The staircase seemed endless, spiraling downward into a void of shifting sigils. Kean and Liara descended slowly, the air growing colder with every step.
After what felt like hours, they reached another vast cavern. At its center was a circular dais, carved with intricate symbols glowing faintly red.
Kean shivered. "This doesn't look welcoming."
Liara's jaw tightened. "It's an Oath Circle. Ancient contracts were bound here. Some still linger."
As they approached, the air shimmered. Two figures materialized on the dais—phantoms cloaked in shadow, their forms unstable. Their voices overlapped, echoing like broken glass.
"Intruders… who dares descend the Spiral without oath or bloodline?"
Liara stepped forward, her chin high. "I am Liara of the Sylvane Clan. I invoke right of passage."
The phantoms turned their hollow gaze to Kean. "And him?"
Kean stiffened. "I… I don't have a clan. I don't even belong here."
The phantoms hissed. "Then he must bleed. The Spiral accepts no nameless ones."
Kean's chest tightened. "Bleed? What does that—"
The shadows surged forward, claws of black flame slashing at him. Kean barely raised his arm before the mark flared, a shield erupting to block the strike.
The phantoms recoiled. "The Forgotten Sigil…" Their voices trembled. "Impossible."
Liara's eyes widened. "They recognize it…"
The phantoms whispered frantically among themselves before turning back. "If he bears the Forgotten, then the Spiral demands an Oath. Without it, his soul will unravel."
Kean swallowed hard. "An oath? What kind?"
"One that binds two as one. Strength shared. Fate entwined."
The air grew heavy, charged with power. A glowing circle appeared beneath his feet—and Liara's.
She stiffened, her cheeks flushing. "An oath of binding…"
Kean looked between her and the glowing runes. "What does that mean?"
Liara avoided his eyes. "…It means if we accept, our souls will be connected. Power, pain… even death. Shared."
Kean's throat went dry. "So basically… a magical marriage?"
Her cheeks colored deeper. "In essence."
The phantoms' voices boomed. "Choose. Bind—or perish."
Silence stretched.
Kean's mind raced. He barely knew this girl, yet she had saved him, fought beside him, risked herself for him. Without her, he'd already be dead.
Liara finally met his gaze, her emerald eyes steady. "This is your choice. But if you trust me… I'll carry the weight with you."
For a heartbeat, the world seemed to fade—the Spiral, the phantoms, everything. Only her eyes remained, fierce yet vulnerable.
Kean exhaled. "Then… I trust you."
The circle flared, engulfing them in light. Runes wrapped around their wrists like chains of fire and silk. The mark on Kean's arm fused with a golden sigil on Liara's, their energies entwining.
Pain seared through him, then a rush of strength so intoxicating it nearly dropped him. He felt her presence inside his mind—calm, sharp, unyielding.
Her voice whispered, not aloud but within. "We are bound now. Our fates are one."
Before Kean could respond, the phantoms screeched and dissolved, their voices echoing: "The Oath is made. The Spiral awakens. Beware the price…"
The cavern shook violently. Cracks split the dais, crimson light flooding upward.
Liara grabbed his arm, her eyes blazing with both fear and something softer. "Kean… we've started something we can't undo."
From the fissures, a roar unlike anything he had ever heard thundered out, shaking the Spiral itself.