The Last Shadowborn

Ms. Valkyrie was a wild and unrestrained woman who belonged to no one and nothing. Men came and went from her life like passing shadows, leaving behind nothing but rumors and fleeting satisfaction. To some, she was freedom, to most she was disgraceful but on one fateful night… she became something else entirely.

Ms. Valkyrie stumbled along the roadside in the quiet street, her steps uneven, her vision blurred by alcohol. She hummed softly to herself, careless, unaware of how close she drifted to the edge of danger. Her heel slipped, her body tilted forward and just before she could hit the ground, a hand caught her.

She froze, then she turned and stood behind her.

A man cloaked in darkness, his long black coat swaying slightly in the wind. A wide-brimmed hat concealed his face, casting a shadow too deep to be natural but there was something wrong about him. Not something she could explain… but something she could feel. It was a quiet danger and a presence that did not belong among the living and yet her drunk-self smiled carelessly.

“Careful, young man” she slurred, leaning into him as though nothing about him was strange. “I might fall again.” His grip tightened slightly. A surge of energy unlike anything she had ever known. It wasn’t warm and it wasn’t comforting; it was cold but also felt alive.

Her breath hitched, her fingers gripping his coat as if seeking balance but finding something else entirely. He clenched to her and grabbed her wholly, took her to a nearby brothel and both of them had fun together.

By morning, he was gone: No footsteps, no door left open and no trace of his existence, only silence and a lingering chill that refused to leave her body.

Weeks later, reality struck; She was pregnant. The news hit her like a blade to the chest.

“No… no, this can’t be happening” she muttered, pacing restlessly inside her small, dimly lit room.

Fear consumed her, she tried everything to eradicate the child; herbs, potions but nothing worked.

Months passed and her resistance faded into reluctant acceptance and when the time came, she gave birth to a boy.

The cries of the newborn filled the room, loud and full of life. For a brief moment, something inside her softened as she held him, looked at him and smiled.

“Kratos…” she whispered weakly “Kratos Valkyrie, that's your name”.

But reality was cruel, she had no money, no support and no future to offer him.

And the father? A shadow. A memory she could barely grasp.

For six years, she tried.

She worked endlessly and tirelessly, taking whatever she could—small jobs, long nights, anything that would keep food on the table but exhaustion is a slow poison and eventually it consumed her or so you thought. One night, under the cover of darkness…She left with no goodbye and no explanation. She walked away from her own child and never looked back.

Kratos never knew anything. All he remembered was the cold, the hunger and the fear. He was found that same night by a childless couple roaming about the city, they were people who saw a helpless boy and chose to give him a home.

He laughed, played and lived like any normal child but only for a while…everything was peaceful.

Until war came, a war between Calanthor and Erebus. Kratos was only twelve when it reached his home, he still remembered the night.

He remembered his foster father pushing him toward the back door.“Run, Kratos! Don’t look back!”

He remembered refusing but he had to escape. He had lost his foster parents, the ones that took care of him and showed him love, he buried them himself.

With shaking hands and tear-filled eyes, he dug into the earth and laid them to rest, but a stranger came to offer him help even in the chaos but never gave him a home.

Five years later:

Kratos Valkyrie stood alone in the opposite streets of Calanthor, the market was alive with noise: Merchants shouting, children running, it was also filled with the smell of roasted meat mixing with rot and smoke.

Kratos moved through it all like a ghost.

“Hey, Kratos!” The voice came from the side.

Old Man Thorne leaned against his worn wooden cart, his sharp eyes studying him carefully “Found anything today?”

Kratos shook his head, brushing dirt from his sleeves “Nothing worth selling.”

Thorne clicked his tongue. “Tch. Times are getting harder.”

Kratos said nothing, harder was just another word for normal.

“Try the docks tomorrow” Thorne added. “Sometimes ships bring in a lot of stuff people forget…maybe you could find something”

Kratos nodded slightly “I’ll check tomorrow, thank you” He turned and walked away.

As the sun began to set, the sky dimming into darkness, Kratos returned to his usual spot behind a stack of old crates.

He pulled out a half-eaten loaf of bread he found on the floor and ate slowly, his gaze drifting upward to the sky.

When he finished eating, he laid down, pulling his torn blanket over his legs, as he was about to shut his eyes to sleep, something caught his eye; a small box.

Kratos frowned as he sat up slowly, his instincts immediately on edge.

No one left things behind here not unless it was a trap. He approached it cautiously, as he moved closer he saw hiis name Kratos was crudely scriprted onto its surface.

“What could this be…?” He looked around.

Slowly, he picked it up, the moment his fingers touched it, a faint vibration ran through his hand, not a painful one but tickling.

He opened it and inside the box, he found an amulet that looked ancient, covered in symbols he didn’t recognized and yet it felt familiar.

The moment he touched the amulet, visions flooded his mind, it was overwhelming; he saw war but not the kind he knew, it was something far worse.

Armies clashed beneath a black sky, creatures that were not human filled with uncontrollable power and then a voice echoed through his very soul.

“Arcus…”

Kratos screamed. His body convulsed, trembling as if it couldn’t contain what was happening inside him. The box fell from his hands, hitting the ground with a dull thud.

“What… is this?!”

He felt a presence like someone was watching him, he felt cold chill in his body, the amulet began to hum, low at first and then louder, he tried to move but his body wouldn’t respond.

“Move!” he gasped but nothing happened, he was stuck.

Panic surged, his heartbeat pounded violently in his chest and then suddenly, it stopped and there was a complete silence.

Then suddenly, he broke free.  Kratos ran, faster than he ever had before, he didn’t stop until he couldn’t breathe properly. Leaning against a wall, he gasped for air, his heartbeat rising and falling rapidly “What is happening to me…?”

He was at peace for a few seconds and looked side ways, his eyes caught something: The amulet, was right beside him again.

His eyes widened in horror “No… no, that’s not possible…”

Sudden darkness consumed him, and he fell unconscious to the floor. The amulet lifted slightly off the ground, drawn to him as if answering a call.

The amulet searched for its own and Kratos body was his magnet.