Kael and Lira reached the northern cliffs by early morning.The wind here was sharper than any blade. It cut their cheeks, froze their breath, and hissed warnings through the cracks in the stone. The sky was pale and wild, as if the world itself had forgotten its colors.
Lira kept touching her temples.Kael noticed.
"Is it the memories again?" he asked gently.
"No," she whispered. "It's something else. Something calling."
Kael tightened his grip on his cloak. "Then we'll face it together."
But the truth was, he was afraid.
Because every step north made the air feel heavier—like the world was bending under a weight too old to name.
The Frozen Gate Appears
They climbed a narrow path between two massive cliffs.At the top, the land opened like a giant mouth.
And there it was.
A gate.
But not a normal one.
It was made entirely of ice—clear as glass, wide as a castle wall, and tall enough to touch the sky. Symbols glowed faintly inside the frozen surface. They twisted and swirled like trapped stars.
Kael stared, breathless.
"Is this… what your memory showed you?"
Lira nodded slowly."It's exactly the same. The door made of stars."
Kael stepped closer. "This looks like a prison."
"No," Lira whispered, placing a hand on the ice. "It looks like a warning."
The symbols inside flickered as she touched them.For a moment the wind grew still.
Then—
Footsteps.
Both of them turned sharply.
A figure stood near the edge of the cliff, half-covered by drifting snow.
The Stranger
He wore a long, tattered coat the color of storm clouds. His hair was silver-white, tangled by the wind. His face was sharp, pale, and tired—like someone who had not slept in many lifetimes. But what struck Kael most were his eyes.
They glowed faint blue.Not bright.Not unnatural.Just… old.
Older than any human.
Kael stepped protectively in front of Lira.
"Who are you?" Kael demanded.
The stranger didn't answer.He looked at Lira.
Not with curiosity.Not with fear.But with recognition.
"As I feared," he said softly, "you've awakened."
Lira's heart skipped.
Kael clenched his fists. "Say your name."
The stranger exhaled slowly, as if the wind itself carried memories.
"I am Aethren," he said. "Guardian of the Frozen Gate."
Kael narrowed his eyes. "Guardian? So you protect this… thing?"
Aethren shook his head.
"No. I protect the world from what lies behind it."
A Dangerous Truth
Lira's voice was barely a whisper."What lies behind the gate?"
Aethren's gaze softened with sorrow.
"You," he said quietly. "Or rather… the part of you that was lost."
Silence fell like snow.
Lira shook her head. "I don't understand."
"You will," Aethren replied gently. "But you may wish you didn't."
Kael stepped closer, anger rising. "Stop talking in riddles. Tell us clearly."
Aethren looked at Kael.His eyes held centuries of grief.
"The Star Being did not break by accident," he said. "It was broken on purpose."
Kael froze.
"To save this world," Aethren continued, "the Being tore itself apart. But one piece… one piece refused to scatter. It clung to a single soul for protection."
Kael felt cold creep down his spine.
Lira whispered, "Whose soul?"
Aethren looked at her.
"Yours."
Lira's Forgotten Past
Lira took a step back, shaking her head violently.
"No… no, that's not possible. I was born in the valley. I had parents. I had a normal life."
Aethren shook his head sadly.
"Those memories were placed inside you. To keep you safe. To hide you from the remnants of the Being that hunger for what you carry."
Kael grabbed Lira's hand. "You don't have to believe him—"
But Lira's legs trembled.
Her earliest memories suddenly felt… thin.Like painted images on fragile paper.Like stories someone ELSE told her to believe.
A thought echoed:
What if I was never meant to live a normal life?What if I was only meant to remember?
Lira hugged herself.
Aethren approached slowly, hands open.
"You are not the Being," he said gently. "But you carry its heart."
Kael's mind began spinning.
"Wait. Are you saying Lira is some… container?"
Aethren nodded. "A vessel. But not by force. She accepted the burden long ago."
Lira's breath hitched. "I chose this?"
"Yes," Aethren whispered. "But you chose it in a different lifetime."
The Gate Stirs
Suddenly, the Frozen Gate trembled.
Cracks of light crawled across the ice.The symbols inside pulsed like beating stars.
Kael unsheathed his sword.Lira stumbled backward.
Aethren turned sharply toward the gate, fear flashing across his face.
"No—no, it's too early."
Kael's voice shook. "What's happening?"
"The Gate responds to the vessel," Aethren said. "It senses Lira. It remembers her."
The symbols glowed brighter.The air grew heavier.
Lira clutched her head. "It's pulling something out of me—"
Kael held her shoulders. "Stay with me! Lira, breathe!"
Aethren raised both hands toward the gate, shouting words in an ancient tongue. The glow dimmed slightly, but the ice still throbbed with light.
He turned to them, shouting above the trembling air:
"You must leave. Now."
Kael shook his head fiercely. "Not without answers."
Aethren's voice broke with desperate urgency.
"If the Gate breaks, the world will not survive what comes out!"
A Dangerous Choice Ahead
Lira looked from Kael…to Aethren…to the shining Gate.
Her voice was soft, distant.
"I know that place," she whispered. "I've been there inside my dreams. Inside my memories."
Kael grabbed her hand harder. "Lira, don't go near it."
But she wasn't listening.
She was remembering.And every memory felt like a falling star.
Aethren watched her with a sad knowing.
"You will have to face what's behind the Gate," he said softly. "One day. But not today."
Kael's heart pounded. "What's behind it?"
Aethren whispered:
"The part of her soul that remembers everything."