Lira Valenti's world shook as the sixth-nation shrine crumbled, Sarn's desert sand choking the air. Glowing runes pulsed on the walls, their silver light fading as three beasts roared outside, their scales glinting like oil under a storm-torn sky.
The spectral army's chant—"Blood seals the Accord"—rang in her ears, their blades flashing. Veyra's third crystal blazed in her trembling hands, her betrayal raw: "I had no choice." Kael's possessed figure loomed on the Council's ship, his second crystal stealing Lira's runes. Elias clung to her, his sea-glass eyes fierce, tearing at the rubble pinning her legs. "You're not dying here," he growled, his warmth a lifeline. But the echo-figure—Lira's voice, alive, cold—stood before her, its blade etched with her runes. "Your blood, your voice," it said, her own voice twisting her gut. Mira, her twin, stood at the shrine's edge, her crimson cloak torn, her energy flaring against a beast. "Lira, run!" she screamed, her voice breaking. Redemption, or another trick?
Lira's arm burned, her runes dim, the parchment in her pocket cold. Her Echowriting, her only voice, faltered under the Council's curse. Koren, the sixth-nation survivor, swung his star-etched staff, silver light slicing a spectral warrior. "I failed them," he said, voice heavy. "The sixth nation. I helped hide the Accord's lie." Lira's heart lurched. Koren, a traitor? The Accord, binding Solara's tides, Sarn's warriors, Veyra's scholars, Thryme's smiths, and Kyris's riders, was built on her blood—her curse.
Her runes sparked, defiance rising. She scratched a star-circle into the altar, her nails bloody, silver light surging. The rubble shattered, freeing her legs. Elias pulled her close, his arms strong, his breath ragged. "I can't lose you," he whispered, his lips brushing hers, a kiss so close her heart blazed. But the echo-figure lunged, its blade grazing her arm. "You're mine," it hissed, her voice chilling her bones. Lira's runes flared, shoving it back, but pain seared her, her power draining.
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Mira's Memory Begins
Mira gripped her dagger on the shrine's edge, the crystal's whispers clawing her mind: "Kill her."
Lira's face—her twin's—flashed, nine years old, trusting before the Council silenced her. Mira had chosen herself, a child's fear sealing Lira's curse.
Now Lira's Echowriting burned, exposing the lie Mira lived. "I can't," she whispered, tears falling.
The beast's claws raked the shrine, and she turned, her energy blasting it, defiance surging. She'd save Lira, or die trying—anything to break the Council's chains.
Mira's Memory Ends
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The first beast crashed through the shrine's wall, its jaws snapping. Koren's staff dimmed, his face pale. "The Accord was a curse," he said. "The sixth nation's Voicekeeper bled to seal it, betrayed by her own—me included. Your blood, Lira, can break it." Lira's breath caught.
Break the Accord? Her runes flared, and she scratched a jagged star into the floor. Light exploded, shattering a dozen spectral warriors, but the second beast roared, its claws aimed at Elias. "No!" Lira lunged, her light shoving it back, but her vision blurred, the curse tightening her throat—"Your voice is ours."
Elias tackled the echo-figure, his dagger flashing. "Stay away from her!" His pendant glowed, Veyran silver catching the starlight. "Mira was my friend," he confessed, voice raw. "We fought for the Accord, but she turned. I didn't know about you." His eyes locked on Lira's, a vow, and he leaned in, lips brushing hers—a kiss stolen by the figure's scream. "You can't save her," it said, Lira's voice cold. Her heart raced, trust and doubt warring, his warmth lingering.
Veyra knelt, her crystal pulsing red. "They'll kill my brother," she sobbed, raising it. "I'm sorry." Lira's heart twisted—betrayal, again. Koren grabbed her, pulling them toward a hidden chamber where a star-shaped artifact glowed, etched with runes. "It holds the Voicekeeper's truth," he said, but his eyes flicked away, hiding something. Lira touched the artifact, and a vision hit—sand under a crimson sky, a Voicekeeper bleeding on this altar, her runes fading as Kael, young and cold, betrayed her. "Your blood curses us all," she whispered. Lira woke, gasping, the scroll's words burning: "The Voicekeeper's blood ends the Accord."
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Mira's Memory Begins
Mira fought the second beast, her energy faltering, the Council's whispers louder: "End her, or fall." Lira's light burned in the shrine, her twin's strength a mirror of what Mira lost. She saw their childhood, Lira's laughter before the silence, her own tears as she betrayed her. "I'll make this right," she vowed, her energy surging against the beast. But the crystal pulsed, binding her to the Council. Could she break free, or was Lira's death her only path?
Mira's Memory Ends
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The third beast rose, chanting Lira's name, its scales shimmering. Veyra's crystal flared, summoning it, and Kael's ship loomed, his voice booming: "The Accord is ours."
The spectral army surged, blades glowing, and the echo-figure raised its blade, Lira's voice cold: "You're the vessel." Lira's runes surged, scratching a final star-circle into the artifact. Light blazed, shattering the figure, but it merged with Kael's crystal, a sixth-nation specter rising—tall, cloaked, with Lira's face. "I am your voice," it said, "freed to claim you."
Elias dove, shielding Lira, his blood mixing with hers as a beast's claw grazed him. "I love you," he whispered, his voice breaking, the kiss lost.
Koren's staff faltered, and he whispered, "I hid the artifact to save them." A traitor? Veyra's crystal pulsed, and the shrine collapsed, sand swallowing them.
The specter loomed, its voice Lira's: "Your blood, my vessel." A final trap sprang, chains binding them all, as Mira screamed, "Lira, I'm with you!"