Chapter 15: The Temple Beneath

When I opened my eyes, everything was quiet.

No wind, no river, no sound at all.

The air felt thick, heavy, almost liquid. I was lying on smooth stone, cold under my palms. Light moved across the ceiling like it was alive, silver on one side and gold on the other, meeting in the middle.

For a moment, I didn’t move. I just listened — to my heartbeat, to the faint echo of another one inside me. The child. It was still there. Still strong.

Then I realized I wasn’t alone.

Revan knelt beside me, his hand on my shoulder, his face pale. His clothes were torn, and there was dried blood at the edge of his jaw.

He whispered, “You’re awake.”

I blinked, trying to focus. “Where are we?”

“Inside the temple,” he said quietly. “It pulled us under.”

I looked around. The chamber was vast, the walls covered in symbols that glowed faintly as if they breathed with the room. The air smelled like rain and old stone.

Jordan’s voice came from the other side. “If this is a temple, where’s the door?”

“There isn’t one,” Revan said. “This place was never meant to be entered by choice.”

I sat up slowly. My arm still glowed, the golden marks brighter than ever. The light on the walls shifted in response, like it recognized me.

Revan helped me stand. “Easy.”

I steadied myself against him, my legs weak. “What happened?”

“The ground opened,” he said. “The light took you first, then us. When it stopped, we were here.”

Jordan was pacing near the far wall, running his hand over the carvings. “This isn’t any temple I’ve ever seen. These symbols… they’re alive.”

“They’re reacting to her,” Revan said again, watching me.

I looked down at my arm, at the way the light pulsed under my skin. “It won’t stop.”

Revan took my hand gently. “Let it guide you.”

I hesitated. “Guide me where?”

Before he could answer, the air in the center of the room began to shimmer. A circle of light opened, and from it came a faint hum, soft but steady, like a heartbeat.

The sound wasn’t coming from me this time. It was coming from the stone.

Jordan drew his blade. “I don’t like that.”

Revan ignored him and stepped forward, eyes narrowed. “It’s calling her.”

I followed the sound until I stood at the edge of the light. It glowed brighter as I approached, spilling warmth over my hands.

Then I saw it — a small crystal buried in the center of the stone, pulsing with every beat of my heart.

“What is it?” I whispered.

Revan’s voice was low. “The source.”

“The source of what?”

“Everything.”

The hum grew louder. The air started to shift again, bending and warping.

Jordan grabbed my arm. “Lora, step back.”

“I can’t,” I said. “It won’t let me.”

The moment my hand touched the light, the world disappeared.

For a second, I was nowhere — floating, weightless. Then everything came rushing back. I was standing in a field of white fire again, the same place I’d seen before.

But this time, it wasn’t empty.

The Moon Goddess stood before me, her silver hair falling like water, her eyes calm. Beside her stood the figure of flame — taller, darker, with eyes that burned like the sun.

I couldn’t breathe. “Who are you?”

The flame spoke first. “You already know.”

“No,” I said. “I don’t.”

“You carry my blood,” he said. “The fire that can end everything.”

The goddess looked at me gently. “And mine,” she said. “The light that can save it.”

I shook my head. “That’s not possible.”

“You are both,” she said softly. “Born of two worlds that were never meant to touch.”

My voice cracked. “Then why did you let it happen?”

The flame smiled faintly. “Because we wanted to see if balance was possible.”

The goddess’s tone grew sad. “And it was. For a while. Until greed took it.”

They moved closer together, their light mixing. It hurt to look at them.

I said, “You mean the packs.”

The goddess nodded. “They divided the gifts we gave them. Fire to rule. Light to heal. And now they fight to control what was meant to be shared.”

The flame looked at me. “That is why you exist. To bring them together, or burn them apart.”

I felt my throat tighten. “You want me to choose.”

“Yes,” they said together.

I shook my head. “No. I can’t.”

The goddess’s eyes softened. “You already are. Every choice you’ve made has shifted the scales.”

The flame’s voice dropped lower. “Your child will tip them.”

I stared at them, shaking. “My child?”

The goddess nodded. “The one who will inherit both flames. The balance can only live through them.”

My heart pounded. “Then I can’t let it die.”

The flame smiled. “You can’t let it live too long either.”

I froze. “What?”

“If it grows too strong,” he said, “it will destroy everything. Even you.”

The goddess turned to him sharply. “Enough.”

“She needs to know,” he said. “Truth doesn’t wait for comfort.”

The light between them flared, their voices blending together.

The goddess looked at me one last time. “When the time comes, remember this — creation and destruction are the same gift. What you love most will decide which one you choose.”

The world shattered around me.

I gasped and fell back onto the stone floor. Revan was there, catching me before I hit the ground.

“Lora.” His voice was raw. “Talk to me.”

I could barely breathe. “I saw them.”

“Who?”

“The Moon Goddess. And the Flame.”

Jordan stepped closer. “What did they say?”

I looked at him, my eyes burning. “That I’m both. And that the child will finish what they started.”

Revan’s face hardened. “What does that mean?”

I shook my head. “It means if the child lives, the world changes. If it doesn’t…” I stopped, unable to finish.

Jordan’s jaw tightened. “If it doesn’t?”

I met his eyes. “Everything burns.”

No one spoke. The silence stretched long and heavy.

Then, faintly, the sound of footsteps echoed from somewhere behind the walls.

Revan turned toward the sound. “We’re not alone.”

Jordan lifted his blade. “How?”

Revan’s voice was low. “This place hides more than gods.”

I tried to stand, but my body felt heavy. The air itself was thicker now, darker.

From the shadows at the far end of the chamber, figures appeared.

Three of them. Cloaked in black, their faces hidden, their eyes glowing faintly red.

Revan’s claws extended. “Darkborn.”

One of them spoke, his voice quiet but sharp. “Not anymore. The flame called us back.”

Jordan stepped forward. “You shouldn’t have come.”

The figure tilted his head. “We didn’t come for you. We came for her.”

The others began to circle, their movements slow and certain.

Revan moved closer to me. “Stay behind me.”

The air trembled. The light in the walls flickered.

The lead figure raised his hand. “The child belongs to us.”

Something inside me snapped. I could feel the fire rising again, hot and wild.

Revan grabbed my hand. “Don’t.”

“They’ll take it,” I said.

“They’ll die first,” he said.

The Darkborn lunged.

Revan met them head-on, fast and brutal. Jordan followed, his blade catching the first one across the chest. The air filled with the sound of claws and metal. Sparks flew where their strikes met.

I stayed where I was, trying to control the fire that wanted out. Every time I breathed, it pushed harder.

The voice inside me returned. “Let me help.”

“No,” I whispered.

“They’ll kill him.”

Revan shouted, blocking a strike meant for me. Blood hit the floor.

The voice grew louder. “Let me help.”

I closed my eyes. The choice burned through me.

Then I let it.

The fire exploded again, golden and fierce. It wrapped around the Darkborn like a storm. Their screams filled the chamber as the light tore through them.

When it was over, only ashes remained.

Revan turned toward me, his chest bleeding, his eyes dark. “You shouldn’t have done that.”

“They would’ve killed you.”

“They almost killed you,” he said.

Jordan wiped his blade, his voice quiet. “We’re running out of time. If they found this place, others will too.”

Revan nodded, breathing hard. “We move before sunrise.”

I looked down at my hands, still glowing faintly. “There’s nowhere left to run.”

Revan touched my face gently. “Then we make them run from us.”

The ground beneath us rumbled again, a deep sound from somewhere below.

Jordan’s eyes widened. “What now?”

I looked toward the center of the chamber. The crystal was glowing again, brighter than before.

The goddess’s voice echoed faintly in my mind. “When light meets fire, the world will fall.”

I stepped closer, my heart racing.

Revan caught my arm. “Lora, don’t.”

But it was too late.

The light broke open, and the temple began to collapse around us.