The scroll pulsed again.
Not violently, not with the urgency of danger—but with something quieter. Something deeper. Like it was breathing.
Kat Levi sat cross-legged on the floor of Sage Ethan's study, her fingers inches from the cloth-wrapped seal. The others were scattered around the room, each pretending to focus on something else. But no one could ignore the scroll. It had become the center of their world.
Junior Sebastian leaned against the window, arms folded, eyes locked on Kat. He hadn't spoken much since the revelation. Neither had she. The silence between them wasn't avoidance—it was reverence. They were still trying to understand what they were to each other. What they were becoming.
James Williams broke the tension with a loud sigh. "So, just to recap: we've got a haunted scroll, a fog that whispers names, and two people who might be magically bonded siblings slash soulmates. Anyone else feel like we skipped the normal teenage drama arc?"
Aria Norman gave him a look. "You're not helping."
"I'm coping," James replied. "Sarcasm is my therapy."
Sage didn't look up from his notes. "We need to go back to the cathedral."
Kat blinked. "Why?"
"There's something beneath the altar," Sage said. "I didn't see it before, but the scroll's energy is pointing downward. There's another layer. Maybe a vault."
Junior stepped forward. "You think the order left something else?"
"Or someone," Sage said. "A guardian. A memory. Maybe even a warning."
---
They returned to the cathedral after dusk.
The fog was thicker than ever, curling around their ankles like vines. The city was quiet, too quiet. Even the streetlights seemed dimmer, as if Virelia itself was holding its breath.
Junior led them through the side entrance again, past the crumbling statue and into the hidden corridor. The air grew colder with each step, the walls slick with condensation.
Kat felt the scroll's pulse in her chest now, like a second heartbeat.
They reached the altar chamber, and Sage moved to the center, kneeling beside the stone platform. He traced the runes with his fingers, whispering something under his breath.
A low rumble echoed through the room.
The altar shifted.
Stone grated against stone, revealing a narrow staircase spiraling downward into darkness.
James peered into the abyss. "Why is it always stairs? Why can't ancient secrets be hidden in, I don't know, a vending machine?"
Aria gripped Kat's arm. "Are we ready for this?"
Kat nodded. "We have to be."
---
The descent was slow.
The staircase was narrow, the walls lined with faded symbols that glowed faintly as they passed. Kat felt each step like a weight, the air growing heavier, the silence more oppressive.
At the bottom, they found a chamber unlike any they'd seen.
It was circular, with a domed ceiling covered in mirrored tiles. In the center stood a pedestal, but this one held no scroll. Instead, it held a mirror.
Kat stepped forward.
The mirror shimmered.
And then it spoke.
---
Not in words.
In memories.
Kat saw herself as a child, running through a field of wildflowers. Her mother's voice calling her name. Her father laughing. Then the scene shifted—she was in a dark room, wrapped in blankets, a woman she didn't recognize singing to her softly.
Junior saw it too.
He gasped.
"That's my mother."
Kat turned to him. "What?"
Junior stepped closer to the mirror. "She's holding you. You were… you were with her."
Sage's voice was tight. "This mirror is a memory vault. It stores echoes of the past. It's showing you the truth."
Aria whispered, "Kat was taken. Hidden. Raised away from the order."
James looked stunned. "So it's real. You two are—"
Kat touched the mirror.
It shattered.
---
The pieces didn't fall.
They floated, suspended in the air, each shard glowing with a different hue. The room pulsed with energy, and the fog outside surged against the walls.
Sage grabbed Kat's arm. "You triggered it. The vault's defense mechanism."
Junior stepped beside her. "We need to get out."
But the chamber wasn't letting them go.
The shards spun faster, forming a vortex of light and sound. Kat felt herself being pulled, not physically—but spiritually. Her memories unraveled, her thoughts scattered.
Then she heard the voice.
You are the flame. You are the memory. You are the bond.
She screamed.
And everything went dark.
---
When she woke, she was back in Sage's study.
The others were around her, faces pale, eyes wide.
Aria was crying softly.
James looked shaken.
Sage was silent.
Junior held her hand.
"What happened?" Kat whispered.
Sage spoke slowly. "The mirror showed us everything. Your past. Your bond. The seal inside you. It's not just a fragment. It's the core."
Kat blinked. "The core?"
Junior nodded. "You're not just a vessel. You're the anchor. The one who holds Vandal's prison together."
Kat sat up. "Then why is it breaking?"
Sage looked grim. "Because the prison was never meant to last. It was a temporary solution. And now… it's failing."
James stood. "So what do we do?"
Sage lit the candle again. It burned crimson.
"We prepare," he said. "For war."