—Narrated by Eli Whitmore
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The sun had not yet risen when we left the Arcane Institute.
A heavy mist clung to the trees outside the city walls, and the forest floor whispered under our boots as we moved deeper into the old world. Seraphina's riddle had led us here—to the Ruins of Orialis, an ancient city swallowed by time and vines, where echoes of long-forgotten spells still hung in the air like smoke.
The third key was waiting.
Me, Thorne, Felix, Ryker, Luna, and Draven moved in silence, each of us carrying the weight of our thoughts. The Tournament was behind us. The real battle lay ahead.
"This place gives me the creeps," Ryker muttered, glancing around the shattered pillars and overgrown stones. "Feels like the walls are watching."
Felix nodded. "Ruins like this were built with magic. They're not dead. They're sleeping."
Luna trailed her fingers across the ivy-covered walls. "And they don't like being disturbed."
We stopped at what used to be a temple. Time had taken its ceiling and part of the front wall, but a faint blue glow pulsed from the center like a heartbeat.
Thorne stepped ahead, holding out his palm. "This is it. The place in Seraphina's riddle."
I pulled out the small parchment she left me. Her voice echoed in my head:
"Where silence holds the voice of flame, and stone remembers every name, the Gate shall speak and test your soul, to see if you are truly whole."
The ground trembled slightly beneath us.
We were not alone.
---
The Guardian of Orialis
A shadow moved through the glow—a tall, cloaked figure with no face. Only light shone from where eyes should have been.
> "The trial begins."
The voice was not male or female. It simply was.
> "Each of you shall face your mirror. The piece of the Seal will reveal itself only to the one who bears truth in heart."
We all exchanged quick glances. Felix placed a hand on Ryker's shoulder. Luna drew a slow breath. Draven flexed his fingers. Thorne's gaze found mine, and I nodded.
Then everything changed.
We were pulled into our own visions.
---
Eli's Mirror
I stood in a hallway of doors.
Each one bore a name. My mother. My father. My aunt. Thorne. Myself.
Behind each door was a memory. A wound.
> "Choose the door you fear most," said the glowing figure beside me.
I looked at the door that bore my own name.
It was cracked.
I opened it.
Inside, I saw myself—younger, lost, crying in the middle of the night after visions of death.
"You're weak," the reflection said. "You can't protect anyone. You see too much and do too little."
But I stepped forward.
"Maybe I was weak. But I kept going. I still am. That's strength too."
The reflection smiled. Then vanished.
The door dissolved into light, and a glowing orb floated into my chest.
---
Thorne's Mirror
Thorne stood before a battlefield, corpses everywhere, blood on his hands.
Victor Everhart stood behind him.
> "This is what you become."
"No," Thorne whispered. "That was your path, not mine. I forge my own."
He planted his blade into the dirt. "I fight for Eli. For them. For me."
The battlefield turned to mist, and Thorne stepped into peace.
---
Felix and Ryker's Mirror
They faced an endless staircase, one climbing, one descending.
> "You must walk separate paths."
"Never," Ryker growled.
"We fight better together," Felix said.
They jumped from their steps into each other's arms, the illusion shattering into silver dust.
---
Luna and Draven's Mirror
A cage surrounded Luna. Draven was outside, screaming.
> "You are the light. He is the shadow. You do not belong."
Luna looked down at her trembling hands. Then she reached through the bars. "We choose each other."
Draven grabbed her hand. The cage melted.
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Return to the Temple
We awoke in the ruins, the orb from each of us floating to the center.
They merged into one—a fiery seal with the third symbol glowing bright.
It hovered above me.
I reached out.
> The Third Seal accepted you.
It vanished into my chest, and power surged through my veins—not heavy or wild, but calm and ancient.
We looked at each other, breathless.
"We did it," Luna said, voice shaking.
But then Draven looked at the sky. "Did you feel that? Something woke up."
Thunder echoed in the distance.
And I knew it too.
The final gate wasn't far.
But neither was the enemy.
---
To be continued...