The temple sat at the edge of the Whispering Vale, its obsidian spires reaching toward the sky like dark prayers. Few ever came here without invitation. Fewer still left with answers.
Seraphina's carriage arrived before dawn.
No guards.
No fanfare.
Just silence.
She stepped out, cloak billowing in the chill wind, and stared up at the temple gates—massive things carved with ancient runes that pulsed faintly beneath her fingertips.
The doors opened before she knocked.
A priestess in white awaited her.
> "The Oracle saw you in a dream, Lady Velora."
Seraphina lifted her chin.
"Then she knows I don't come for riddles."
---
Scene Break – The Hall of Whispers
The Oracle sat upon a throne of crystal and bone, her veil translucent, her eyes glowing faintly gold.
She did not rise when Seraphina entered.
"You've changed," the Oracle said softly. "Even your soul trembles differently."
Seraphina didn't flinch. "I remember a life that ended with betrayal. That tends to leave a mark."
The Oracle tilted her head.
> "You were not meant to return."
"Then someone has rewritten fate."
Silence fell.
Then the Oracle slowly reached beneath her throne and drew out a scroll sealed in black wax.
"Only those who die and rise again may receive this prophecy."
She handed it to Seraphina.
Her hands trembled as she opened it.
The writing danced like flame across the parchment. Symbols she somehow understood.
Lines that unraveled her very breath.
> "The mirror is not a door. It is a cage."
> "One soul lives. One must die."
> "And when the blade falls, the empire's true heir shall bleed."
Seraphina reeled back.
"Whose blood does it speak of?"
The Oracle didn't answer.
But her golden eyes glistened… with sorrow.
---
Scene Break – Outside the Temple
Kaelith arrived minutes too late.
He dismounted in the shadows, watching Seraphina exit the temple gates.
She looked different.
Paler. Haunted.
In her hands, she clutched the scroll.
Kaelith stepped forward—then hesitated.
If she saw him now, would she trust him?
Or would she run?
Behind him, a whisper echoed through the forest.
"Your fate is hers. But your heart is your own."
Kaelith spun around.
No one was there.
Just the trees.
The wind.
And the slow, tightening ache in his chest.
---
Scene Break – The Palace Dungeons
Chancellor Verren descended into the cold depths beneath the palace.
There, behind a reinforced door, sat a prisoner. Chained. Hooded. Unmoving.
Verren unlocked the chamber, then entered alone.
He removed the hood.
A woman stared back at him—wild-haired, thin, and scarred.
Her eyes were the same shade as Seraphina's.
"You kept her alive?" he muttered.
"She was useful," a voice answered from the corner.
Verren turned.
The Empress stood there.
"I want Seraphina watched," she said. "If she finds out this woman lives, the prophecy might shift again."
"And if she already knows?"
The Empress's smile was cold.
"Then we kill her first."