slowly raised his sword again.

“What IS that thing?!”

The old priest grabbed his arm violently.

“No! Don’t attack!”

“But it’s speaking!”

“That is not a monster…”

Lightning illuminated the battlefield once more.

And the priest finally whispered the forbidden words.

“That is a Guardian.”

Every soldier nearby turned toward him in shock.

The old priest’s entire body trembled.

“Before the Kingdom of Ashkar existed… the Guardians protected the ancient bloodlines of the earth.”

The captain looked back at the gigantic creature destroying the city.

“That thing is protecting us?!”

“No…” the priest whispered.

“It’s protecting HIM.”

Everyone turned toward the child.

The barefoot boy stared silently at the giant creature.

Confused.

Terrified.

The beast slowly knelt before him.

The entire capital gasped.

Even the thunder seemed quieter now.

The creature’s enormous burning eyes softened for the first time.

“You survived longer than the others…”

The child’s voice shook.

“Who… are you?”

The Guardian stared at him silently.

Then slowly lowered its gigantic head.

“I failed your mother.”

The world stopped.

The glowing markings across the child’s arms flickered violently.

Somewhere deep inside his memories—

something cracked open.

A woman’s voice.

Soft hands touching his face.

Golden light.

Then fire.

Screaming.

Blood.

The boy suddenly grabbed his head in pain.

The princess crawled closer toward him.

“What’s happening to him?!”

The old priest looked horrified.

“The seal is breaking…”

Lightning exploded across the sky again.

And suddenly—

the child remembered.

Not fully.

Only fragments.

A gigantic underground chamber.

Ancient golden symbols.

A crying woman holding him tightly.

And thousands of monsters screaming outside the walls.

Then a voice.

His mother’s voice.

“Run before the gate opens.”

The child collapsed to one knee breathing heavily.

The Guardian lowered its head sadly.

“You were never meant to remember.”

The captain slowly stepped backward.

“What gate…?”

The old priest looked like he wanted to run.

Because he already knew.

“The Abyss Gate…”

Several soldiers immediately made signs of protection across their chests.

Legends of the Abyss Gate had existed for centuries.

A doorway buried beneath Ashkar.

Sealed by the first kings.

A prison holding things too terrible for the world above.

The captain whispered,

“That’s only a myth…”

“No,” said the Guardian.

“It is beneath this city.”

Thunder shook the battlefield again.

Then suddenly—

the entire ground beneath the capital trembled.

Not from the monster.

Not from the storm.

Something else.

Something deeper.

The child’s glowing eyes slowly lifted toward the royal palace standing above the city.

And for the first time—

he noticed the sound.

A heartbeat.

Far below the earth.

BOOM.

BOOM.

BOOM.

The Guardian’s voice darkened.

“The seal is failing.”

The princess stared at the child.

“What does that mean?”

But deep down—

she already feared the answer.

The Guardian slowly turned toward the royal palace.

“Your king lied to this kingdom.”

The captain immediately raised his sword.

“Watch your tongue!”

But the Guardian roared so loudly the streets shattered beneath them.

“HE FED THE GATE!”

Silence.

Rain poured across the ruined battlefield.

The old priest closed his eyes in despair.

Because it was true.

The king of Ashkar had hidden the truth for decades.

Every war.

Every execution.

Every disappearance near the lower city.

Sacrifices.

All to keep the Abyss Gate asleep.

The princess’s face turned pale.

“No…”

The Guardian looked toward her sadly.

“Your father doomed this kingdom long ago.”

Far above them—

inside the royal palace—

King Vaelor stood silently before a gigantic black door hidden beneath the throne room.

Chains covered the massive structure.

Ancient symbols glowed across its surface.

And deep behind the door—

something enormous slowly moved.

The king’s hands trembled.

A royal advisor whispered beside him,

“The Guardian has awakened.”

Vaelor closed his eyes.

“I know.”

“You said the child died.”

“So did I.”

Another violent tremor shook the palace.

Dust fell from the ceiling.

Then—

a tiny crack appeared across the black gate.

The king stared at it in horror.

Because something inside the darkness…

was smiling.

Back outside—

the child slowly stood again.

Rainwater dripped from his ragged clothes.

The golden markings across his skin now glowed brighter than lightning itself.

The Guardian lowered its head beside him.

“You must leave the city now.”

The child looked up at the gigantic creature.

“Why me?”

The Guardian’s eyes softened again.

“Because the Gate answers to your blood.”

The princess whispered,

“What is he?”

The old priest looked toward the child with fear and awe.

“The last Sealborn.”

Lightning exploded across the sky again.

And suddenly—

every glowing symbol across the child’s body ignited at once.

The city streets cracked apart.

Golden light burst upward from beneath the earth itself.

People screamed across the capital.

The heartbeat below the city became louder.

BOOM.

BOOM.

BOOM.

The child suddenly heard whispers inside his mind.

Thousands of them.

Hungry.

Ancient.

Waiting.

His hands trembled violently.

“I can hear them…”

The Guardian immediately stepped closer.

“Do not listen.”

But the voices only grew louder.

OPEN THE GATE.

OPEN THE GATE.

OPEN THE GATE.

The child screamed and fell to his knees.

The entire battlefield shook violently.

Massive cracks spread across the city streets.

Buildings began collapsing.

The captain shouted desperately,

“The whole capital is breaking apart!”

Then suddenly—

the royal palace exploded.

BOOOOOOOOOM.

A gigantic column of black energy erupted into the sky from the center of the capital.

Every soldier froze.

The princess stared in horror.

Because something was rising above the palace.

Not a creature.

A hand.

Enormous.

Black.

Covered in burning red eyes.

It slowly clawed its way upward from beneath the earth.

The Abyss Gate had opened.

Screams erupted across the city.

People ran through collapsing streets.

The sky itself darkened unnaturally above Ashkar.

And the gigantic hand kept rising higher.

The Guardian roared furiously.

“IT’S TOO EARLY!”

The child stared at the monstrous hand emerging from beneath the palace.

The whispers inside his mind became unbearable now.

He could barely breathe.

Then—

the princess grabbed his trembling arm.

And everything changed.

The voices stopped.

Instantly.

The child looked at her in shock.

The princess looked confused too.

But where her hand touched his glowing skin—

the golden markings calmed.

The Guardian suddenly froze.

Its enormous eyes widened in disbelief.

“No…”

The old priest stared at the princess.

Then at the child.

And finally understood.

“The royal bloodline…”

The princess slowly stepped backward.

“What?”

The priest’s voice trembled.

“The first kings of Ashkar were not jailers of the Gate…”

He looked toward the child.

“They were descendants of the Sealborn.”

The child stared silently at the princess.

The same glowing markings slowly began appearing across her wrist.

Golden light beneath her skin.

The Guardian lowered itself completely to the ground.

Not to the boy.

To BOTH of them.

“The final bloodlines survived…”

The gigantic black hand above the palace suddenly smashed downward into the city.

BOOOOOOOOM.

Entire streets vanished instantly.

The capital erupted into flames.

The Guardian roared.

“There is no more time!”

The child looked toward the destruction surrounding Ashkar.

People screaming.

Buildings collapsing.

The sky splitting apart above them.

Then he looked back toward the princess.

And for the first time—

he wasn’t afraid anymore.

He slowly reached for her hand.

The golden markings across both their arms ignited together.

The entire battlefield exploded with light.

The old priest fell to his knees crying.

Because ancient legends spoke of this moment.

Two surviving bloodlines.

One power to seal the Gate forever.

The Guardian roared toward the heavens.

“THE EARTH REMEMBERS!”

The child raised his glowing hand toward the collapsing capital.

And the city answered.

Every street.

Every wall.

Every stone beneath Ashkar began rising into the air.

The monstrous black hand smashed downward again—

but this time—

an entire mountain of earth erupted upward to stop it.

BOOOOOOOOOOM.

The collision split the sky itself.

Golden light consumed the battlefield.

The princess screamed as ancient power surged through her body.

The child held her hand tighter.

And together—

they lifted the entire capital.