The glass plain stretched out in every direction, reflecting the broken sky like a shattered memory. Auron stood just a few paces away from her — the Bound Queen. She hadn't moved since speaking. Her mask, smooth and pale like moonlight, showed no expression. But he felt the weight behind it.
Not anger. Not hatred.
Something older.
Recognition.
"Why did you call me here?" Auron asked.
The Queen tilted her head slightly. "I didn't. You did. The moment you sat on that throne and wore the mask, the bonds began to crack. I simply listened."
Auron's fingers curled. "You said you once ruled beside me."
"I did."
"Then why don't I remember you?"
"Because you chose to forget."
The wind stopped. Even the reflections in the glass seemed to freeze.
Auron's heart thumped once—hard.
The system buzzed in his ear.
[Memory Fragment Detected – Lock Status: 92%]
[Requirement: Speak Her True Name]
[Risk: Emotional Instability – Warning Ignored]
"I don't remember your name," he admitted. "But I feel something… when I look at you."
The Queen's voice softened. "They made you forget, Auron. Not just me. Everything. Who you were. What we were building. The world they feared we'd create."
"I need to know," he said. "All of it. Help me remember."
"You don't get to ask for memory," she replied, stepping forward. Her steps made no sound against the glass. "You earn it. You wear a throne on your back now. So prove you deserve the truth."
She raised her hand—and the ground erupted.
A pillar of black crystal shot into the sky, followed by dozens more. The horizon bent. Statues emerged, their faces masked, their hands gripping blades of frozen sorrow.
Auron stepped back, drawing his sword. Mira and Jace both reached for their weapons, but the Queen raised her hand again.
"Your friends don't belong in this memory."
In the blink of an eye, Mira and Jace vanished.
Auron's eyes widened. "What did you—"
"They're safe. But this trial is yours alone."
Before he could respond, the statues moved.
One by one, they lunged.
Their swords hissed with ghostfire, striking like flashes of old pain. Auron ducked, spun, and blocked, each blow heavier than the last. These weren't just enemies — they were fragments.
Shadows of people he'd once known.
Voices echoed through the battlefield.
"You failed us, Auron."
"You let them take her."
"You forgot her name."
He gritted his teeth. The mask over his face tightened like it was alive, reacting to his emotions. The system chimed again.
[Emotional Spike Detected – Fragment Unlock Progress: 95%]
He moved faster.
Strike. Parry. Dodge.
But the final blow came not from a sword—but a memory.
A vision struck him mid-step: A silver-haired girl, laughing in a garden of thorns. Her hand in his. Her voice whispering a name he couldn't hear.
He staggered.
The last statue raised its blade.
Then stopped.
Because he finally spoke.
"...Seliora."
The wind returned.
The battlefield shattered like glass under the sun.
The statues crumbled to dust.
And the Queen… removed her mask.
Underneath it was a face he didn't recognize, yet felt painfully familiar. Her eyes shimmered like storm-lit oceans, and for a moment, she looked no older than he was.
"Say it again," she said quietly.
"Seliora."
She smiled — a small, tired smile that hadn't been seen in centuries.
"You remembered."
The system let out a long, low tone.
[Memory Lock – Broken]
[Bound Queen Identified: Seliora Il'Tanaris]
[Status: Loyal – Condition Fulfilled]
Seliora stepped closer. She reached up, touched the side of Auron's mask, and whispered, "Now you remember who you were. But do you know what that makes you now?"
He stared into her eyes. "Someone they can't erase again."
Seliora nodded. "Then let us begin."