A Vow of Faith and Void

By Flying Piglet

Three hundred years after the Great Cleansing, the Holy City of Aethel stands resolute under the absolute light of the Sun Faith—a realm where knowledge is bound in chains and faith is forged in steel. Until the Great Bell tolling marks the mysterious assassination of the High Pope. Simultaneously, the Aether-Void—a forbidden magic capable of nullifying all elements and consuming human souls—vanishes from the deepest sealed vault. The culprit leaves behind an ancient blood-written code alongside a chilling declaration of war: Every three hours, a High Mage will be publicly executed, until the entire Holy City collapses on the day of the Coronation. Faced with a ticking apocalyptic countdown, a forced alliance is struck between two individuals on opposite sides of the battlefield: Lyra—a rational scholar and the only Symbol-Breaker who can decipher the language of the lost past, yet shunned and branded as a potential heretics' ally by the Church. Kaelen—a ruthless Witch-Hunter Paladin, the Church’s deadliest blade, a man who treats dogma as breath and vows to incinerate anyone who threatens the order. One lives by proof and logic. The other lives by faith and blood. Racing against time amid dark conspiracies coiling around the Holy City, Lyra and Kaelen are forced to stand side-by-side to unmask the true mastermind. But as the ancient runes slowly uncover a truth buried for three centuries, they realize: the most dangerous enemy doesn't lie in the shadows... but under the sun itself. Disclaimer: This is a work of fiction. All characters, places, and events in this story are products of the author's imagination. Any resemblance to actual events or places is purely coincidental. Genre: Romantasy / Dark Fantasy / Enemies to Lovers / Mystery