Chapter 2615: Story 2616: The March of the Living

The mountain wind carried the sound of horns through the darkness.

Kael stood on the northern cliff, staring at the distant lights moving between the trees.

Hundreds of torches.

Hundreds of people.

For a moment, nobody spoke.

After years of wandering through a world ruled by the dead, Kael was looking at something he thought no longer existed.

An army of the living.

Ethan lowered his rifle slightly.

“That’s impossible.”

Mara nodded.

“There can’t be that many survivors.”

Adrian adjusted his glasses.

“Unless they’ve been hidden.”

The line of torches continued moving toward the fortress ruins. Their formation was organized. Scouts moved ahead while armored figures marched behind them carrying spears, rifles, and banners marked with an unfamiliar symbol.

A silver crown surrounded by a black circle.

Lena stared at the banner.

“I know that symbol.”

Kael looked at her.

“From where?”

She closed her eyes.

“A memory.”

Her voice became distant.

“Children in white rooms. Soldiers standing outside. The same banner hanging above the laboratory.”

Adrian’s expression changed.

“Veyr’s organization.”

The horns sounded again.

Then a single rider emerged from the front of the army.

The rider wore dark armor and carried a long spear. A black cloak moved behind the horse like a shadow.

The rider stopped several yards away.

Slowly, the figure removed the helmet.

It was a woman.

Her dark hair was tied behind her head, and a scar crossed one side of her face.

She looked directly at Kael.

“Kael Draven.”

Kael raised his shield.

“Who are you?”

The woman stepped down from her horse.

“My name is Isabella Ashcroft.”

Adrian froze.

“No.”

Mara looked at him.

“What?”

Adrian stared at the woman in disbelief.

“Marshal Isabella Ashcroft died fifteen years ago.”

The woman remained silent.

Then she smiled faintly.

“That is what the world believes.”

Kael studied her carefully.

“Why are you here?”

Isabella looked toward the collapsing fortress.

“Because Marcus Veyr has begun Phase Two.”

Ethan stepped forward.

“How do you know about that?”

“Because we have been fighting him for years.”

She pointed toward the army behind her.

“These people are survivors from the hidden settlements of the north.”

Kael looked at the soldiers.

Men, women, and even teenagers stood among them.

They looked tired.

But not broken.

“We call ourselves the Last March,” Isabella said.

Mara lowered her crossbow.

“You built an army?”

“No,” Isabella answered.

“We built hope.”

A distant roar interrupted them.

Everyone turned toward the fortress.

Black mist was rising into the night sky.

The spores were spreading.

Adrian’s face turned pale.

“If the wind carries them south...”

“Millions will die,” Ethan finished.

Isabella looked at Kael.

“That is why we came.”

Kael frowned.

“What do you want from me?”

The marshal’s eyes hardened.

“We need the Heir of the Origin.”

Kael tightened his grip on his sword.

“I am not a king.”

“No,” Isabella said quietly.

“But the dead believe you are.”

Suddenly, Lena gasped.

Her eyes turned black for a brief moment.

She looked toward the eastern mountains.

Something was moving there.

Something enormous.

Lena’s voice trembled.

“Kael...”

He looked at her.

“What is it?”

She stared into the darkness.

“The First Origin survived.”

And far beyond the mountains, a pair of giant red eyes opened beneath the earth.