Silence clung to the ruins like a second skin. The storm had passed, but its shadow lingered in the air, a lingering heaviness pressing down on their shoulders.
Lyra sat slumped against a broken column, her hands still faintly glowing from the last remnants of the sealing spell. Her breaths came in shallow gasps, and her limbs trembled with exhaustion. She had poured everything into that spell—mind, soul, and heart—and even now, she wasn't certain if it would hold.
Across the courtyard, Lucien stood with his back to her, staring at the now-closed Hollow Mirror. The stone beneath it was scorched, etched with cracks that pulsed with faint, dying embers of dark magic. Whatever connection the rift had to the Wraiths, it had not been fully severed—only delayed.
Kai paced the courtyard in tight, anxious circles. His knuckles were white as he gripped his dagger. "That… that wasn't a fight. That was a warning."
"We knew it might be," Lucien said, his voice hoarse. "But it was the only way to test the seal."
"Test?" Kai turned sharply. "You call that a test? They almost killed us!"
"They will kill us next time," Lyra whispered, finally finding her voice. "If we don't find a way to end this for good."
The silence that followed her words was unbearable.
Lucien turned to face them, his face pale and drawn. "It wasn't just a crack," he said. "The Hollow Mirror—it's more than a rift. It's a key."
Lyra's stomach turned. "A key to what?"
"To everything," he said grimly. "To the truth about the Wraiths, the Veil, and what really happened to the old kingdom."
Kai's face darkened. "You mean the fall? The betrayal? The war?"
Lucien nodded slowly. "I saw pieces of it when I touched the Mirror. Memories. Not just mine—ours. From before."
A shiver passed through Lyra. She hadn't said it aloud, not even to herself, but when the Wraith touched her, she had seen something too. A fragment of another life. Another self.
One where the kingdom still stood tall, the skies above it golden and bright. Where she wore a silver circlet and Lucien stood at her side, not as a stranger or rival—but as someone she trusted.
Someone she loved.
She hadn't remembered it before now. But the seal had shaken something loose inside her. The dream… no, the memory was real.
"We were there," she said softly. "Before the kingdom fell. Before the Wraiths."
Kai stopped pacing, his brows furrowed. "What are you saying?"
"That we were part of it," Lucien said. "The royal family. The court. The magic that protected the realm. We weren't just caught in the aftermath… we caused it."
Lyra's fingers curled into fists. "And we paid for it. Again and again. Reborn to relive the failure."
Kai ran a hand through his hair, shaking his head. "This is insane. Are we really saying we're some kind of cursed reincarnations doomed to repeat our mistakes?"
Lucien's voice was flat. "That's exactly what we're saying."
The courtyard fell silent again, save for the wind rustling through the shattered stone. Somewhere in the distance, an owl called—soft, haunting.
Kai finally sat down on a half-toppled wall, burying his face in his hands. "I didn't ask for this," he muttered. "I just wanted to be left alone."
"None of us asked for this," Lyra said, her voice barely above a whisper. "But it's ours now."
Lucien's eyes met hers, and she saw the old pain there—the weight of centuries. "We have to go back," he said. "To where it began."
"Caer Theron was where it began," Kai snapped.
Lucien shook his head. "Not quite. The capital was the heart of the kingdom, but the soul? The soul was the Sanctum."
Lyra stiffened. "You mean the Sanctum of Echoes?"
"Yes," Lucien said. "It's hidden beneath the old monastery ruins on Mount Vesir. That's where the old bloodlines sealed their magic… where the Veil was first drawn. If the Wraiths were born of betrayal, that's where it happened."
"And you think there's something left there?" Lyra asked. "After all this time?"
Lucien nodded. "There has to be. If we're going to stop this… if we want to break the cycle… we need to remember everything. No more fragments. No more glimpses. The truth is buried in the Sanctum."
Kai looked up slowly. "Even if we find it, what then? You said it yourself, Lucien. The Wraiths are already inside our world. What if it's too late?"
Lucien stepped forward, placing a hand on Kai's shoulder. "Then we make sure we don't waste the second chance we've been given. Because if we fail this time… there won't be another."
Lyra stood, her knees unsteady. "Then we go. To Mount Vesir."
Kai scoffed but didn't argue. "Fine. But if I die, I'm blaming both of you."
Lucien offered a weary half-smile. "Deal."
As they left the ruins behind, the sealed Hollow Mirror pulsed faintly one last time. In its dying glow, a silhouette watched them depart—its form hidden by darkness, its eyes aglow with violet fire.
The Wraiths had seen them.
And they would not forget.