In the gritty streets of Kallzara, a small wayside town where light barely touches the alleys, Revan Sorna survives by his wits—and by magic long forbidden. With the help of a shadowy tome found in forgotten ruins beneath the city, Revan can summon shadows to deceive and distract, but such power comes with a price: shadows cannot be created from nothing, and his own is lazy and stubborn, testing his patience at every turn.

Revan’s partner in crime, Cassie, is a clever con artist with a talent for ice magic and a convincing lost-girl act. Together, they make a perfect team, surviving by picking pockets, pulling cons, and running from those who would see their kind dead or worse.

Tonight’s target is an easy mark: a drunken sailor leaving The Golden Pig tavern. But when Revan’s swift theft is interrupted by a brutal punch, the simple job spirals into something far more dangerous—and far more personal.

As dark secrets from the ruins threaten to surface and enemies close in, Revan and Cassie must rely on their skills, their magic, and each other to survive. But in a town where shadow magic is heresy and trust is a currency rarer than gold, survival might just mean losing everything.

Location: The Catacombs Below Solmarien — Thaleon's hidden sanctumTime: Hours after the vision


The earth trembled faintly as the scholar pressed a blood-marked seal into the stone gate. The echo wasn't from the walls. It came from beneath — from memory itself.


Kael held his blade high, its edge flickering against the gloom.


"We shouldn't be here," he muttered."Not even the Accord came this far."


"That's why it's still buried," the scholar whispered.


With a groan like a dying beast, the gate opened.


Pillars inscribed with binding runes. A shattered mirror. A crown-shaped mark scorched into the floor.


And at the center — a sarcophagus, sealed with layers of starlit sigils. Not for the dead.


The scholar placed a hand upon the lid.The sigils shimmered, flared — then burst.


A projection bloomed above the tomb: Thaleon himself, eyes hollow, voice laced with sorrow.


"If you've reached this place…then the Crown calls again. And the world has not healed."


"The Crown was never meant to bind magic.It was meant to silence the traitor — the first among us who fractured the ley.But in doing so… I became its vessel."


Visions swirled:The first Circle, breaking apart in betrayal.Thaleon taking the Crown not in victory, but punishment.Wearing it not as ruler — but as prison.


"Each fragment holds not power, but guilt.Mine. Theirs. Yours."


"To reunite the Crown is to unleash what it holds.Not to command the ley — but to return what was sealed."


"The traitor returns," the scholar finished."Not just power — a soul old enough to break the world again."


They looked down at the tomb — and knew what they must do.


"We can't just stop the Masked Woman," Kael said."We have to keep everyone from finishing the Crown. Even if they mean well."


The scholar nodded, tears in their eyes.


"Because this wasn't a weapon. It was a warning."


But in the ley beneath their feet, something stirred — restless, ancient… listening.


Chapter 48 - The Last Seal