The voice lingers long after the light fades.
It's not sound anymore — it's inside me. Curling behind my ribs, sliding through my pulse, whispering in a language older than air. The mark on my chest glows faintly, each beat a reminder that I'm not just standing in a place — I'm standing inside a memory that remembers me back.
Kael's hand is still on my arm. I can feel the tremor in him, though his grip is firm. The realm hums around us, patient and watchful.
"Nyra," he says quietly, his voice breaking through the haze. "What did it say?"
I swallow, though my throat feels raw. "It knows me."
His eyes darken. "The realm?"
"No," I murmur. "Whatever sleeps beneath it."
The ground shifts beneath my feet — not violently, but like something vast is breathing under the surface. The golden veins that lace the floor flicker, fading to crimson.
The voice returns, soft and cold.
We waited. You swore you would return when the line broke. The world trembles again, little flame. Will you keep your promise?
My breath catches. I see flashes — an altar of bone, hands marked in the same pattern as mine, a circle of light burning through shadow. I see myself kneeling before something without form, swearing an oath I cannot remember.
Kael pulls me closer. "Nyra, talk to me."
"I think… I think I've been here before. Or someone who wore my face has."
The whisper laughs — the kind of laugh that doesn't belong to any living thing.
There is no difference. You are every echo that came before.
The walls around us ripple. The carvings twist into new shapes — faces screaming in silence, symbols rearranging into something more intricate. I stumble back, my head pounding.
Kael catches me again, and this time his hold is almost desperate. "You're bleeding."
I touch my lip. Blood. But it's not red — it shimmers faintly gold before fading into my skin. The realm is taking something from me.
The voice deepens, thunder wrapped in silk.
To unbind the world, you must finish what you began.
The air grows colder. I can feel my magic stir — not the way it used to, a spark I could summon and hide. This feels like it's waking on its own, unfolding inside me like a creature stretching after long sleep.
Kael senses it too. His jaw tightens. "Whatever this is, you don't have to face it alone."
I almost laugh. "That's the problem, Kael. I think this is what I was born to face."
He steps forward, close enough that I can feel the warmth of him. "Then I'll face it with you."
For a moment, I believe him.
The light from the walls intensifies, swirling into a spiral that opens in the far end of the chamber — a doorway made of light and shadow, leading downward.
The voice hums again, distant but commanding.
The path is open. Choose wisely, flame-bearer. For beyond lies truth… or ruin.
The mark burns hotter now — not pain, but demand. I meet Kael's eyes, and he nods once.
We step through.
And the world changes.