Kael ran until his legs trembled and every breath felt sharp in his chest.The narrow crack behind him turned into a low tunnel, so tight he had to press his shoulder against the wall just to move forward. Cold water slid down from the ceiling in thin lines. It smelled like metal and moss.
When the tunnel finally widened, he stopped to lean against the rock. His hand shook a little. "Brilliant idea, Kael," he said under his breath. "Run into a cave and nearly get stuck. Perfect."
There was no answer at first. Only the slow echo of dripping water. Then the faint hum returned, a pulse from the place where the ring had once rested. It beat in time with his heartbeat.
Keep going.
The words arrived like a whisper inside his head.
He blinked and muttered, "So we are still doing this… voice in my mind thing."
If you listened faster, we would not have to repeat ourselves.
He frowned. "You are incredibly annoying, whoever you are."
You will understand in time.
Kael sighed, wiped the dirt from his palms, and kept walking. The tunnel sloped downward again. A few broken crates appeared near the next corner, half-rotted from age. There were burnt torches scattered around, and the smell of old smoke lingered in the air. Someone had stayed here once, though it must have been years ago.
A tattered piece of cloth hung on a broken spear. It might have been a banner once, but the design was too faded to read. Something about it stirred a strange ache in his chest. He could not explain why.
He noticed carvings on the far wall—symbols that glowed faintly when the blue light from his hand reached them. Circles, straight lines, and shapes that felt almost familiar. He raised his hand, hesitated for a moment, then touched the stone.
Light exploded.
When his eyes opened again, Kael stood somewhere else entirely.A courtyard stretched out before him under a sky stained red with evening. Tall towers surrounded him, their stone cracked but proud. Soldiers moved below, armor shining black like the surface of still water.
And at the center stood a man.Tall, silver-eyed, wearing the same ring.
Kael froze. The man turned toward him slowly, his expression unreadable.
"You should not be here," the man said.
Kael swallowed. "That makes two of us."
"Then remember."
The word struck like thunder. The world shattered apart—sky, ground, everything breaking like glass—and Kael fell through the pieces.
He gasped awake on the cavern floor. His hands were shaking, his throat dry. The smell of ash clung to the air though nothing had burned.
"What was that?" he whispered.
Memory.
"Whose memory?"
Ours.
Kael stared at the faint glow around his hand. "You keep saying ours as if it means something."
Silence followed.
Far down the tunnel, a sound broke the stillness—boots striking rock, slow and steady. The Enforcers were still following.
Kael pushed himself up. His legs still trembled, but he forced them to move. He looked into the darkness ahead, a faint blue light guiding the way.
"Fine," he said quietly. "If I am already in this madness, I might as well see where it ends."
The ring pulsed once in answer, soft and certain, and together they disappeared into the dark.