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The stars blinked like tired eyes over the cliffs of Kaelun, half-lidded and watchful, draped in the velvet hush of midnight. The sea far below breathed in steady rhythm against the jagged rocks, exhaling mist and secrets into the dark. The air carried the faint, metallic scent of the ruins nearby—old stone etched with time's forgotten tongue.
Kael sat alone on the ridge, his silhouette outlined by the pale glow of moonlight. His elbows rested loosely on his knees, posture still, almost statue-like, except for the slow flex of his fingers around a cracked pendant that dangled from his neck—an heirloom of unknown origin, etched with glyphs no one could read.
"You always sneak off without telling anyone?" Lira's voice came gently from behind, soft as mist.
Kael didn't turn. "Only when I'm running from questions I can't answer."
She stepped closer, boots crunching faintly against gravel and old moss. She found him where she always did—away from the group, perched in solitude, where the wind danced wild and the moon spilled silver on stone.
"You've got a habit," she said, tone light. "Brooding, moonlit cliffs… all very mysterious."
Kael smirked faintly, still not facing her. "Mystery's a nice distraction."
"From what?"
He didn't answer. The silence was a quiet admission.
Lira sighed and sat beside him, leaving just enough space to respect his solitude but not so much that it felt like absence. The wind tugged strands of her hair across her face, and she tucked them back with a finger.
"You always brood like this," she said after a beat, "or is it just when you're trying to look mysterious and handsome?"
He chuckled under his breath. "I try to balance both. It's exhausting, really."
Lira grinned. "You wear it well."
Kael finally glanced at her—a flicker of humor in his storm-gray eyes—but it faded quickly.
"You've been quiet since the crossing," she said.
"I'm always quiet."
"You're always avoiding."
He looked away. "Touché."
Another silence settled between them, heavier than before, yet not uncomfortable. The kind that let thoughts rise like fog, slow and unhurried.
Lira watched him out of the corner of her eye. "What's your story, Kael? Who were you before you crossed the Veil?"
His jaw tightened. That question again. The one that chased him like a shadow.
"I'm serious," she added, her voice softer. "You don't have to tell me everything. Just… something. People are talking."
"People always talk."
She waited.
Kael sighed and leaned back, eyes fixed on the stars. "I'm not sure how old I am. Mid-twenties, maybe. I don't know the day I was born, or where. Just that I woke up bleeding near a riverbank, a cracked pendant around my neck, and no idea what the stars meant."
Lira blinked, surprised by his honesty. "And the couple who raised you?"
"Eron and Mira." He smiled faintly. "Farmers. Mortal realm. Tough old souls. Mira made this horrible spice soup—tasted like scorched rock and sadness—but she swore it cured everything from fever to heartbreak."
Lira laughed, covering her mouth. "Sounds… disgusting."
"Oh, it was." He actually laughed. "But I pretended to like it. Made her happy."
His smile faded like smoke. "They took me in. No questions. Gave me a name, a roof, a second chance."
"What happened to them?"
His hands curled slightly on his knees. "One night, I left to trade supplies. Came back to ash. The village… was gone. Burned. Raided. No signs of who. No survivors. Just smoke. And silence."
Lira reached for his arm and placed a hand gently on it. "I'm sorry."
"I still don't know why I survived," he murmured. "Maybe I wasn't meant to die yet. Or maybe… maybe someone wanted me to see it."
"You think someone targeted you?"
"I think…" He paused. "I think my past keeps hunting me. Even if I don't remember it."
"You survived," she said firmly. "That matters. You're still standing."
He glanced at her. "Barely. You lot glow and warp time like it's a parlor trick."
"We're descendants of the Chronarchs," she said with a shrug. "Some of us manifest gifts. Some don't. Me? I break things when I sneeze. Not exactly prophecy material."
"Sounds dangerous. I'll stand over there next time you feel a cold coming."
She smiled. "Wise choice."
He studied her more carefully now, the moonlight soft against her cheekbones. "You're easy to talk to."
"That's because I actually listen," she said, nudging him playfully.
Their eyes met. And for a moment, the wind held its breath.
"You're different," he said, barely louder than the breeze.
"Same to you."
Their auras pulsed faintly. Not magic. Not yet. Something older. More human. Raw.
Then, as if the world itself was waiting for it, something deep below the temple ruins stirred.
Kael blinked, suddenly breathless.
"Kael?" Lira's voice was sharp now.
He didn't respond. His pupils dilated. The sky above him twisted—stars swirling unnaturally, as if pulled by unseen gravity. The wind roared in his ears, drowning out the world.
Then—
Darkness swallowed everything.
Kael stood in a vast void. Endless. Cold. There was no ground, no sky. Just… emptiness.
Except for the figure.
It stood ahead of him, cloaked in shadow, tall and still. Its shape shifted subtly, like smoke caught in windless air. Its face was obscured beneath a hood, but its presence pressed on Kael's chest like a mountain.
Kael stepped forward, heart pounding. "Where am I?"
The figure raised its hand. Light sparked behind it—dozens of images flashing like broken glass: war-torn skies, burning banners, swords bathed in cosmic fire, a tower collapsing in reverse.
"You have forgotten what you are…" the voice said. It shattered the silence like thunder splitting mountains.
Kael staggered. "What—what do you mean?"
"You cannot run forever, Kael."
The images intensified—memories? Visions? A boy wrapped in blue flame. A gate of time twisting open. A great beast screaming into the stars.
Pain lanced through Kael's skull. He clutched his head. The memories weren't his—but they fit too perfectly.
"You are—" the figure reached toward him, mouth opening—
And then Kael gasped awake.
He was back on the cliff.
Gasping. Sweating. The wind whipped around him like a storm's warning.
Lira was crouched beside him, face pale. "Kael! Kael, what happened? What did you see?"
He couldn't speak for a moment.
Then, breath trembling, he whispered the only thing that surfaced from the depths of that vision:
"…I think something's coming."