Rain poured down in silver sheets as Nyra stood on the edge of the overhanging cliff, her cloak soaked through, the wind howling like a hungry beast behind her. Below, the ruins of the ancient elven citadel shimmered with ghostly blue light, a haunting beauty barely visible through the curtain of storm. She clutched the locket in her hand—a gift from Elion, or so she had believed. Now, it burned with unfamiliar sigils that pulsed with a magic she didn't recognize.
Behind her, the sound of footsteps splashing through the mud made her spin, heart pounding. It was Kael.
"You shouldn't be here," she said, raising her voice over the storm.
"Neither should you," he replied, stepping closer. His hair clung to his face, eyes narrowed. "But here we are. I warned you not to trust Elion."
Nyra clenched the locket tighter. "He saved my life. He brought me across the Veil. Everything I've learned, everything I am becoming—it started with him."
Kael's expression softened, but only briefly. "That's what makes it dangerous. You were marked long before the ceremony at the Crystal Hollow. He didn't choose you because you were special, Nyra. He made you special so he could use you."
His words stabbed deeper than she expected. She wanted to deny it, but the growing unease inside her—the unexplainable dreams, the strange whispers in languages she shouldn't understand—all of it had begun after meeting Elion.
"There's something buried here," she said, voice trembling. "Elion led me to this place. He told me I'd find answers in the ruins."
Kael sighed. "He lied. That's not a resting place. It's a prison."
Lightning cracked the sky as Nyra stepped back toward the edge. "Then who's imprisoned inside?"
Kael hesitated, lips tightening. "A seer. One of the first. She saw the end of both worlds, and Elion feared her."
"And you didn't think to mention this before?" she asked, incredulous.
"I didn't think you'd get this far," Kael admitted. "I thought… I hoped you'd choose something safer. A life beyond this madness."
Nyra gave a bitter laugh. "That life never existed. Not for me."
They stood in silence for a moment, the storm the only sound between them.
Finally, Kael spoke again. "If you go down there, you might awaken her. And once awakened, she'll see everything. The past. The future. Your heart."
"Maybe that's what I need," Nyra said quietly. "To understand why I was chosen. Or made. Or cursed."
Kael reached out, placing a hand on her shoulder. "Just promise me something—don't listen to everything she says. The truth isn't always a gift."
Nyra gave him a small, haunted smile. "Neither is ignorance."
Then, without another word, she began the descent.
The citadel was more intact than she'd expected. Columns of jade stone stood tall, their surfaces etched with runes glowing faintly. The air was thick with ancient magic, humming in her bones, making every hair on her arms stand on end. Her steps echoed through the chamber as she approached the central dais.
In its center was a pedestal, and atop it, a mirror framed in dragonbone. The glass rippled as if alive.
Nyra stepped forward—and the mirror flickered.
A face emerged. Not hers.
It was a woman—ageless, eyes like polished obsidian, hair flowing like black fire. Her expression was unreadable, but her voice sliced into Nyra's mind like silk-wrapped steel.
"You have come at last, dreamborn child."
Nyra swallowed hard. "Who are you?"
The woman smiled. "I am what Elion feared. I am what you seek. I am the truth no one dares speak aloud."
"I want answers," Nyra said, stepping closer. "Who am I really? Why did Elion bring me here?"
The mirror shimmered. Images flashed—Nyra as a baby cradled in Elion's arms, a circle of cloaked figures chanting, a star collapsing in reverse. Then a voice, not hers, echoing in the chamber: "The girl will either shatter the Veil... or become it."
The woman's eyes narrowed. "You are the bridge between the worlds. The lock and the key. Elion didn't save you—he unshackled what should've remained bound."
"Then why am I still alive?" Nyra asked, voice shaking.
"Because the threads of fate are not yet woven," the seer said. "But soon… they will tighten around your throat."
Before Nyra could respond, the mirror exploded in a cascade of silver shards. Magic rushed through the room like a hurricane. She fell to her knees, gasping.
Kael rushed in moments later. "What happened?!"
Nyra looked up, her eyes glowing with a light that wasn't hers. "She showed me everything."
Kael froze. "And?"
"She's not the only one imprisoned here."