The scroll pulsed again.
Kat froze, her hand inches from the pedestal. The chains wrapped around the ancient parchment glowed faintly, etched with runes that shimmered like trapped lightning. The chamber was silent, but the air felt charged—like the moment before a storm breaks.
Junior stepped beside her, his voice low. "Don't touch it yet."
James Williams scanned the room with his flashlight. "Anyone else feel like we're standing inside a giant battery?"
Aria Norman nodded, her arms wrapped tightly around herself. "It's humming. I can feel it in my bones."
Sage Ethan crouched near the pedestal, examining the runes. "These chains aren't just physical. They're spiritual bindings. Whoever placed them didn't want this scroll opened. Ever."
Kat swallowed. "Then why is it reacting to me?"
Junior didn't answer.
---
They circled the pedestal, each of them keeping a cautious distance. The chamber was larger than it had seemed at first—walls lined with faded murals, depicting scenes of battle, sacrifice, and a robed figure holding three scrolls aloft.
Sage pointed to the murals. "That's the original sealing. The order split Vandal's essence into three parts. Each scroll held a fragment."
James frowned. "So if this is the third scroll… does that mean Vandal's whole again?"
"No," Sage said. "Not yet. But it's close."
Aria's voice trembled. "What happens if it becomes whole?"
Junior looked at her. "Then it stops whispering. And starts screaming."
---
Kat stepped closer to the pedestal, her heart pounding. The scroll pulsed again, brighter this time. The chains rattled softly, as if sensing her presence.
She reached out—slowly, deliberately—and placed her hand on the pedestal.
The room went silent.
Then the scroll spoke.
Not in words, but in memory.
---
She was standing in a field of ash.
The sky was red, the ground cracked and steaming. Figures moved around her—robed, chanting, their voices rising in a desperate hymn. In her hands, she held the scroll. It burned against her skin, but she didn't let go.
A voice echoed in her mind: You are the vessel. You are the flame.
Then the vision shattered.
---
Kat stumbled back, gasping.
Junior caught her. "What did you see?"
She shook her head. "A memory. But not mine. Someone else's. Someone who held the scroll before."
Sage looked intrigued. "It's imprinting. The scroll carries echoes of its past bearers. You're sensitive enough to receive them."
James raised an eyebrow. "So Kat's basically a magical antenna now?"
"More like a conduit," Sage said. "She's bonded to the seal."
Aria stepped forward. "Then she's the key."
Kat looked at the scroll. "We need to take it. Hide it. Before Vandal finds it."
Junior hesitated. "Or… we use it."
Everyone turned to him.
"What do you mean?" Aria asked.
Junior's eyes were dark. "The scrolls weren't just seals. They were weapons. If we can unlock its power, we might be able to fight Vandal directly."
Sage frowned. "That's dangerous. The scrolls were never meant to be wielded. Only contained."
James crossed his arms. "So we either hide it and hope Vandal doesn't find it, or we use it and risk becoming possessed ourselves. Great options."
Kat stepped between them. "We don't decide now. We take it. Study it. Then choose."
---
They wrapped the scroll in protective cloth, careful not to disturb the chains. Sage placed it in his satchel, the candle flickering violently as he did.
As they left the chamber, the walls seemed to sigh.
Outside, the fog was thicker than ever.
Kat felt it press against her skin, whispering her name again.
---
Back at Sage's house, they gathered in the study. The scroll sat on the table, pulsing faintly beneath the cloth.
Sage lit a circle of candles around it. "This will dampen its influence. For now."
Aria sat beside Kat, her voice soft. "Are you okay?"
Kat nodded. "Just overwhelmed. It's like… the scroll knows me."
Junior sat across from her, his eyes unreadable. "It does."
Kat met his gaze. "What aren't you telling me?"
He hesitated. Then: "My mother used to say the scrolls would choose their bearers. Not randomly. By blood."
Kat's breath caught. "You think I'm related to the order?"
"I think you're more than that."
Sage looked up. "We need to trace your lineage. Both of you."
James groaned. "So we're doing magical ancestry.com now?"
Aria smiled faintly. "It's not a bad idea."
Kat looked at Junior. "If we're both tied to the scrolls… what does that mean?"
Junior didn't answer.
But his silence said enough.
---
That night, Kat couldn't sleep.
She sat by her window again, watching the fog swirl. The scroll's memory still burned in her mind—the ash, the chanting, the voice.
You are the vessel. You are the flame.
She didn't know what it meant.
But she knew it was only the beginning.