"Blood remembers. Even when memory fails."
— Old Dominion Proverb
Scene: The Outer Fringe – The Dustlands
Dust swept over endless ruins — shattered temples, fallen statues, and bones of beasts that predated empires. Once, this was the seat of the Aetherborn Court, a civilization said to have rivaled even the early Dominion.
Now, it was just rubble, covered in silence.
Except for one small figure.
She moved like she didn't exist.
A girl in a servant's robe, thin and pale, sweeping an already-clean floor out of habit — not purpose. Her name meant nothing here.
They called her Ash.
But she had another name. A true name, sealed behind memories stolen at birth.
"Ash," a voice snapped.
A woman in royal colors approached. A Duchess. An abuser.
"Lazy again? You know what happens if you waste time."
Ash bowed her head. "I'm sorry, My Lady."
The woman raised a hand — lightning crackled around her fingers.
But the moment it was about to strike...
Time bent.
Ash's body reacted — but she didn't understand why.
She blinked.
And the Duchess was on the ground, gasping for air, the ground beneath her feet melted.
Ash looked at her own hand.
A glowing golden sigil was fading from her wrist.
She panicked. "What... is this?"
Scene: Eternal Dominion – Hall of Stars
Kaien walked beside Olivia through the sacred Hall of Stars, a spiraling corridor of ancient constellations preserved in crystal. Each step hummed with residual magic from rulers past — kings, queens, emperors. Names etched in flame.
At the very end: a blank star.
"No one's name has ever filled that last one," Olivia said softly.
"Why?" Kaien asked.
"Because that star belongs to the one who ends the cycle."
"Ends…?"
"Yes," she said. "The one who outgrows gods."
Kaien stopped. His gaze locked on the empty space.
And for a second, he saw it — a name flicker in shadow.
RAHUL
Scene: Archive of Truth – Locked Room
Valenya Vordrakar paced before a sealed chamber guarded by sentient weapons.
Only three people in the Dominion had clearance.
She was one.
She held up a sigil.
The door hissed open.
Inside: a single ancient scroll, suspended in stasis.
The Testament of Rahul.
She opened it carefully. A voice echoed in her mind — deep, absolute.
"To my blood, know this truth. I did not vanish. I chose silence. I did not fall. I waited."
"The Void remembers."
"And soon… it will speak."
Valenya gasped, clutching her head.
"He's not dead…" she whispered. "He's returning."
Scene: Ash's Dream
Ash collapsed into sleep that night — fevered, restless.
And in her dream, she stood in a field of floating islands surrounded by a golden sea.
Before her stood Rahul.
Young. Infinite.
He smiled.
"You forgot who you are."
"Let me remind you."
The chains around her wrists began to crack.
"You are Vaeyra."
"Born of forgotten royalty. One of the Five Pillars."
Her eyes widened. Her breath hitched.
"You are not weak," he said.
"You were hidden."
And then, he reached toward her.
The dream shattered.
She woke up screaming — and the floor beneath her glowed with ancient runes.
Scene: Unknown – Throne of the Godslayer
A black throne sat at the end of a starless corridor.
And upon it sat Rahul.
His body made of shadow and flame. Eyes like twin galaxies dying.
He whispered into the void:
"They are waking."
"The balance will tip again."
"And I will be ready."
He stood.
And behind him, countless destroyed empires stirred from dust.