"Some doors are not meant to be opened. Yet love always finds the key."
The world returned in fragments sound, breath, pain. My lungs screamed for air as I fell onto something cold and wet. It wasn't stone anymore. It was dirt, thick with the scent of rain and moss.
When I opened my eyes, I was no longer inside the church. I was lying in a field lit by moonlight, the stars above sharp and distant. The wind carried whispers, faint and ancient, words I couldn't understand but somehow remembered.
Elias was beside me, half-kneeling, one wing torn and the other flickering in and out of existence like broken light. His clothes were shredded, his eyes wild.
"You're alive," he muttered, his voice hoarse with relief. "You shouldn't be, but"
I pushed myself up, wincing as my muscles protested. "Where are we?"
He looked around, jaw tightening. "The northern ruins. The barrier took us here when the seal broke."
In the distance stood the outline of what looked like an ancient fortress half-swallowed by vines and time. The walls were cracked, runes faintly glowing along their edges.
My hand burned. The shard was gone or rather, it had merged completely into my skin, leaving behind a mark shaped like a circle of wings over my wrist.
"Elias," I whispered. "It's inside me now."
He moved closer, studying the mark. His expression turned grim. "Then the process has already begun."
"What process?"
"The merging. Once all three seals are broken, you'll stop being just Aiden. The soul inside you Ariselle will awaken completely."
The words made my pulse race. "And when that happens?"
He hesitated, then said, "The world resets."
I stared at him, heart pounding. "You mean it ends?"
"No. It restarts. Everything burns, then begins again without memory, without mercy."
The way he said it, calm but weary, made me believe it wasn't the first time he'd watched it happen.
"Elias how many times has this happened?"
He didn't answer right away. His eyes drifted to the horizon where storm clouds gathered like bruises. "Too many."
I swallowed hard, the taste of metal on my tongue. "Then why keep fighting?"
His gaze flicked back to me, sharp and bright. "Because every time I try to let go, I still find you."
Something twisted in my chest at that something warm, fragile, dangerous.
I looked away, pretending to focus on the ruins ahead. "You talk like a poet, you know that?"
He gave a faint smile. "And you talk like someone who doesn't realize the sky is falling."
Before I could reply, a crack of thunder split the air. The runes along the fortress walls flared, reacting to something unseen.
Elias tensed. "They're already here."
"Who?"
"The Keepers," he said. "The ones who maintain the seals. They'll come to finish what the Wardens failed to do."
He pulled me to my feet. "Stay close."
We ran across the field, rain starting to fall again in sharp, icy drops. The fortress loomed larger, its gates half-broken but still humming with energy. When we stepped inside, the air shifted cold, ancient, alive.
The hall beyond was lined with statues knights in full armor, each holding a broken sword. Their faces were eroded, but their eyes seemed to follow us.
Elias slowed his pace. "This place used to be a sanctuary," he murmured. "Now it's just a tomb."
As we walked deeper, the ground trembled. Dust fell from the ceiling. And then faintly, somewhere within the dark came the sound of footsteps.
Dozens of them.
I reached out instinctively, the mark on my wrist glowing faintly in response. The air shimmered around us, and I realized I could feel them. Every movement, every breath, like ripples in water.
Elias noticed. "You can sense them already," he said quietly. "Your link to the shard is growing faster than I expected."
"What does that mean?"
"It means," he said, "you're not the only one waking up."
The deeper we went, the louder the air seemed to breathe. The fortress walls pulsed faintly like veins, light leaking from old cracks that smelled of rain and smoke.
Elias moved like a shadow, silent but alert, his every step calculated. I followed close, clutching my wrist as the mark continued to glow brighter. It felt alive warm, rhythmic, almost matching the beat of my heart.
We reached a grand hall where a broken throne sat under the fractured remains of a stained-glass dome. The floor was littered with bones and ancient weapons. At the center, a pool of water reflected the moonlight that slipped through the roof.
Elias slowed. "We're standing above the second seal," he said softly.
"How do you know?"
"Because I was the one who helped create it."
I stared at him. "You what?"
He sighed, eyes far away. "After the last collapse, I swore I'd never let her awaken again. The gods offered me a choice guard the seals, or be erased with her. I chose to stay."
The weight of his confession hung in the air.
"So you were one of them," I said quietly. "A Warden."
He nodded once. "Once. Until I betrayed them."
Before I could respond, the sound of steel scraping echoed through the hall. From the shadows between the pillars, figures began to emerge men and women clad in dark armor, their faces hidden beneath silver masks.
The Keepers.
Elias spread his wings, their glow faint but fierce. "Stay behind me."
The lead Keeper stepped forward, voice hollow beneath the mask. "You have interfered for the last time, Thorn. The vessel will be reclaimed, and the cycle restored."
Elias laughed, a low, dangerous sound. "You've been trying for centuries. What makes you think you'll succeed now?"
The Keeper raised his staff. "Because this time, she remembers."
I froze as all eyes turned toward me. The glow beneath my skin flared, golden and blinding. I could feel it the other presence inside me stirring, whispering in a voice that wasn't mine.
Let me fight. Let me finish what we started.
My knees buckled. I grabbed my head, fighting to stay conscious. "No. Not now"
Elias caught me, his grip steady but desperate. "Aiden, listen to me. You can't let her take control."
"I'm trying!" I gasped. "She's too strong"
The Keepers advanced. Sigils flared in the air, circles of white light forming around us. Power hummed, pressing against my skin like invisible chains.
Elias roared, his wings bursting open fully. The hall filled with light as he drew on what little strength he had left. The glow in his veins turned crimson, unnatural, furious.
He swung his hand through the air, and the sigils shattered but the effort made him stumble, his breath ragged.
"Elias!"
"I'm fine," he lied, blood dripping from his nose.
The lead Keeper raised his staff again, chanting. The runes along the floor lit up in response. The air turned sharp, electric.
Elias pulled me close. "If they succeed, the seal will consume everything within miles. We won't survive."
"Then what do we do?"
He met my gaze. "We break it before they do."
I looked down at the mark on my wrist. It was pulsing faster now, glowing like a living flame.
"I don't know how," I said.
"Yes, you do," he whispered. "Ariselle does. Let her guide you but don't let her replace you."
The moment he said it, the world slowed. I could feel the fire rising through me, a memory unfolding not mine, but hers. The battlefield. The sword. The taste of blood and devotion.
The Keepers shouted as the ground cracked beneath us. The second seal pulsed, desperate, alive.
I reached out, pressing my glowing hand to the stone floor. "If this is what you wanted, then take it."
The seal exploded in a burst of golden light.
The shockwave threw everyone back. The Keepers screamed as their armor shattered. Elias shielded me with his wings, roaring as energy surged through him.
And then silence.
When the light faded, the hall was gone. The fortress was in ruins. The moon burned red above.
Elias knelt beside me, trembling. His wings were fading, torn to ash.
"You broke it," he whispered. "But the price"
"What price?"
He looked up, eyes wide with grief. "Your heart."
I glanced down and saw blood spreading through my shirt, glowing faintly around the mark. The shard's light was pulsing inside me, wild and unstable.
I tried to speak, but darkness swallowed my voice.
The last thing I heard was Elias shouting my name before everything went black.