The Nameless Heir

"This place stinks," Liz muttered, pinching her nose tight.

His reply came flat. "Yeah."

He crouched down, scooping a handful of red sand. The grains slid against his palm, rough and wrong. Not sand. More like fragments of something that had once been alive.

His gaze fixed on the trees. He stepped toward one of the twisted trunks. The bark pulsed faintly, like lungs straining for air. The closer he stood, the thinner the air became, as if the tree was pulling each breath straight out of his mouth.

He raised his blade. One stroke, clean across the bark.

The tree jolted. A hiss spilled out, carrying the stench of rot.

He shifted back, his shadowy cloak trailing after him.

Liz choked once, dragging her sleeve over her mouth to block the stench. "Are you insane? You don't just stab weird breathing trees!"

A corner of his mouth twitched. "Now we know they're alive."

She shot him a glare, still covering her nose. "Congratulations. You almost killed us with tree farts."

Kael's shoulders shook once, a low laugh slipping out.

The air hung heavy, sour and thick. Around them, the forest seemed to lean closer, listening.

An idea popped into his head "I could use that."

His palm began to glow, purple light bleeding through his skin. Then he pressed it against the tree. The bark twitched under his touch, like something alive waiting.

He let his energy spill out, branding it. "Drink up," he said flatly.

The light sank in quick. Roots groaned under the soil, veins of glow spreading out. The ground pulsed once. The forest shivered, branches creaking like lungs pulling air.

It didn't feel like he was feeding them. More like they were draining him dry.

She walked to him, her hand closing on his arm. His gaze stayed ahead, teeth grinding as he scanned the island

"We have to find them and get out of here," she said.

He turned to her. "Yes."

But his eyes didn't stay on her. They locked on the ocean behind her, where the monsters had fallen. The water had been soaked in black and green blood, littered with torn flesh and bone. Now it was gone. The stains were gone. No scraps. The water looked untouched.

"Let's move."

They stepped into the forest. As they went deeper, his control spread with them—slow, careful—sliding between roots and branches like smoke, testing, feeling.

The air was hot and wrong, carrying a weight that clung to their skin. The forest felt alive. He could feel the trees breathing, but it was quiet.

And the deeper they went, the quiet closed in, thick. Their boots ground against the dirt, the sound too sharp in the stillness.

The surroundings seemed to shift as they moved. The trees bent from all sides, bark split and jagged like old wounds. Roots jutted up, tangled and sharp, forcing them to step high or stumble.

It didn't feel like it was watching. That would've been too simple. This was different—like the place had been made for nightmares, every shape bent just enough to remind them of something dead.

Liz stayed close to him, a small ball of light in her hand. The light pushed back the dark, but only enough to catch the edge of the path. Beyond it, the trees crowded in, twitching like they were waiting for the flame to die.

Just then the ground split with a sharp crack. A hand forced its way through, flesh hanging in strips, nails cracked to the root. The smell rolled up first, heavy rot that made the air feel thick.

Not his.

The corpse dragged itself free, half its face missing, the other half dripping like it had just crawled out of a grave it wasn't ready to leave.

It latched onto his leg.

One cut, and the hand was gone, still twitching in the dirt.

Another followed. Fresh enough to still bleed. Its jaw hung loose, strings of meat swinging as it let out a low moan.

Liz's scream cut sharp. "Kael!" She bolted to him, arms flailing, before jumping straight onto his side like a terrified kid.

He split the thing clean in half. Blood slapped against the dirt. He started laughing—low, rough—watching her cling to him like her life depended on it.

She buried her face against his shoulder, voice breaking. "Ew, ew, ew!"

He bent down, giving his back a small tap. His voice stayed flat, almost too steady. The hesitation was there anyway, like someone trying to be gentle without knowing how.

"Climb on. That's… what couples do, isn't it?"

Her face went red. Still, she scrambled up, arms locking tight around his neck.

He shifted under the sudden weight, rolling his shoulders once, like testing how it sat on him.

"Don't say a word," she muttered, cheeks pressed against him.

His smirk flickered without turning his head. "Didn't plan to."

"You were thinking it."

The smile lingered this time, quiet but certain. "Yes. I was."

She squeezed his neck tighter, face buried against him. "I'm sorry. I didn't mean— I'm sorry."

He shifted his grip on her legs with one hand, steadying her. "Let's get moving."

His other hand closed around the sword's hilt. Her weight didn't matter; his stride stayed even as he pushed deeper into the forest, where the air reeked of rot and death.

"How far are they?" Liz asked.

He didn't answer instantly. He looked around, sensing them through the weapon he had given them. But they were hiding, and he knew the forest was listening. He couldn't risk them being found first. He didn't need to speak; the way his eyes moved told Liz enough.

"Something's coming," Kael muttered. "Turn the light off."

He could hear footsteps. Many.

"Something smells familiar."

"What?" Liz whispered.

"Yes. It smells like Hades' blood." He paused. "Many of them."

They ran the opposite way, but the ground betrayed them. His foot started to sink as if the soil itself didn't want him to run. More footsteps closed in. Dozens. Surrounding. He realized they couldn't hide here. They would always find them. This place was watching him.

Then it struck him—the trees.

He sprinted forward, dragging Liz along on his back. His blade ripped into the first trunk, splitting it open. Gas poured out, thick and foul, like a grave split wide.

Another. Then another. Each cut bled more rot into the air until the whole forest reeked of spoiled flesh. Liz held her breath, face pressed tight against his back, trying not to gag.

"Let's get their attention," he said, smirking.

Liz's palms lit up, gold fire dancing over her fingers. He wrapped it in shadow and dropped it to the ground, a little sun smothered in black.

Then he crouched, giving her the signal. She climbed onto his back, arms locking tight around him. He surged forward, fast enough that the air tore at his cloak.

The dead closed in.

They burst from the dark, their bodies fresh enough to look wrong—skin clinging to muscle, flesh hanging loose in strips, eyes glazed but too human. Their stench clawed down his throat. He cut them apart without slowing, his steel tearing them down in passing strokes.

And then he saw her.

A girl.

Alive.

Black hair, cut uneven like it had been hacked with a blade. Eyes glowing faint red in the gloom, flat and cold. Her face held nothing. No fear. No question. Just stillness—the kind born from someone made only to fight.

For the briefest moment, time bent. His eyes locked on hers as he shot past.

The undead carried his scent. But she—she reeked of it. The pull of his father's blood. The faint trace of his mother's warmth. Something carved deep, answering without words.

Her gaze flickered. Barely. A ripple that broke through the blank mask, just for a breath. Confusion. Recognition she couldn't name. Then it was gone, her face falling back into emptiness.

His chest tightened, but the moment vanished in the roar behind them.

The shadows released.

The forest erupted.

The gas caught fire, one trunk to the next, until the air itself ignited. The explosion tore through the woods, splitting earth and sky, chasing them with fire and splintered bark.

Kael's shadows folded in, snapping into a black sphere around him and Liz.

He glanced back at her with a straight face. "Hold on tight, sunshine. This is gonna be a fun ride."

The blast struck.

The bubble shot past the treeline, fire chasing it. It smashed into the mountain with a sound that made his teeth ache. Dust rolled out, swallowing half the peak.

Once the shadow bubble dropped, it slowly dissolved. In the distance, they could see the forest burning.

Next to them loomed a mountain. It had no opening at the base, but it was hollow—the entrance hidden near the top. A perfect hiding place.

He set Liz down and turned to the stone. One punch cracked the thick layer. Another split it further. A final strike tore it open, carving a hole wide enough to step through.

"Heya, guys. Miss me?"

Inside the cave stood Orion and Selene, weapons raised.

He waited in the wrecked opening, shadows trailing from his shoulders. His mouth edged upward, sharp, cocky.

"Your savior has arrived."