Chapter 26

The sky above Blackwood turned completely black.

Aria held her child against her chest while the ground trembled beneath her feet. Across the courtyard, Edran and Atheron stood facing the enormous opening in the heavens, their silver powers rising like flames around them.

Kael moved closer to Aria.

“We need to get our child somewhere safe.”

“Where?” Aria demanded. “The enemy is coming through the sky, and the gates are connected to every world. Where could possibly be safe?”

Kael had no answer.

A deafening crack split the air.

The ancient gates shook violently, and a wave of darkness poured through them. It swept across the eastern settlement, swallowing the remaining flames and leaving the buildings covered in strange black markings.

Then the voice returned.

“THE PRISON IS BREAKING.”

The words seemed to enter Aria's mind rather than her ears.

Her child began trembling.

“Mother, make it stop.”

Aria held the child tighter.

“Look at me. Don't listen to the voice. Listen to mine.”

The child raised tearful eyes toward her.

“I can feel something inside the light.”

“What does it feel like?”

“Angry.”

The child swallowed.

“And lonely.”

Aria exchanged a worried glance with Kael.

Before either could respond, Edran approached them.

“We must leave the courtyard immediately.”

Atheron turned toward him.

“Leaving will not help. Veyr can follow the First Memory wherever it goes.”

“Then we move somewhere he cannot reach it!”

Atheron shook his head.

“You still don't understand. The prison was never built to keep Veyr outside the worlds. It was built to prevent him from recovering what he lost.”

Edran's expression hardened.

“And you knew this?”

“I discovered it after the first war.”

“You allowed me to believe the fragment was destroyed!”

“I was trying to protect the remaining worlds!”

“By hiding another secret?”

Atheron's face tightened.

“I made a mistake. I will not pretend otherwise.”

Aria stepped between them.

“Save your arguments for later. Tell me how to protect my child.”

Atheron looked at her.

“The First Memory must be awakened before Veyr reaches it.”

Kael raised his weapon.

“And what happens when it awakens?”

“The truth about the original realm will become clear. We will understand how Veyr can be stopped.”

“And the danger?” Aria asked.

Atheron hesitated.

“The memory may overwhelm the child.”

Aria's expression changed.

“No.”

“Aria, we have no other—”

“I said no! My child is not a sacrifice you can offer because you ran out of answers.”

The courtyard fell silent.

Aria looked at both brothers.

“You spent centuries deciding what everyone else should know, what they should fear, and what they should become. That ends here. If we are going to fight this war, we fight it without sacrificing innocent lives.”

Edran lowered his eyes.

“You are right.”

Atheron nodded reluctantly.

“Then we need another way.”

A tremendous impact shook the courtyard.

The enormous opening widened, revealing a gigantic shape moving behind the darkness.

Veyr had arrived.

His shadow stretched across the mountains, and the pressure of his presence forced several guards to their knees.

The ancient gates began to crack.

One by one, their golden markings went dark.

Edran raised both hands.

“Get everyone away from the gates!”

Kael grabbed Aria's hand.

“Move!”

They rushed toward the western passage as Edran and Atheron turned to face the approaching darkness.

Behind them, Veyr spoke.

“YOU CANNOT HIDE WHAT BELONGS TO ME.”

Aria looked over her shoulder.

“Nothing belongs to you!”

Veyr's enormous eye turned toward her.

“Then watch what your refusal costs.”

A black wave struck the gates.

The golden structure shattered.

Pieces of ancient stone rained across the courtyard, and the connection between the worlds erupted into a storm of silver and black energy.

Aria stumbled.

Kael caught her, but their child slipped from her arms and landed beside them.

“Mother!”

Aria reached down.

Before she could grasp the child's hand, a ring of darkness appeared around the little one.

The child vanished.

“NO!”

Aria screamed and lunged forward.

Kael caught her around the waist as the darkness closed.

“LET ME GO!”

“Aria, wait!”

“OUR CHILD!”

Her power exploded.

Golden light swept across the courtyard, tearing apart the stones and forcing the remaining soldiers backward.

The darkness surrounding the place where the child had stood began to crack.

Then a small hand emerged.

Aria seized it.

“Hold on!”

The child reached for her.

But something on the other side pulled back.

Kael joined Aria, gripping their child's other hand.

Together, they pulled.

The darkness screamed.

A burst of silver light erupted, and the child tumbled into their arms.

Aria hugged the child tightly, checking their face and hands.

“Are you hurt?”

The child shook their head.

“No, Mother.”

Then the child's expression changed.

“Something spoke to me.”

Kael looked toward the shattered gates.

“Veyr?”

The child nodded.

“He said he remembers me.”

Aria felt a chill run down her spine.

“How could he remember you?”

The child looked down at their palm.

“Because the First Memory has started opening.”

A strange symbol appeared beneath the skin, glowing faintly gold.

Edran hurried toward them.

“Let me see.”

Aria stepped back.

“No.”

“Aria, please. I need to understand what has changed.”

“You have had enough chances to understand things while keeping everyone else in the dark.”

Edran stopped.

For a moment, shame crossed his face.

Then he nodded.

“You are right. I will tell you everything I know before I ask you to trust me again.”

He looked at the symbol on the child's palm.

“The First Memory has begun revealing itself. That means Veyr can sense its location more clearly than before.”

“How much time do we have?” Kael asked.

“I don't know.”

Aria looked toward the sky.

The darkness had begun spreading beyond Blackwood, covering the distant hills.

“Then we cannot waste another moment.”

She turned to the child.

“Can you tell us what you saw?”

The child closed their eyes.

“I saw a world filled with light. There were people everywhere, and nobody was fighting. Then Veyr came.”

The child's breathing quickened.

“He said the world was too free. He wanted everyone to think the way he did.”

Aria knelt beside the child.

“You don't have to continue if it frightens you.”

“I want to tell you.”

The child opened their eyes.

“Someone tried to stop him. They gave up their power to protect the others. But Veyr destroyed the world anyway.”

Atheron bowed his head.

Edran looked devastated.

The child continued.

“Then I heard another voice. It said the world could never be restored through force. It had to be remembered by those who chose to protect one another.”

Aria looked at Edran.

“Is that the truth about the original realm?”

“Yes,” he answered quietly.

“Then why didn't you tell us?”

“Because I thought the memory had been lost forever.”

Aria stood.

“And because you were afraid of what would happen if we knew.”

Edran did not deny it.

Kael looked toward the horizon.

“We need to get the survivors out of Blackwood.”

The First Mother appeared at the entrance to the courtyard, supported by two guards.

“The western roads are still open,” she said. “We can lead the families toward the mountains.”

Aria nodded.

“Help them leave. No one stays behind.”

“And you?” the First Mother asked.

Aria looked toward the darkened sky.

“We are going to stop Veyr from reaching the First Memory.”

The First Mother caught her arm.

“Aria, you cannot face him alone.”

“I won't.”

She looked at Kael, then at their child.

“We fight together. But we do it our way.”

For the first time that day, Edran gave a small, genuine nod.

“Then I will follow your lead.”

An hour later, the survivors were moving toward the mountains.

Aria stood at the edge of the settlement, watching the last families disappear along the western road.

Kael approached her.

“The path is clear. The First Mother is leading them.”

Aria nodded.

“Good.”

He studied her face.

“You're frightened.”

“Of course I am.”

She looked at their child, who was walking toward them with Atheron.

“I am frightened because we are fighting something we barely understand. I am frightened because our child is caught in the middle of an ancient war that began long before we were born.”

Kael took her hand.

“Then we learn what we need to know.”

“And if learning the truth makes everything worse?”

He squeezed her fingers.

“Then we face that truth together.”

Aria leaned against him briefly.

Then the child approached.

“Mother, I know where the prison is.”

Aria straightened.

“Where?”

The child pointed toward the mountains.

“Beneath the place where the First World began.”

Edran went completely still.

Atheron stared at the child.

“That place no longer exists.”

The child shook their head.

“It does. Veyr showed me.”

A distant rumble echoed beneath the mountains.

The ground split open, revealing a thin line of golden light.

Then another.

And another.

Across the horizon, an ancient structure began rising from beneath the earth.

Its towers were broken, its walls covered in symbols older than the First King's reign.

At its center stood a sealed doorway.

Something struck the other side.

Once.

Twice.

The entire mountain trembled.

Edran's voice dropped to a whisper.

“The original sanctuary.”

Aria stared at the enormous structure.

“What happens if the prison breaks?”

Edran looked at her.

“Veyr will recover the power he lost in the first war.”

“And then?”

He swallowed.

“Then he will attempt to rebuild the original realm according to his own will.”

The child suddenly grabbed Aria's hand.

“Mother, there's something else.”

Aria looked down.

“What is it?”

The child's eyes filled with fear.

“The voice inside the First Memory said the prison is not breaking because Veyr is attacking it.”

Aria felt her heart pound.

“Then why is it breaking?”

The child looked toward the ancient sanctuary.

“Because someone inside is opening it.”

At that moment, a figure appeared on the highest tower.

A woman dressed in white stood beneath the darkened sky.

Aria recognized her immediately from the child's memories.

The mysterious woman raised her head.

Then she looked directly at Aria.

And smiled.