Chapter 29
The world did not scream.
It whispered.
While the Scorched Crown slept atop Eliendara's head like a beast in slumber, while the Eighth Name lay sealed behind her lips like a coiled storm, the rest of the world stirred.
In places far from Eldraen Wastes—hidden cities, cloaked archives, skyborne shrines—something old was crawling from under centuries of dust.
The whispers spread first.
"The Crown has chosen again."
"The Gatebreaker lives."
"The name was nearly spoken."
And across the shattered veins of the magic-realms, secret hands began to move.
In the Iron Library of Caedryn, forbidden texts vanished. Pages on firebinding, soul-rift rituals, and gatewalking went missing—stolen by figures in gray, their faces masked, leaving behind only a symbol burned into the shelves:
A cracked crown.
In the Floating Monastery of Velisca, where monks once sang the songs that held the ancient locks in place, the singing stopped.
The sky fractured above the temple's heart, and a voice whispered into the ears of the last High Listener:
"She is not the heir… she is the rival."
And in the Vault of Hollow Ash…
Thorne woke.
Not fully man.
Not entirely monster.
His skin bore the burn-scars of the Sixth Lord's flame, but his eyes… they were clear. Controlled.
In his chest, the ash did not burn.
It waited.
He rose from the obsidian altar without a sound. Around him, six figures watched from the shadows—robed, faceless, breathing in rhythm.
One stepped forward.
"The Crown did not destroy you," they said.
"No," Thorne replied.
"She refused to."
The room fell quiet.
Then, from the ceiling, a symbol blazed to life—drawn in reverse-fire.
The Seventh's sigil.
Still alive.
Still bound.
Still whispering.
"We made a mistake," Thorne said, voice steel over ash. "We tried to kill a Gatebreaker."
He looked up, eyes burning violet at the edges.
"This time, we steal her."
Back in Eldraen, Eliendara stood at the edge of the ruined Hollow Spire, the crown dimmed for now, her soul… quiet.
Kael handed her a parchment—delivered by raven only hours before.
The seal was black wax.
And the symbol pressed into it—
A sigil long thought lost.
The Order of the Unnamed.
She stared at the wax.
"They shouldn't know I'm alive," she said.
Kael's jaw clenched. "They do."
She opened the letter.
Seven words, written in ancient ink:
"The war never ended.Now it begins."
Her fingers curled around the message.
The crown pulsed faintly.
And far away, another gate began to hum.
🔮 Next Chapter Preview – Chapter 30: The Thirteenth Raven
A raven without a name appears in Eliendara's dreams—It carries a message written in flame,From someone who shouldn't be alive…
A soul she lost in her first death.One who once held the crown—
Her brother.