Arrival at Myr-Denneth
Myr-Denneth was unlike the scattered settlements Cael had seen—this was a true city, carved into the cliffs of the Caelith Range, its towers built vertically from stone threaded with dormant runes.
The locals called it The City That Dreams.
"They don't know they're living on top of one of the first seal-sites," Mireth whispered as they approached through the market tunnels.
"But their dreams remember."
Cael blinked. "What does that mean?"
She didn't answer.
Disguises and Tensions
Mireth handed Cael a cloak stitched with heat-concealing Essentia threads.
"You stand out like a fallen star. Blend in."
As they passed through checkpoints and guild-run markets, Cael noticed strange patterns:
The young suffered vivid nightmares tied to the stars and void.
The city's water reservoirs glowed faintly at night.
Clocktowers occasionally stopped—always at 3:33.
In the heart of the city stood the Spire of Waking Stone, a hollow tower used for ancient rituals.
"That's where the seal is," Mireth said. "But it's asleep. Cracked, not broken."
The Whispering Below
They infiltrated the spire through an old crypt-passage, descending into chambers untouched for centuries.
As they neared the seal chamber, Cael's shard pulsed, and the air grew colder—not physically, but temporally. Time began to desync. Mireth's footsteps echoed before she stepped. His breath condensed into frost seconds after exhale.
Then came the whispers.
"You are not alone…"
"You again…"
"Seven lights, one fracture…"
The seal chamber revealed itself: an enormous circular floor covered in runes that bent inward—like being inside an eye. A crystalline node floated above the center, glowing faintly.
Spell activated: Void Affinity Sync (Tier 2+)
Result: Partial resonance with the dormant seal
Cael staggered as his mind split across three overlapping timelines—one where he broke the seal, one where he didn't, and one where the city never existed.
The Seal Stirs
He fell to his knees. The shard in his chest burned.
Mireth pulled him back just as the crystal flared. One of the runes cracked.
"It's reacting to you," she said.
"Or to your future."
They fled the chamber as Essentia surged. No full awakening—yet. But the seal had seen him.
And now it remembered his presence.
Hunted Again
Back above, the city had changed.
Shadows stretched wrong.
Children stared at Cael without blinking.
An old mural in the square now depicted his face where once it had not.
Mireth looked pale.
"You made a mark," she whispered.
"And the city… marked you back."
Just before they left, a message carved itself into the alley wall beside them, shaped from flickering Essentia dust:
"ONE HAS FALLEN. SIX REMAIN."
Cael clenched his fists.
Someone else had already failed.