Kael awoke in a chamber of soft starlight and pulsing crystal veins. The bed beneath him was warm, scented faintly of lilac and iron—Lyssa's touch. Mira slept slumped in a chair beside him, her hand still gripping his. His chest ached. But not with pain—more like pressure. As if something ancient had been stirred.
"Two glyphs..." he whispered.
The first gave him control of the ley-lines. The second—still forming—whispered of dominion over shadows. Not evil, but hidden. The magic of secrets.
A voice echoed in his mind: Veinweaving—Stage Two: Obscura.
He stood, swaying. Lyssa immediately entered.
"You shouldn't be up."
"I need to speak with the Queen."
"She's waiting."
He passed Mira, still sleeping, brushing her hair from her face with a gentle smile. "She worries too much."
Lyssa didn't reply.
---
Lysaria sat atop a dais of pale crystal, cloaked in twilight and regal exhaustion. The years of imprisonment had not dulled her fire—only redirected it.
"My son," she greeted, voice strong. "Your blood sings with the old magic."
Kael knelt. "Why did she betray you?"
"Because power never satisfies. Selene wanted the world. I only wanted peace."
"But peace dies without strength."
She looked at him, proud. "Then become the strength with peace."
Averin entered, bearing scrolls. "The ancient records from the Library confirm it. The second glyph is not native to Arden. It was given by the Outer Ones."
Kael frowned. "Gods?"
"Older. Forgotten. The ones who carved stars."
"So I'm a conduit?"
"Or a weapon," Averin said grimly.
Kael turned to Lysaria. "I need to understand this. Before it consumes me."
She reached out and touched his forehead. "Then enter the Dreamveil. It is a realm of memories, not all your own."
---
Within the Dreamveil
Kael walked through broken timelines—himself as a tyrant, a hero, a father, a monster. In one vision, Mira stood beside him as queen. In another, Lyssa reigned alone—mad with grief.
Each path ended in ruin.
Until one.
A mirror of light showed a throne shared. A kingdom born not of conquest, but unity.
Kael reached for it—
—and was pulled back.
---
He woke gasping. Mira was gone.
"Where—"
Lyssa entered, dagger drawn. "She left during your trance. With a note."
Kael read it:
I saw my future. It scared me. I'll fix it before it breaks us.
"She's going to the Silver Wastes," Kael whispered. "To the Tower of Memory."
Lyssa cursed. "That place eats minds."
Kael stood. "Then we chase her. Together."
And far beyond Arden, someone else smiled. A new piece had moved.
The game had truly begun.