Sleep did not come easily. Elysia drifted between shallow dreams and whispers that didn't belong to her. The chamber was quiet, but her mind wasn't. Every time she closed her eyes, she saw flashes—memories that weren't hers. A burning city. A girl with her face but different eyes. A voice whispering a name she didn't know.
When she finally woke, the air felt heavy, almost electric. The fragment rested beside her, its faint cyan light illuminating the damp stone walls. Kael was already awake, standing near the entrance, his figure outlined by the ghostly glow of the glyphs. He hadn't slept at all.
"You were dreaming," he said, not turning around.
Elysia rubbed her temples, trying to steady herself. "They weren't my dreams," she murmured. "It felt like… someone else's life bleeding into mine."
Kael finally looked at her, his silver eyes distant but sharp. "That's the fragment. It's showing you echoes—residual memories trapped within it. The more you stay connected, the more it will pull you into its past."
Elysia frowned, unease crawling through her. "Then how do I stop it?"
"You don't," Kael said quietly. "You learn to listen."
He approached her, kneeling beside the fragment. His hand hovered just above its surface, and the glow flickered in response, as if recognizing him. The light painted his face in pale hues, and for a moment, Elysia saw something different in his eyes—regret, maybe even sorrow.
"This fragment," he continued, "was sealed for a reason. Long ago, it belonged to someone powerful—someone who tried to rewrite the flow of memories themselves. When she fell, her essence scattered across the fragments, each carrying a piece of what she was. This one…" He paused, meeting Elysia's gaze. "This one remembers her death."
A chill rippled through her. "Why me, Kael? Why did it choose me?"
He hesitated before answering. "Because you've already lost pieces of yourself. Fragments respond to emptiness—they fill the gaps left behind by forgotten pain."
The words hit harder than she expected. Elysia turned away, gripping her arms. There were years of her life she couldn't recall—days that felt erased, holes she had long accepted without question. But now, the thought that the fragment might be feeding on that void made her stomach twist.
Before she could reply, the air shifted. The faint hum of the glyphs dimmed. Kael's expression hardened instantly.
"They found us."
Elysia's pulse quickened. "How—? You said this place was protected!"
"It is," Kael said, his tone sharp. "But protection only lasts until someone stronger decides to break it."
The chamber trembled. Dust drifted from the ceiling, and the faint blue moss flickered erratically. Elysia grabbed the fragment instinctively; it pulsed violently, its light flaring brighter than before. The sound of shattering stone echoed from above.
Kael's sword materialized in his hand—a slender blade of black steel etched with faint silver lines that pulsed like veins of light. "Stay behind me," he ordered.
The ceiling cracked. A figure dropped through the debris, landing with inhuman grace. Cloaked, faceless—yet this one was different. Its cloak rippled like smoke, and its hands gleamed metallic, like glass forged from memory itself.
"So this is the thief," the creature hissed, voice sharp and cold. "And the traitor guiding her."
Elysia's breath hitched. The figure's presence was suffocating—its aura pressing down like a storm. She clutched the fragment tighter, but the energy inside surged, slipping through her control. Her veins glowed faintly beneath her skin.
Kael stepped forward, blade raised. "You shouldn't have come here," he said, his voice colder than she had ever heard it.
The figure tilted its head. "You think you can protect her? You, who once hunted for us?"
Elysia's eyes widened. "Hunted…? What is he talking about?"
Kael didn't answer. The chamber exploded into motion. The creature lunged, its arm slicing through the air with a shriek of distorted sound. Kael blocked the strike, sparks and fragments of light scattering around them. The impact sent a shockwave through the room, knocking Elysia to the ground. The fragment rolled from her grasp, pulsing violently, reacting to the chaos.
Her vision blurred, but instinct pulled her toward it. She reached out—and the moment her fingers brushed its surface, everything shifted.
The chamber dissolved into light. The walls vanished, replaced by a field of glass shards suspended in a black void. Reflections of herself shimmered across the fragments—different versions, each carrying a different expression, a different scar, a different fate.
"Who… are you?" she whispered.
A voice echoed from nowhere and everywhere at once. *You are what remains of what was taken. And what will be lost again.*
She gasped, falling backward as the fragments shattered around her. The light flared, then collapsed. When her vision cleared, she was back in the chamber. Kael stood over the fallen attacker, blade pressed against its throat. The creature was dissolving, its form breaking apart like smoke in the wind.
Kael's breathing was ragged, his clothes torn. He looked at her—not with anger, but fear. "You connected with it, didn't you?"
Elysia nodded weakly. "It showed me something… or maybe it was me. I don't know."
Kael sheathed his blade slowly, his expression unreadable. "Then it's starting. The fragment has begun to awaken."
The ground trembled faintly beneath them, and the glyphs around the chamber flickered once more. Far above, thunder rolled through the city. Somewhere in Lumnis, others would feel the same pulse—the signal that the forbidden fragment had reawakened.
Elysia looked at her hand, the glow still faintly visible beneath her skin. "What happens now?" she whispered.
Kael turned toward the tunnel, his silhouette framed by the dying light. "Now," he said, "we run again. But this time, we run toward the truth."
The fragment pulsed once, softly—like a heartbeat echoing through the dark. And outside, the shadows began to move.