The ruins were nothing like the map suggested.
In Chapter 12, the trio had expected a broken temple—dead stones, dead air, dead history. But the moment they stepped inside, the world shifted. The air grew colder, vibrating with a distant pulse.
Aurel felt it strongest.
He stopped walking. The tremor under his feet wasn't the earth—it was a heartbeat.
My heartbeat, something inside him murmured.
Lysandra glanced at him over her shoulder. "Aurel, are you okay? You've been zoning out ever since we crossed the threshold."
He forced a breath. "Something here is calling me."
Kairo, already anxious, tightened his grip on his staff. "Calling you… or waking you?"
He didn't answer. Because the truth scared even him.
The ruins opened into a vast circular chamber—broken columns leaning dangerously, faded murals of celestial battles across the walls, and in the center… a fractured stone platform covered in ancient sigils.
Aurel's feet moved on their own.
"Aurel, wait—" Lysandra grabbed his arm.
The moment her fingers touched him—
The floor ignited.
Golden light erupted from the cracks, forming a massive circular pattern beneath Aurel. It rose around him like a spinning ring, humming, crackling, alive.
The blast of energy threw Lysandra and Kairo back.
"AUREL!" she yelled, scrambling to her feet.
But Aurel wasn't hearing her.
The light swallowed his senses.
He saw flashes—too fast, too sharp.
A burning throne.
A winged army bowing before him.
A woman with silver eyes falling into darkness.
A blade dripping starlight.
His past.
His divinity.
His curse.
He gasped and clutched his head.
Kairo shouted, "Lysandra, the spell is binding him—it's celestial!"
"I don't care what it is—break it!"
They rushed forward—
—and the ruins answered.
THE FIGHT BEGINS
The murals seemed to peel off the walls.
Shadows thickened like liquid.
Shapes formed—long limbs, hollow eyes, dust-black bodies.
Sentinels of the ruins.
Guardians of Aurel's past.
One lunged at Lysandra. She sidestepped and slashed, cutting its torso clean in half—but the creature split into smoke and reformed behind her.
"Ash-wraiths!" Kairo shouted. "They don't die unless the source is destroyed!"
"And what's the source?" she snapped.
Kairo glanced at Aurel—glowing, trapped inside the celestial ring.
"You're kidding," she muttered.
Another wraith leapt. She drove her sword upward, piercing its jaw. It dissolved, reforming near Aurel.
The creatures circled him, bowing their heads.
Lysandra froze.
"Aurel… why are they obeying you?"
His glowing eyes turned toward her—unfamiliar, ancient.
"Because I created them."
The ruins trembled.
Cracks spread across the ceiling.
Dust spilled like rain.
Lysandra's throat tightened. "Aurel, this isn't you."
His voice echoed—layered with power.
"It was. Once."
Kairo fired a blast of blue magic at the wraiths. They scattered but quickly reformed.
"We can't handle them forever!" he shouted.
Aurel's body convulsed—the celestial ring squeezing him tighter, forcing memory after memory into his mind—
—and then…
A cold voice slipped into the chamber.
"He remembers me."
A feminine silhouette formed out of swirling smoke.
Tall.
Graceful.
Terrifying.
Serathis.
Goddess of ruin.
The reason Aurel gave up his divinity.
The reason the celestial realm fell.
Lysandra stepped forward, sword trembling.
"You stay away from him."
Serathis smiled, dark and soft. "You mortals say the sweetest lies."
She flicked her wrist—
The wraiths attacked.
Not Aurel.
Lysandra.
"KAIRONOW!" she shouted.
Kairo summoned a protective dome, but the wraiths slammed into it, cracking it like glass.
Aurel roared, "STOP!"
The ruins shook.
But the wraiths continued.
Serathis turned her head thoughtfully. "They only obey the Aurel who remembers his place. Not the frightened little mortal boy pretending to be human."
Aurel gritted his teeth, golden light burning through the chains, trying to break free.
With every second, more memories flooded back.
A celestial army slaughtered.
A world burning.
Serathis offering her hand as everything crumbled.
His heart twisted painfully.
"Kairo!" Lysandra shouted again, fending off two wraiths clawing at her arms.
Kairo fired spell after spell, breathing hard, sweat dripping down his temple.
"I can't hold them—there's too many!"
Serathis lifted a finger.
A single spear of shadow formed at her fingertip.
It glowed with killing intent.
She aimed it at Lysandra.
"Aurel's heart is too attached to you," she murmured. "Let's fix that."
She threw the spear.
Time slowed.
Lysandra saw it coming—
death itself streaking toward her—
too fast to dodge—
Aurel screamed.
But the spear didn't hit Lysandra.
Someone stepped in front of her.
THE BETRAYAL
Riven.
The quiet boy.
The harmless one.
The one they trusted.
He caught the spear in one hand.
The shadow melted into his palm like water.
Lysandra stumbled backward.
"No… Riven? What are you doing!?"
He turned toward her.
And his eyes—normally dull brown—
were black storms.
The same as Serathis.
But worse was the expression he wore.
He wasn't scared.
He wasn't confused.
He wasn't pretending.
He was home.
Aurel's breath hitched. "Riven… Shadowblade?"
Kairo froze, horror spreading across his face. "You… you said you were powerless. You lied to us the entire journey?"
Riven stepped closer to Aurel, ignoring everyone else.
"I told you," he said softly, "that I'd find you one day."
Serathis smirked. "My general never fails."
Lysandra felt as if the ground had vanished under her feet.
Riven—their friend—
the boy who shared food with them,
laughed with them,
saved them more than once—
was Serathis's general.
Riven's voice turned cold. "Forgive me, Aurel… but she wants all of you back."
Before Aurel could react, Riven drew a blade of pure shadow—
—and stabbed Kairo straight through the abdomen.
The sound Lysandra made did not seem human.
"KAIRO!!"
Kairo collapsed, gasping, blood pooling around him.
Lysandra fell beside him, shaking. "No. Stay with me. Don't—don't close your eyes—"
Riven turned away from the bleeding boy as if he were nothing.
"His magic annoyed me," he said simply.
Aurel shook violently, divine power surging so violently the sigils cracked.
"RIVEN—YOU TRAITOR!"
His scream shook the ruins.
Serathis touched Aurel's cheek.
"Just accept what you are."
Aurel's golden aura flared, breaking one of the chains.
Lysandra lifted her head, eyes filled with tears and fury.
"Aurel… we need you. I need you."
For a moment—
a tiny moment—
the human in him broke through.
"Aurel," she whispered, voice cracking. "Fight her."
He stepped toward her—
But Riven stabbed his blade into the glowing sigil beneath Aurel's feet.
The magic surged violently.
Aurel jerked upward, engulfed in golden light.
"No! AUREL!" Lysandra screamed, reaching for him.
He reached back.
Their fingertips nearly touched—
Before Serathis seized him and pulled him into a swirling portal of shadow.
Aurel's last words echoed through the collapsing ruins:
"Lysandra—I'm sorry!"
The portal snapped shut.
Aurel was gone.
THE DEVASTATION
Silence.
Only the sound of Lysandra's shaking breaths filled the chamber.
She turned to Kairo—
pale, fading, blood staining the ground.
"Kairo… please… don't leave me."
He tried to smile. "Lys… I don't… plan to…"
But his eyes rolled back.
His pulse weakened.
Lysandra let out a raw, broken scream.
She pressed her forehead to his chest, tears falling uncontrollably.
"He took Aurel…
And now I might lose you too…"
The ruins around her crumbled slowly, as if grieving with her.
But with trembling hands, Lysandra pulled Kairo close and whispered:
"I don't care how many gods stand in my way…
I'm getting Aurel back.
And I'm not letting any more of you die."
Her voice hardened into steel.
"This is war."
The ruins were nothing like the map suggested.
In Chapter 12, the trio had expected a broken temple—dead stones, dead air, dead history. But the moment they stepped inside, the world shifted. The air grew colder, vibrating with a distant pulse.
Aurel felt it strongest.
He stopped walking. The tremor under his feet wasn't the earth—it was a heartbeat.
My heartbeat, something inside him murmured.
Lysandra glanced at him over her shoulder. "Aurel, are you okay? You've been zoning out ever since we crossed the threshold."
He forced a breath. "Something here is calling me."
Kairo, already anxious, tightened his grip on his staff. "Calling you… or waking you?"
He didn't answer. Because the truth scared even him.
The ruins opened into a vast circular chamber—broken columns leaning dangerously, faded murals of celestial battles across the walls, and in the center… a fractured stone platform covered in ancient sigils.
Aurel's feet moved on their own.
"Aurel, wait—" Lysandra grabbed his arm.
The moment her fingers touched him—
The floor ignited.
Golden light erupted from the cracks, forming a massive circular pattern beneath Aurel. It rose around him like a spinning ring, humming, crackling, alive.
The blast of energy threw Lysandra and Kairo back.
"AUREL!" she yelled, scrambling to her feet.
But Aurel wasn't hearing her.
The light swallowed his senses.
He saw flashes—too fast, too sharp.
A burning throne.
A winged army bowing before him.
A woman with silver eyes falling into darkness.
A blade dripping starlight.
His past.
His divinity.
His curse.
He gasped and clutched his head.
Kairo shouted, "Lysandra, the spell is binding him—it's celestial!"
"I don't care what it is—break it!"
They rushed forward—
—and the ruins answered.
THE FIGHT BEGINS
The murals seemed to peel off the walls.
Shadows thickened like liquid.
Shapes formed—long limbs, hollow eyes, dust-black bodies.
Sentinels of the ruins.
Guardians of Aurel's past.
One lunged at Lysandra. She sidestepped and slashed, cutting its torso clean in half—but the creature split into smoke and reformed behind her.
"Ash-wraiths!" Kairo shouted. "They don't die unless the source is destroyed!"
"And what's the source?" she snapped.
Kairo glanced at Aurel—glowing, trapped inside the celestial ring.
"You're kidding," she muttered.
Another wraith leapt. She drove her sword upward, piercing its jaw. It dissolved, reforming near Aurel.
The creatures circled him, bowing their heads.
Lysandra froze.
"Aurel… why are they obeying you?"
His glowing eyes turned toward her—unfamiliar, ancient.
"Because I created them."
The ruins trembled.
Cracks spread across the ceiling.
Dust spilled like rain.
Lysandra's throat tightened. "Aurel, this isn't you."
His voice echoed—layered with power.
"It was. Once."
Kairo fired a blast of blue magic at the wraiths. They scattered but quickly reformed.
"We can't handle them forever!" he shouted.
Aurel's body convulsed—the celestial ring squeezing him tighter, forcing memory after memory into his mind—
—and then…
A cold voice slipped into the chamber.
"He remembers me."
A feminine silhouette formed out of swirling smoke.
Tall.
Graceful.
Terrifying.
Serathis.
Goddess of ruin.
The reason Aurel gave up his divinity.
The reason the celestial realm fell.
Lysandra stepped forward, sword trembling.
"You stay away from him."
Serathis smiled, dark and soft. "You mortals say the sweetest lies."
She flicked her wrist—
The wraiths attacked.
Not Aurel.
Lysandra.
"KAIRONOW!" she shouted.
Kairo summoned a protective dome, but the wraiths slammed into it, cracking it like glass.
Aurel roared, "STOP!"
The ruins shook.
But the wraiths continued.
Serathis turned her head thoughtfully. "They only obey the Aurel who remembers his place. Not the frightened little mortal boy pretending to be human."
Aurel gritted his teeth, golden light burning through the chains, trying to break free.
With every second, more memories flooded back.
A celestial army slaughtered.
A world burning.
Serathis offering her hand as everything crumbled.
His heart twisted painfully.
"Kairo!" Lysandra shouted again, fending off two wraiths clawing at her arms.
Kairo fired spell after spell, breathing hard, sweat dripping down his temple.
"I can't hold them—there's too many!"
Serathis lifted a finger.
A single spear of shadow formed at her fingertip.
It glowed with killing intent.
She aimed it at Lysandra.
"Aurel's heart is too attached to you," she murmured. "Let's fix that."
She threw the spear.
Time slowed.
Lysandra saw it coming—
death itself streaking toward her—
too fast to dodge—
Aurel screamed.
But the spear didn't hit Lysandra.
Someone stepped in front of her.
Riven.
The quiet boy.
The harmless one.
The one they trusted.
He caught the spear in one hand.
The shadow melted into his palm like water.
Lysandra stumbled backward.
"No… Riven? What are you doing!?"
He turned toward her.
And his eyes—normally dull brown—
were black storms.
The same as Serathis.
But worse was the expression he wore.
He wasn't scared.
He wasn't confused.
He wasn't pretending.
He was home.
Aurel's breath hitched. "Riven… Shadowblade?"
Kairo froze, horror spreading across his face. "You… you said you were powerless. You lied to us the entire journey?"
Riven stepped closer to Aurel, ignoring everyone else.
"I told you," he said softly, "that I'd find you one day."
Serathis smirked. "My general never fails."
Lysandra felt as if the ground had vanished under her feet.
Riven—their friend—
the boy who shared food with them,
laughed with them,
saved them more than once—
was Serathis's general.
Riven's voice turned cold. "Forgive me, Aurel… but she wants all of you back."
Before Aurel could react, Riven drew a blade of pure shadow—
—and stabbed Kairo straight through the abdomen.
The sound Lysandra made did not seem human.
"KAIRO!!"
Kairo collapsed, gasping, blood pooling around him.
Lysandra fell beside him, shaking. "No. Stay with me. Don't—don't close your eyes—"
Riven turned away from the bleeding boy as if he were nothing.
"His magic annoyed me," he said simply.
Aurel shook violently, divine power surging so violently the sigils cracked.
"RIVEN—YOU TRAITOR!"
His scream shook the ruins.
Serathis touched Aurel's cheek.
"Just accept what you are."
Aurel's golden aura flared, breaking one of the chains.
Lysandra lifted her head, eyes filled with tears and fury.
"Aurel… we need you. I need you."
For a moment—
a tiny moment—
the human in him broke through.
"Aurel," she whispered, voice cracking. "Fight her."
He stepped toward her—
But Riven stabbed his blade into the glowing sigil beneath Aurel's feet.
The magic surged violently.
Aurel jerked upward, engulfed in golden light.
"No! AUREL!" Lysandra screamed, reaching for him.
He reached back.
Their fingertips nearly touched—
Before Serathis seized him and pulled him into a swirling portal of shadow.
Aurel's last words echoed through the collapsing ruins:
"Lysandra—I'm sorry!"
The portal snapped shut.
Aurel was gone.
Silence.
Only the sound of Lysandra's shaking breaths filled the chamber.
She turned to Kairo—
pale, fading, blood staining the ground.
"Kairo… please… don't leave me."
He tried to smile. "Lys… I don't… plan to…"
But his eyes rolled back.
His pulse weakened.
Lysandra let out a raw, broken scream.
She pressed her forehead to his chest, tears falling uncontrollably.
"He took Aurel…
And now I might lose you too…"
The ruins around her crumbled slowly, as if grieving with her.
But with trembling hands, Lysandra pulled Kairo close and whispered:
"I don't care how many gods stand in my way…
I'm getting Aurel back.
And I'm not letting any more of you die."
Her voice hardened into steel.
"This is war."