The palace had many wings.
But only one bled into the earth like a wound.
The forgotten dungeons.
Sealed. Abandoned. Claimed by roots and rot.
No one went there.
No one… except Lucien.
Because last night, something had whispered his name in his sleep.
Not aloud.
Inside.
A voice beneath his skin.
Riven…
It was the name from his first life — the name he hadn't heard spoken since his death in the other realm.
And it wasn't the curse speaking.
It was something older.
---
Lucien slipped past guards before dawn. Cloaked, silent. The air beneath the palace thickened with every step — heavy with spells long forgotten.
He reached the lowest level.
A single door. Made of stone, carved with wards that pulsed faintly at his touch.
The voice was louder now. Almost breathing.
He placed his palm to the seal.
It opened.
No one had opened it in decades.
Inside… the air screamed with old magic.
And at the center of the room sat a man.
Chained in runes. His body glowing with faint silver scars. Eyes closed. Skin too pale.
But when Lucien stepped in — the man smiled without looking.
"You finally came."
---
Up above, the Emperor met with his personal seer in secret.
"He refuses to choose," he said. "And the curse grows stronger. If we wait too long—"
"He'll consume them both," the seer whispered.
"Unless… we remove one."
The Emperor's eyes darkened.
"Kael is too valuable to kill. That leaves…"
"The priest."
---
Back in the dungeon, Lucien circled the chained man.
His voice was calm. Almost gentle.
"Who are you?"
"I am the echo of what you were," the man said. "A soul broken by death. Like you."
Lucien's throat tightened.
"You were summoned too?"
"No. I was born here. But I heard you arrive."
Lucien's pulse raced. "You know what I am?"
"Yes," the man whispered. "You are not cursed, Lucien. You are a vessel. The magic you hold — it's not bound to you."
Lucien's sigil flared dimly.
"It's becoming you."
---
Hours later, Elias found Lucien in the garden.
But something was… different.
Lucien's eyes looked older. His aura heavier. More dangerous.
"Where were you?" Elias asked, trying to keep his voice steady.
"Below," Lucien said. "I found someone who remembers the soul before me."
Elias stepped closer.
"Lucien, you need to be careful. Something's changing in you. The way your power pulses… it's no longer just reacting. It's reaching."
Lucien nodded slowly.
"I know."
He turned to Elias.
And gently touched his cheek.
"I'm afraid of what I'll become if I choose wrong."
Elias's voice trembled. "Then let me help you choose right."
---
That night, in a candlelit hall, the Emperor wrote a secret order.
"Remove the priest. Make it look like rebellion."
He sealed the scroll.
And sent it with a black-feathered raven.