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Chapter 46 — The Awakening of the Gate
The glow from the opened vault pulsed in steady waves—like a heartbeat rediscovering rhythm after centuries of stillness. It was not merely light that spilled from the chamber—it was presence. Ancient, sentient, and weightless as dust. It wrapped around Celeste and Kairo like a silent tide.
Celeste stood just beyond the threshold of the vault now, her breath shallow, arms trembling, her skin marked by faint glowing filigree. Runes had begun to appear along her forearms—patterns she didn't recognize, yet somehow knew. The room behind the vault was circular, encased entirely in obsidian, but the walls did not reflect anything. They swallowed the light.
In the center of the chamber floated a single stone slab suspended mid-air, engraved with symbols that shimmered in gold and azure. Roots of silver energy sprouted from the ground and wove themselves into the slab like living veins.
Celeste reached for it—hesitating only a second before her palm met its surface.
She expected cold. Instead, the slab felt warm. Alive.
Images exploded behind her eyes.
Flames licking the sky. Wings of shadow. A city made of crystal domes shattering into the sea. The sound of bells tolling for a forgotten god. A woman with her face—no, not her face, but her ancestor's—rising in defiance as towers collapsed around her.
Then a name echoed through the vault.
"Serastra."
Celeste gasped.
Kairo stepped forward, alarmed. "What did it say?"
"I think…" she blinked, her voice thin, "I think it's my real name."
Kairo's expression tightened. "Then the line never died. Serastra was the last high daughter of the House of Lightmoor. She vanished after the first Sundering War."
"But what does that mean for me?" Celeste whispered. "What do I do now?"
The stone pulsed again—once, twice—then cracked down the middle, splitting open like an egg hatching. From within, a small orb rose, held aloft by invisible force. It was glowing, trembling, humming with raw power.
Kairo's voice dropped to a reverent murmur. "The Heart of Elarion."
The orb hovered toward Celeste, stopping just before her chest. She could feel it… recognizing her.
"You have to take it," Kairo said. "It's bound to your blood. If you reject it—"
Celeste didn't wait.
She reached forward and pressed both hands to the orb.
There was no scream, no violent explosion.
Only light. Quiet, engulfing light.
And when it faded, the orb was gone. Absorbed. The runes on her skin had spread up her neck and down her spine, glowing softly before dimming into her skin like ink absorbing into parchment.
Celeste collapsed to her knees, gasping for air.
"I… I feel everything," she said, choking on the words. "The wars. The betrayals. The kings who lied. The gods who watched. It's all inside me now."
Kairo knelt beside her, his expression solemn, proud, and afraid all at once.
"This was never about revenge," he murmured. "It was about restoration. The war Leoranzo wages—he's not just after thrones. He's after erasure. He wants to make the world forget its own origin. Its own strength."
Celeste met his gaze. "Then we'll make them remember."
He hesitated. "There's something else you need to know. About me."
She tilted her head.
"My real name isn't just Kairo Voltteri. The Voltteri line was never pure."
"What are you saying?"
"I carry the blood of two houses—one of light, and one of shadow. My mother was of Serastra's lineage. My father... was born from the Nightborn sect. The pact that started this war."
Celeste's lips parted. "So you…"
"I am the child of contradiction," he said. "The last balancing point between two forgotten legacies. That's why the court watches me. That's why Leoranzo fears me. Because I can't be controlled. Not fully."
Celeste's mind raced, connecting fractured visions, old dreams, bloodlines, whispers. "And me? What am I to you now?"
Kairo looked at her for a long, breathless moment. Then: "You're the only one the Hollow obeyed."
Suddenly, the entire vault shook. Dust fell from the ceiling. A deafening roar echoed through the chamber—not from the earth, but from above it.
Kairo shot to his feet. "They know it's been opened."
"Leoranzo?"
He nodded grimly. "And the rest of the court. They won't wait anymore."
From beyond the corridor, shadows began moving. Figures cloaked in grey and silver. Sentinels of the Hollow. They emerged from the walls, armor marked by time and memory, their swords glowing with threads of ethereal flame.
Celeste stepped back. "Are they going to attack?"
Kairo shook his head slowly. "No. They're here to escort us."
"To where?"
"To the surface," he said. "To the court. It's time they saw who you really are."
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Meanwhile, in the high council chamber of Wintermere…
Elira sat in her chamber, hands bloodless in her lap. The trial had been called off that morning, thanks to Kairo's sudden interference. But now, rumors spread like wildfire—rumors of power flickering beneath the palace, of light erupting from the ancient vaults. Of Celeste.
She stared out the window toward the Hollow Below, as thunderclouds gathered.
Lord Verrian had already issued another summons.
But this time, Elira knew—when the court assembled, it wouldn't be politics that answered.
It would be prophecy.