Kael stared at Elara as if the walls of the world had collapsed behind her words.
The Third Seal… tied to his curse.
If it breaks, he becomes the Devourer's vessel.
His fingers tightened around her shoulders, but not in anger—
In fear.
Raw, ancient fear.
"Elara…" His voice was rough, almost hoarse. "Tell me exactly what he said."
She swallowed hard, fighting the tremor in her voice.
"My father… he said the Third Seal was created to contain something inside you. Something older than the Nightborn curse. Something deeper."
Her breath hitched.
"Kael… he said the Devourer marked you at your creation."
Kael recoiled as if struck.
"No." He shook his head. "No, that's impossible."
But the shadows curling beneath his skin said otherwise.
Elara gripped his hands. "Kael, listen—"
"No!" He stepped back, pacing. His breath came fast. Shadows leaked from his fingertips like smoke. "All my life, I believed I was cursed because of the war. Because of the hollow hunger. Because the First Healer sealed me…"
He laughed harshly—
A sound with no humor.
"But tied to that monster?"
He looked up at her with devastated eyes. "I refuse to believe I am part of him."
"You're not," Elara said firmly.
He froze.
"You are not him," she repeated, stepping close again. "You are Kael Varran. Whatever the Devourer tried to imprint on you, you've resisted it for centuries."
His voice was a whisper. "Because of the seal."
Elara nodded, tears gathering.
"And now that seal is weakening."
Kael's hands curled into fists.
"That doesn't mean I let it take me," he snapped. "I won't become the thing that destroyed your mother's world. I won't hurt you. I won't—"
His breath hitched.
"Elara… I won't become that monster."
She reached up and touched his cheek.
"You won't," she whispered. "Because we're going to fight it. Together."
His eyes softened—
but also darkened with the gravity of what she had told him.
The Ghostborn chose that moment to drift forward, hands clasped behind his back.
"Well!" he chirped. "Now that the family secrets are out, may we continue? The world is melting as we speak."
Marcellus glared at him. "You knew."
"Of course," the Ghostborn said. "I know everything except how to bake bread. The seals and their vessels are my favorite old tale."
Kael's shadows surged dangerously. "And yet you didn't warn us."
The Ghostborn shrugged. "Would you have believed me? Besides, prophecy works best when messy."
Elias stepped between them. "Enough. We have bigger problems. The Devourer stirred. I felt it. The earth vibrated like a pulse."
Tamsin nodded, trembling. "If the Third Seal is breaking, Kael's curse will worsen."
Kael turned away sharply, hiding the way his hands shook. Shadows licked at his wrists. His breathing grew uneven again.
Elara moved closer. "Kael—"
"I'm fine," he said too quickly.
He wasn't.
She saw the tremor beneath his skin.
The flickering red in his eyes.
The hunger curling through him like a waking serpent.
The Third Seal was cracking.
The Vault Responds
Before anyone could speak further, the chamber roared with sudden energy. The runes along the walls blazed, vibrating with so much force the ground cracked beneath them.
Tamsin gasped. "The Vault is… destabilizing!"
Elias drew his blade. "Is it collapsing?!"
"No," the Ghostborn said cheerfully. "It is opening the next trial."
Marcellus cursed. "What trial?"
"A choice," he said. "Every heir must face one."
The runes twisted—
forming a massive spiral of light
that pointed directly at Elara.
The Sentinel reappeared, kneeling.
"Heir of Shadow and Light," it said in its echoing voice. "The Vault presents the Path of the Two Crowns."
Elara blinked. "Two… crowns?"
"Yes," the Sentinel said. "Your mother's lineage. And your father's."
Behind the Sentinel, two enormous doors formed in the darkness:
One carved in gold, radiating warm healing light.
One carved in obsidian, pulsing with shadow.
Tamsin whispered, "The Healer's Crown… and the Shadowborn Crown."
Marcellus stiffened.
"The Vault wants her to choose a lineage."
Elias shook his head. "But she is both."
Kael clenched his jaw.
"What happens if she chooses wrong?" he demanded.
The Sentinel replied without hesitation:
"One crown leads to balance.
The other to ruin."
Elara's heart pounded painfully.
"Ruin for who?" she whispered.
"For all," the Sentinel said.
The Ghostborn clapped softly. "What a delightful puzzle."
Kael snarled. "Shut up."
Elara stared at the two glowing doors.
Her palms grew damp.
Her throat tight.
"I… I can't choose," she whispered. "Both sides are part of me."
"Then choose the one the world needs," Marcellus snapped. "Your mother's line was meant to seal the Devourer."
"And her father's line is the only one strong enough to bend shadow," the Ghostborn added lightly. "And perhaps reshape Kael's curse."
Elara's eyes widened.
"What?"
"Oh yes," the Ghostborn continued. "Only the Shadowborn line can influence the Third Seal directly. Light alone won't save him."
Kael froze, turning slowly toward Elara.
"Elara… is that true?"
She hesitated.
Her father's echo had said:
"You cannot fix it alone."
"Kael is the key."
But he also told her she must embrace her shadow.
Slowly, she nodded.
Kael stepped back as if the wind had punched him.
"And if you choose the Light Crown?" he asked quietly.
Her voice trembled. "Then I become a healer strong enough to reinforce the First and Second Seals."
"And me?" His voice was fragile, breaking.
She couldn't meet his eyes.
"I don't know."
The silence pulsed like a heart.
Kael turned away, shadows writhing like wounded things.
Marcellus hissed, "Choose Light. If the Devourer awakens, the realms fall. This isn't personal."
Tamsin grabbed his arm. "It IS personal. It's her life."
Elias looked at Elara with quiet urgency. "Whatever you choose… choose what feels right, not what others demand."
The Sentinel gestured toward the doors.
Time was running out.
Kael's Breaking Point
Elara stepped toward the doors, hands shaking.
Kael's voice stopped her.
"Elara."
She turned.
His eyes—normally dark and steady—glowed red with shadow and fear.
"If you choose Light…" His voice broke. "…I lose my only chance."
She swallowed.
"If you choose Shadow…" he continued, "…you may lose yourself."
A tear slid down her cheek.
"Kael—"
He stepped closer, shadows softening around him.
"I don't want to be the reason you choose a crown," he said quietly. "I don't want my curse to shape your destiny."
Her lips trembled. "But if I choose Light… I might lose you."
"Better you live," he whispered, "than die trying to save me."
Her heart cracked.
Tamsin sobbed softly behind her. Elias looked away. Even Marcellus flinched at the rawness of those words.
But the Ghostborn watched Kael with curious pity.
"Oh dear," he whispered. "You really are terrified."
Kael ignored him.
"Elara… whatever crown you choose, I—"
His breath faltered.
"I will bear it."
Elara couldn't breathe.
Kael took one last step toward her, shadows curling around his feet like smoke.
"Choose your fate," he whispered. "Not mine."
The Pulled Thread
Elara turned back to the two doors.
Her hands lifted—
one toward the golden crown,
one toward the obsidian one.
Her heart hammered.
Light or Shadow.
Mother or Father.
World or Kael.
Balance or ruin.
The runes around her flashed—
Then froze.
Everything went still.
The Sentinel's voice echoed softly:
"Choose."
Elara closed her eyes.
And whispered:
"I choose…"