"Young friends..."
Ossian paused, seeming to weigh his words carefully.
"No. Young heroes."
The words hung in the air, immense and terrifying.
"The journey will be perilous. The path is forgotten, and the outside world is not what I knew. The Nexus Stone must be protected, its light shielded from those who would see it extinguished forever."
He leaned forward, the void in his chest swirling slowly.
"Are you willing to undertake this quest? To carry the hope of this world to the Forge of Dawn and restore what was lost?"
Silence blanketed the chamber once again, heavy with the weight of his request. I could feel the enormity of what he was asking settling over us like a suffocating shroud.
I glanced at Zephyr. His eyes were already burning with that familiar determination, the look that came whenever duty called. We nodded to each other, a silent understanding passing between us before turning to face Ossian.
