Chapter 2773: Story 2774: The Name That Awakened the Beast

Cael fell to his knees.

The golden symbol on his forehead burned brighter, spreading across his skin like cracks in ancient glass. He clawed at it, but every touch released a whisper that made the dead kings tremble.

“Cael!” Ronan shouted.

His brother looked up. For a moment, his scarred face appeared younger, almost peaceful.

Then he spoke a name.

The throne split.

The Nameless King staggered backward, its cloak of living shadows whipping around the chamber. Every stolen name beneath its hood ignited, one after another, before vanishing into darkness.

“No,” the King hissed. “You were never meant to remember.”

Cael smiled through his pain.

“I remember serving you,” he whispered. “I remember the first kingdom before it had a king. I remember the silence before the first breath.”

His eyes turned completely gold.

“And I remember what you called yourself before you stole the names of others.”

The forgotten child covered his ears.

“Don’t say it!”

But Cael had already opened his mouth.

The name emerged as a sound older than language.

The chamber disappeared beneath a wave of invisible force. Stone melted into black sand. The dead kings shattered into clouds of ash, while the brothers were thrown against the ruined walls.

Ronan struck the ground hard enough to lose his breath.

When he lifted his head, the throne was gone.

So was the Nameless King.

Only Cael remained, suspended above the floor, golden chains piercing his chest. Something beneath the world answered the spoken name with a deafening roar.

The mountain split.

Far below, an enormous eye opened inside the darkness.

The same eye that had watched Ronan beyond the golden door.

But this time, it was afraid.

“What have you done?” Elias demanded, struggling to his feet.

Cael’s expression changed. The gold faded from his eyes, replaced by terrible grief.

“I reminded the world of its first prisoner.”

The forgotten child approached him slowly. His red heart beat so violently that light spilled between his fingers.

“Not prisoner,” the child whispered. “Son.”

A deep impact shook the chamber.

Once.

Twice.

On the third impact, the floor beneath Ronan cracked open, revealing an endless staircase descending into a darkness filled with enormous chains.

At the bottom stood a colossal figure, bound by restraints thick as towers. Its body was covered in ancient symbols, and its head bowed beneath a crown of stone.

Ronan felt the golden mark on his arms burn.

He knew that silhouette.

It was the being whose heart had been placed inside him.

The forgotten child stared into the abyss.

“Father,” he whispered.

The colossal figure slowly raised its head.

Its face resembled Ronan’s, but its eyes were empty hollows filled with dying stars.

Then it spoke, and every brother heard the same words inside his skull.

“WHO HAS SPOKEN THE NAME OF MY EXECUTIONER?”

Cael began to scream again.

The golden chains around him tightened, dragging him toward the staircase.

Lyra caught Ronan’s arm before he could follow.

“Look at Cael!”

Ronan turned.

His brother’s body was dissolving into golden sparks, and the symbol on his forehead had become a tiny, burning crown.

The Nameless King’s voice rose from beneath the earth.

“Thank you, my faithful servant. Now the prison can finally open.”

And the colossal figure below began to laugh.