Lira did not speak for a long time.
The fire crackled softly beside her, throwing orange light on her face, but she did not seem to notice it. She sat with her knees pulled close to her chest, her gaze fixed on the dark trees around the camp. Kael watched her quietly. He knew something was wrong the moment she stopped humming. Lira always hummed when she felt safe. Silence meant danger—danger inside her mind.
"Lira," Kael said softly, "tell me what you saw."
She hugged her knees tighter. "Kael… I think my memories are changing."
He blinked. "Changing?"
She nodded once, slowly. "Something is adding new memories inside me. Or maybe… something is waking up the memories I already had but never understood."
Kael moved closer, gentle but firm. "Tell me everything."
Lira took a deep breath. Her voice trembled.
"Kael… I remember the sky."
He frowned. "Everyone remembers the sky."
"No," she whispered. "I remember… a sky that wasn't ours."
Kael felt a cold shiver run through him. The same words he had heard Whisper say. The sky that is not ours. The same sky he saw in his dreams—stars moving like living things, whispers crawling under his skin.
Kael swallowed. "What kind of sky?"
Lira looked at him, her eyes filled with fear and wonder.
"It was… alive."
A Memory That Does Not Belong
She closed her eyes, and her trembling voice painted the scene.
"I was floating… or maybe falling. There was no ground, no wind, no direction. Just stars. Thousands. Millions. Moving like water. And in between them was darkness so deep it felt like it wanted to swallow me."
Kael didn't interrupt. He let her speak.
"One star blinked twice," Lira whispered. "Like it was looking at me. And every time it blinked, I could hear a word inside my head. It said… 'Remember.'"
Kael felt his heartbeat grow louder.
"That star," Lira said, opening her eyes again, "was the same voice I heard yesterday. The one that told me I knew more than I believed."
Kael rubbed his forehead. "Why you? Why would it speak to you?"
Lira gave him a sad smile. "Because I think… I'm not just Lira."
A Truth She Fears
Kael leaned in. "Then who are you?"
"I don't know," she answered honestly. "But there is something inside me. Something old. Older than this land. Older than the kingdoms. Older than the magic we know."
Kael's breath caught.
"Kael… I think a piece of the Star Being is inside me."
The fire between them sputtered as if reacting to her words.
Kael's instinct was to deny it, but deep inside, he knew it was possible. The Star Being had shattered into fragments. Whisper had said it. Some fragments became beasts. Some slipped into nature. And some… entered living souls.
"Lira," he said softly, "listen to me. Whatever is inside you—whatever memory—it doesn't change who you are to me."
Lira's eyes glistened. "But what if it changes who I am to myself?"
That line hit Kael like a punch to the chest.
The Wind Answers Her Fears
For a moment, the forest was still.
Then the wind arrived.
Not a normal wind. This one carried faint voices, like children whispering secrets deep inside a cave. Lira stiffened. Kael's hand moved to his sword.
The wind curled around Lira's hair, lifted a few strands, and whispered a soft word:
"Remember."
Her body jerked. Her eyes widened. She grabbed her head as if something sharp was stabbing her mind.
Kael reached for her. "Lira! Look at me! Stay with me!"
The wind grew colder. Darker. Almost blue.
Then—
Lira screamed.
It wasn't a human scream. It was layered—like several voices crying at once. Old voices. Forgotten voices. Voices that did not belong to this world.
Kael pulled her into his arms, holding tight as her body shook.
"Kael…" she gasped, "I… I see it again… That sky… that strange sky…"
Her voice became calm suddenly. Too calm.
Then she whispered:
"There is a door in the north. A door made of stars."
Kael froze.
"How do you know that?" he asked.
"I didn't know," she said. "But the memory does."
A Message From the Unseen
After several painful moments, the wind died.
Lira collapsed into Kael's lap, breathing heavily.
Kael stroked her hair. "It's okay. You're safe."
"No," she whispered. "I don't think safety is real anymore."
Kael didn't argue. He couldn't.
Lira slowly sat up, wiping her tears. "Kael… promise me something."
"Anything."
"If I change… if the memories grow stronger… if I become someone else…"She looked him dead in the eyes.
"Promise you won't let me disappear."
The fire crackled.
Kael whispered back, "You'll never disappear. Not while I'm alive."
Her hand touched his cheek. "Thank you… but the stars may think differently."
A New Fear Takes Root
Lira leaned against him again, trying to steady her breathing.
"Kael," she murmured, "what if I'm not meant to remember the sky?"
Kael held her gently. "Then we'll fight the memories together."
She nodded… but she didn't look convinced.
Because deep inside, Lira felt another truth growing quietly:
The memories were not waking up.They were returning.
Something ancient had found her.Something patient.Something that had waited a long, long time.
Night deepened around them.
And far above, hidden behind clouds, a single star blinked twice.