Location: Avalon – Hall of Mirrors
Isaiah stood before the great mirror—a pillar of shifting crystal that reflected more than just images. Lucian had called it the "Mirror of Echoes." In its depths, you didn't just see yourself; you saw the you that could have been, the you that once was.
Right now, it showed him a battlefield drenched in rain.
He stood amid fallen giants—some made of fire, others of steel—lightning sparking from his fingers, his cloak fluttering behind him like stormclouds. His eyes glowed with thunder.
Then it changed.
The mirror showed a boy—him—running down an alley, chased by men with weapons. A younger version of himself. Before Avalon. Before all of this.
He reached out to touch it.
> "Do you ever wonder if this is all just a mistake?"
Lucian's voice came from behind.
Isaiah didn't answer. He just stared into the glass. "A mistake? Me being the Stormbearer?"
"No," Lucian said quietly. "Us waking up the world."
---
A Growing Divide
Elsewhere in Avalon, the council chamber buzzed with urgency.
Yena stood before three other commanders—each representing factions of the global Mythborne Alliance. There was Commander Reiss of the European Circle, Madam Zhu of the Eastern Wing, and General Okafor from the Pan-African Coalition.
A hologram of Anpu rotated slowly above them.
Reiss scowled. "You're telling us a Primordial has returned? We barely survived the Wraith War."
Madam Zhu nodded solemnly. "He is not bound to a shard. This is older. Raw power."
General Okafor folded his arms. "Then we must act first. Preemptively."
Yena interjected. "And do what? Attack him in a desert full of innocent lives? He hasn't struck yet."
"He will," Reiss snapped. "They always do."
Lucian entered, interrupting the debate.
> "We don't need to fear him yet. We need to understand him."
---
Dreamwalker
That night, Isaiah dreamt of lightning—but it wasn't the usual chaos of memory shards and godlike flashes.
It was a controlled storm.
In the dream, he stood on a mountain, alone, watching the skies rumble. A woman stood beside him—tall, regal, her face half-covered by a veil of white silk.
> "Do you remember me, Kairon?"
Isaiah blinked. "My name's Isaiah."
She stepped closer. "That was your name before. You were Kairon, Lord of the Tempest. And I…"
She lifted her veil.
He gasped.
It was the woman he'd seen in earlier visions—the one who screamed as he fell.
> "You were my end," she whispered. "And now, you must choose if you'll be our beginning."
He reached for her.
The dream shattered.
---
The Hunt Begins
Location: Sudanese Border
Anpu walked barefoot through villages reduced to silence. Shadows curled around his feet like loyal beasts. With a glance, he silenced rifles. With a word, he opened ancient gates buried under centuries of rock.
He wasn't looking for Isaiah.
He was looking for the others.
The shardbearers.
And he found one.
A woman named Suri, whose body burned with golden flame. She had not yet awakened fully, but the shard within her had begun to stir.
They met in a ruined temple, fire against shadow.
> "You are not my enemy," she said, her voice trembling.
> "No," Anpu replied. "You are my prey."
---
Back in Avalon
Isaiah jolted awake, the dream still burning in his mind.
He ran to Lucian, who stood meditating before a floating sigil.
"I saw her again," Isaiah said breathlessly. "The woman in white. She called me Kairon."
Lucian opened his eyes slowly. "Then your true memories are surfacing faster than expected."
Isaiah frowned. "Why does it feel like everyone knows who I was but me?"
Lucian hesitated.
"Because the last time you awakened, you betrayed us all."
Isaiah took a step back, stunned.
Lucian didn't soften the blow. "You brought the sky fortress down. You unleashed the Rift War."
> "And now, you must decide if you'll make the same mistake again."