Lira Valenti's world burned crimson, the sixth-nation illusion swallowing Sarn's ruins. Sand stung her face, the air heavy with ash, as a burning city rose—towers of star-etched stone crumbling under a blood-red sky.
The sixth-nation guardian loomed, its cloaked form towering, chanting in her voice: "Your blood, my vessel."
Four beasts roared, their scales glinting like oil, claws tearing through the illusion's streets. Kael's ship hovered beyond the storm, its crystal pulsing with her stolen runes, his possessed figure a shadow in the violet lightning.
Veyra knelt in the crimson sand, her hands trembling, regret etching her face after summoning the fourth beast. "I thought it would save him," she whispered, her brother's fate chaining her to the Silent Council.
Mira, bloodied but alive, fought a beast, her crimson cloak tattered, her dark energy flaring. "Lira, break free!" she shouted, her voice raw.
Elias gripped Lira's arm, his sea-glass eyes blazing with fear and love, blood seeping from his wound. "You're stronger than this," he said, his Veyran pendant glowing, a beacon in the chaos.
Lira's arm burned, her runes dim, the parchment in her pocket icy. Her Echowriting, her sixth-nation rune-magic, flickered under the specter's grip, its voice—her voice—hissing: "You're mine."
Her body shook, the possession weakening but clinging, her muteness a cage.
Koren, the sixth-nation traitor, stood by the glowing orb, his star-etched staff dim, his hidden blade glinting. "I hid the orb to survive," he said, his treachery bare. "But it cursed Voicekeepers like you."
Lira's heart pounded—Koren, part of the Accord's lie?
Her runes sparked, defiance surging. She scratched a star-circle into the crimson sand, her nails bloody, silver light blazing. The illusion quaked, towers cracking, and the specter screamed, its grip loosening.
Lira stumbled, her vision clearing, the burning city fading to Sarn's ruins. Elias caught her, his arms strong, his breath warm.
"I've got you," he whispered, his lips pressing hers—a kiss, deep and desperate, her heart ablaze.
His pendant pressed against her, Veyran silver warm, but doubt crept in.
What do you know about Kael? Koren's taunt echoed: "He's tied to him, Lira."
Her gray eyes searched Elias's, trust warring with fear.
Mira's energy blasted the second beast, its claws grazing her side. "For you, sister," she gasped, her dagger sinking into its scales, her eyes flickering with guilt—a whispered "I failed you" on her lips.
Lira's heart twisted—Mira, who cursed her, now bleeding for her?
The third beast lunged, and Lira scratched a jagged star into the air, light exploding, shoving it back.
Pain seared her chest, the specter clawing her mind, her breath shallow.
"Your voice is ours," it hissed, her runes flickering.
Koren raised his blade, aiming at the orb. "The Accord bound Voicekeepers to silence," he said, voice low. "Kael enforced it, and I helped hide it."
Lira's breath caught. Kael, the enforcer?
She stumbled to the orb, its runes pulsing like her parchment. She touched it, and a vision hit—crimson sands, a Voicekeeper kneeling, her runes fading as Kael's blade struck, sealing the Accord.
"Your blood doesn't just end the Accord—it rewrites it," her echo whispered, shadows swallowing her.
Lira woke, gasping, her hand trembling on the orb.
No more running. I will break the Accord, she thought, her runes flaring. Even if it kills me.
Her choice burned, her Echowriting surging—a vow to shatter the curse.
Veyra rose, her eyes wet, a new crystal shard in her hand. "I can't stop," she said, smashing it.
The ruins shook, a sixth-nation army rising—spectral warriors, their blades glowing, chanting: "Blood seals the Accord."
Lira's runes flared, scratching a star-circle into the orb. Light surged, shattering a dozen warriors, but the fourth beast roared, its eyes locked on Elias.
Mira dove in, her energy faltering, blood pooling. "Live, Lira," she whispered, her face pale, guilt etched in her final glance.
The guardian's claws raked the ruins, its chant deafening.
Lira's vision blurred, the specter's grip tightening. She scratched another rune, light clashing with the guardian, but pain stabbed her, her life draining.
Elias pulled her close, his kiss fierce, his blood mixing with hers.
"I won't let you go," he said, but Koren's blade flashed, slicing the orb.
A sixth-nation army poured out, their eyes glowing silver.
"I had to," Koren said, his treachery complete.
A rune-message flickered in the sand, cryptic and faint: "The lost city calls, Voicekeeper."
Lira's heart raced—a sixth-nation survivor, Toren, waiting?
The fifth beast rose, summoned by Kael's crystal, its scales etched with her runes.
"Your blood awakens the curse," it roared, Kael's voice echoing from the ship.
The army closed in, trapping them, and Elias's eyes flickered—guilt, tied to Kael.
The ruins quaked, a greater curse stirring, Lira's blood the key.