The feeling of being watched made Tayo and Lyra understand that their time for simple practice might be ending. They needed to be more careful. They also needed to understand why they were being watched. Lyra thought it was time to share something very important from her family's past.
She came to the grove one day carrying a small book. It was very old. The cover was faded, and the pages inside were thin and yellowed, like dry leaves. It felt heavy in Tayo's hands, not from weight, but from age and the secrets it held. "This book," Lyra said softly, "has been in my family for hundreds of generations. It tells the true stories, the ones the city has forgotten or wants to hide."
She opened the book to a page with old drawings and strange writing. One drawing showed the Primeator, the first human, standing strong. Next to him was another figure, smaller, but with a look of power. Below them were symbols Tayo didn't know, but they felt familiar in his mind, like echoes. Lyra pointed to the second figure. "This is the Primeator's son," she said. "The first child born after the shattering."
Lyra slowly read the old writing, speaking the words softly. It was a language almost lost. She stopped at a few words and looked at Tayo, her eyes wide. "It says... the son was a 'living key'," she whispered. "A key left behind after the world broke. A key to... something powerful."
Tayo stared at the drawing of the son. He felt a shock go through him. A living key? He was the reincarnation of the Primeator's son. Did this mean he was the key? A key to what? To the wild energy? To something from before the shattering?
Lyra gently closed the book. "My family never fully understood what 'living key' meant," she said. "But now... seeing your power, hearing the old stories in your energy... I think it means you, Tayo. You are the key." The cold feeling of being watched came back to Tayo. If he was a key to something powerful, and the city's watchers were looking, it meant he was in great danger. Their secret was not just about forbidden energy anymore. It was about who Tayo truly was, and what he might unlock in this broken world.