It came sudden and fierce—infused with that same wildness she'd always carried in her smile. For a heartbeat, the world shrank to the warmth of her lips and the tight grip of her hand clutching my cloak. The storm of thoughts—the time-trapped regrets and warnings—fell silent.
When she pulled back, her breath brushed softly against mine.
"You don't get to leave without me," she said, voice trembling yet eyes unwavering. "I don't care if you're marked by magic or strength. Warrior, mage—it doesn't matter. I've known you since we were children, Eiran. And I know you didn't choose this path alone."
I hesitated, the echo of the Fatestone's voice still humming faintly in my mind.
She didn't know.
Not about the Warden. Not about the true path burning beneath my skin. To her, the shifting arcane tattoos—fluctuating between mage and warrior—were all she needed to see. She couldn't glimpse the balance I struggled to hold… nor the weight that came with it.
Perhaps, in some way, that was a mercy.
"I made my choice," she said firmly. "Now let me make mine. I choose you. So either I'm coming with you, or we go nowhere at all."
"Auralia…" I tried again, but the words turned to ash on my tongue.
She shook her head, eyes sparkling with fire. "Don't try to protect me from yourself. That's not your burden."
I stared at her—the fire, the defiance, the loyalty. She thought she was standing beside a warrior or a mage. She didn't realize she was walking with something more… something even I didn't fully understand.
But she was here.
And Gods help me, I couldn't send her away.
"Then walk with me," I whispered. "But know this—I didn't come back the same."
Her smile was soft, knowing. "Neither did I."
With that, we turned away from the only home we'd ever known—her hand finding mine, oblivious to the storm waiting on the horizon.
Behind us, the village shrank in the soft dawn light, its familiar rooftops bathed in pale morning hues as the world stirred awake. Ahead lay the unknown—vast forests cloaked in mist, jagged mountains standing like silent sentinels, and dangers lurking just beyond sight. Each step forward felt like stepping into an unwritten story, both thrilling and fraught with uncertainty.
Auralia walked beside me, her fiery hair catching the sun's first rays like an untamed flame. Her confident, playful smile masked the fierce stubbornness I'd always known—the same stubbornness that meant she wouldn't be left behind, no matter how dark the road ahead. That resolve stirred something tangled within me—a blend of protectiveness, doubt, and the aching awareness of the dangers we might face together.
My fingers curled around the leather-wrapped hilt of my broadsword, its weight steadying me against the unknown. The arcane tattoos tracing my arm shimmered faintly beneath my skin—a living reminder of the power I bore, born of choices I never imagined making. This wasn't just a departure from home; it was the first step toward a fate that threatened to consume all I held dear.
With every heartbeat, questions echoed in my mind—could I keep her safe, or was I leading her into a darkness too deep to escape? Yet beneath the fear burned a stubborn hope. Together, we would face the perils ahead, carve our place in a world indifferent to us, and maybe—just maybe—bend destiny itself.
As the morning sun rose higher, painting the sky with promise and challenge, the adventure was no longer a distant dream. It was real. It was ours. And there was no turning back.
The morning sun cast long shadows across the jagged cliffs of Rockan, where towering canyon walls twisted into a labyrinth of stone and shadow. Each ravine stretched like the gaping maw of the earth itself—a maze carved by time and wind, where every step could be a dead end or a trap.
The air was dry and sharp with the scent of dust and bitter rock, but the silence was heavier still. Just beyond hearing, a rustle betrayed the restless presence of goblins and kobolds—scavengers and predators who knew these canyons as well as the stones beneath their feet. Their gleaming eyes watched from dark crevices, waiting for careless travelers.
I tightened my grip on the hilt of my broadsword, its weight steady and familiar. Auralia moved beside me with graceful vigilance, her hand never straying far from her own blade. The tension between us was thick, silent but pulsing—a shared understanding that this land showed no mercy.
As we picked our way along a narrow ledge, the canyon walls seemed to close in, the path shrinking to barely wider than a man's stride. One misstep meant a deadly fall. The distant roar of a creature echoed through stone corridors, a warning that the monsters here were more than whispers and shadows.
Every crack of a twig or distant howl made my heart race, but beneath the danger was a thrill—a wildness that made me feel alive, even as the weight of what lay ahead pressed down.
Kithra was still days away, a city promising safety and secrets, but to reach it, we had to survive Rockan's deadly embrace. Every step forward was the start of a far greater fight.
Through the blazing midday heat, the labyrinth stretched endlessly before us. Goblins and kobolds skittered like shadows along jagged cliffs, their snarls and chatter carried faintly on dry wind. We clung to higher ledges and hidden paths, avoiding signs of large packs.
Every rustle or cry sent pulses of adrenaline through me, tightening my grip on the broadsword. Auralia's eyes never stopped scanning the crags, alert for danger or a way forward. Though vigilant, the knowledge of lurking predators kept the air thick with tension.
As the sun dipped low, painting canyon walls in fading gold, we found a narrow river carving a gentle path through rocky chaos. The sound of flowing water was a rare comfort in the harsh landscape—a place to rest, to breathe, if only for a night.