Night draped itself across Akalora like a silken veil -soft, silent, and shimmering under the weight of a thousand stars.
The moon hung low, pale and watchful, casting silver ribbons across the cliffs where the sea met stone. The trees swayed gently in the salt-kissed breeze, their dark leaves whispering secrets only the island could understand. Somewhere in the distance, waves sighed - not crashing, not roaring, just breathing.
The world was still. Not asleep, but listening.
Petals of blue dusk-bloom curled closed as a figure moved through the forest, careful not to crush them. Bare feet brushed against damp moss. Fingers trailed along the bark of a tree that had stood since before names were spoken.
"Hey! Avira !! Be careful!!"
Zavion whispered slowly as his hands reached out to grab the rope on the bridge.
Avira's little head nodded in silence. Her dark curls bounced softly as her wide eyes stayed fixed on the bridge ahead.
Tonight, Akalora glowed. And somewhere between the shifting tide and the silver trees, two reckless teenagers tiptoed where legends were never meant to be disturbed
His eyes caught the light ,not of the moon, but of something else.
He froze for a second, then turned to Avira,
his voice barely able to hold back the thrill.
"We finally found it," he whispered,
pointing toward the shape far beyond twisted branches and veils of glowing mist, a shape rose between the cliffs - ancient, silent, and half-swallowed by thorny vines that shimmered faintly in the dark.
The sacred temple of kaustubha gem.
It sat like a forgotten god, carved into the bones of the mountain, wrapped in magic so old it no longer cared to be worshipped.
The forest around them was not quiet , just listening.
Tiny lights flickered beneath their feet..not fireflies, but root spirits, the kind that appeared only in sacred hours. Silver-winged moths drifted by in silence. Leaves above them trembled even without wind, releasing faint trails of violet dust that vanished before they touched the ground.
Every tree felt like a watcher.
Every stone is like a buried story.
Both of them moved through it all without hesitation.
They reached the edge of the clearing where the temple stood.
It was carved into the belly of the mountain.
Its entrance bled with moss and time, dark stone veined with faint red lines that pulsed like something still alive beneath. Roots hung low from the cliff above, clawing down the stone like old hands trying to hold it closed.
Even in the moonlight, it looked untouched -not abandoned, just waiting. the temple shimmered faintly under starlight, like it had swallowed every secret ever spoken near it.
They had only heard fragments ,whispered words from elders, strict warnings from her mother to never go near it.
They said every fifteen years, a sacred ceremony was held here,
under moonlight and chants,
when the priests and the king came together to witness something ancient.
But no one ever said what, or why.
Avira and Zavian only knew that the ceremony was tomorrow morning.
They thought maybe it was just a gathering. Maybe something boring as usually happens outside this mountain temple.
So, they came early.
To peek.
To explore.
To say they saw it before anyone else did.
But the island wasn't sleeping.
As they stepped closer, a low rumble stirred beneath their feet
soft at first, like breath.
Then deeper.
The kind that settles into your bones.
Avira stopped.
Zavian's eyes widened.
And before either could speak
the mountain moved.
Stone cracked like ice under pressure.
Moss split apart.A thin red light bled from the seams in the cliff,
and the temple began to open.
Not with violence.Not with sound.
But with the kind of silence that made your heartbeat feel too loud.
Zavian reached for her hand, almost without thinking.
"Are we… supposed to be here?" he whispered.
Avira didn't know.
She only knew that the island hadn't stopped them.
He gave a nervous laugh.
"Well… too late now."
He squeezed her fingers.
They both smiled -not out of confidence,
but because they were teenagers, standing in front of a door that hadn't opened in fifteen years.
And it opened.
The air inside was colder than outside, Not dead cold but watchful.
It was Heavy with the weight of things not spoken in years.
The temple walls pulsed with a faint red glow,
like veins buried in stone,alive but asleep.
Their footsteps echoed softly against the smooth floor,
though neither of them dared speak.
Even Zavian, who always had something to say, was silent now.
It wasn't fear.
It was awe.
At the center of the chamber stood a lotus-shaped altar, carved from obsidian,
its petals closed protectively around something dark at its heart.
The Kaustubha gem,still lifeless. Still waiting.
"That's it," Zavian whispered. "That has to be it."
Avira stepped closer, curiosity shining in her wide eyes.
But just as she took another step
her foot caught on a jagged piece of stone.
She stumbled forward.
Zavian grabbed her arm quickly, steadying her , but as he reached out, his hand slammed against the temple floor.
"Are you okay?" Zavion asked her while checking her knee for bruises and cuts..
Small drops of blood flowing from the knee
"Yes I'm fine, it's just a small bruise. But your palm has bruises"
Just then…
The walls shivered.
A tremor ran through the floor.The vines along the ceiling began to twist, glowing a deeper red.
Zavian blinked.
"...Did I do that?"
The gem inside the lotus began to hum softly at first, then rising like a low chant.
The altar pulsed with light.
One by one, the stone petals began to unfold, revealing the heart of the temple.
the Kaustubha, glowing crimson, like a living ember.
Avira took a step back.
Zavian stood frozen.
Outside, the wind picked up, Birds stirred.
The forest rustled like it was exhaling for the first time in years.
They didn't understand what had just happened.
But they didn't wait to find out.
Hand in hand, they ran.
Out of the temple, out of the clearing .
the mountain shaking gently behind them like a secret had just been spoken.
As the two slipped back into the trees, breathless and rattled, the forest around them seemed to pulse with some unseen rhythm like the very ground knew something had awakened.
They didn't speak.
Not yet.
They were still trying to understand what had happened.
But before they could reach the bridge again, they froze.
A shadow moved ahead of them And a voice broke through the leaves.
"Avira!"
Her mother shouted with a trembling voice.
She stumbled into view, her night clothes soaked from dew and river mist, her hair tangled, her eyes wide with a fear Avira had never seen before.
Her breath came in sharp bursts, like she'd been running for hours.
She looked at Zavian, then at her daughter, and her lips trembled.
"What are you doing here?" she shouted.
Without waiting for an answer, she grabbed Avira's wrist so tightly the girl winced, and began to pull her away.
"Come. Now."
"Wait mother.." Avira tried to speak, but her mother's grip only tightened.
She turned her head to Zavian for a moment.
"Go home. Now. Do not speak of this."
And then she dragged her daughter into the trees, toward the riverside and the little cottage that had always felt too quiet.
Avira looked back once at Zavian; he was looking at her but his shadow was already fading into the mist behind her.
Zavian didn't understand.
Still stunned, still breathless, he turned and began to make his way out of the forest, his hand still tingling from the strange hum of the temple floor.
But he wasn't alone.
he heard something..
A soft flutter. Wings. Not birds.
He turned, heart pounding.
From the trees above, two cloaked figures descended, their feet landing lightly on the mossy ground.
Feathered crests on their shoulders shimmered in the moonlight.
Temple guards.
Not ordinary ones.
the Skyborn, the flying clan. Loyal to the Temple. Trained from birth to sense the shift of sacred energy.
One of them stepped forward, eyes glowing faintly silver in the dark.
"He's the one."