Salt Ritual
Night fell without a single star.
Corva carved a ritual circle into the forest floor using salt, blood, and ash. Briar stood barefoot at its center, her veins still faintly glowing with soulfire. Kael remained at the edge, sword drawn, eyes sweeping the dark.
"This will call a spirit who knew you," Corva said. "It will answer only one truth."
Briar nodded. "Then let it speak."
Corva began to chant—low, guttural tones that bent the air. The salt pulsed with light. Smoke rose from the soil, coiling upward into a humanoid shape, mist-thin and flickering with ancient flame.
The spirit's eyes glowed red as it looked at Briar. Then it bowed.
"I remember you, Queen of Dust."
Briar flinched. "What was my oath?"
The spirit tilted its head. "To break the world, to save it. And to die doing so."
Kael stepped forward. "She wasn't a queen. She was a weapon."
The spirit began to fade. "That is what she chose to be."
The circle burned to ash. The air turned cold.
Briar sank to her knees, hands shaking. "I made an oath that ended the world."
Corva placed a hand on her shoulder. "Then make a new one. Begin again."