Chapter 70: Flames and Echoes

By dawn, Serena was already awake, her body tingling with residual energy from the night before. The golden ribbon that had appeared on Theron's arm glowed faintly under the morning light, pulsing in sync with her own heartbeat.

He stirred beside her, groggy but alert the moment his eyes found hers.

"It wasn't a dream," he said softly, looking at the mark.

Serena nodded. "I don't think this is just magic. It’s a promise. Something ancient. It chose you… maybe it chose us."

Theron didn’t speak for a moment, and when he did, his voice was hushed with reverence. “This... This feels like more than fate. It feels like we’re rewriting prophecy with every breath.”

They didn’t linger long. The forest’s energy had changed again—heavier now. Shadows shifted too quickly, the silence no longer comforting but expectant. The Oracle’s Ruins were near.

They reached the cliffs by midday. The jagged rocks were blanketed in mist, a veil that shimmered with a faint silver hue. At the edge of the cliff was a stone archway—weathered but still standing, carved with runes that matched the ones Serena had drawn the night before.

Theron ran his fingers over the carvings. “These are ancient Lupine… old enough to predate the First Bloodline.”

Serena stepped closer. “What do they say?”

He frowned, lips moving silently as he translated. “Here lies the breath of memory. To enter is to remember. To remember is to bleed.”

Before they could question it further, a sudden gust of wind rushed through the arch. It wasn’t natural. It called to Serena—pulling at her very bones. She stepped forward, her instincts overriding thought.

“Serena—wait!” Theron caught her wrist.

“I have to go in,” she said. “It’s… it’s inside me. Like the ruins are waiting.”

He hesitated, then nodded. “Then I go with you.”

They stepped through together—and the world changed.

The air thickened, magic brushing their skin like smoke. The mists parted to reveal a sprawling temple hidden within the cliffs. Cracked pillars held up an invisible ceiling, and floating orbs of silver light hovered like fireflies. Water flowed through glowing runes carved into the ground, forming a circular pool at the center.

But what stopped Serena cold wasn’t the magic. It was the statue at the heart of the chamber.

A woman.

With her face.

Only older. Regal. Dressed in armor etched with the sigils of Flame, Sea, and Star.

Theron whispered, “That’s you…”

“No,” Serena said slowly, walking toward it. “That’s who I was. Or who I was meant to be.”

She placed a hand on the statue’s chest.

A shock ran through her. Her vision blurred. Time slipped.

Suddenly, she wasn’t in the ruins anymore.

She was standing in a battlefield—fire and blood and screams all around her. Her hands crackled with lightning, her voice a war cry as she unleashed a wave of magic that split the earth. Wolves howled behind her. And facing her… was a man cloaked in shadow.

He wore a crown of bone.

His eyes were black as night.

And his voice was filled with venom: “You will regret choosing love over power, Serena.”

Serena gasped, stumbling backward into Theron’s arms. The vision faded—but the echo of that voice still clung to her.

“What did you see?” Theron asked urgently.

“A war,” she said. “And a man… a king. A shadow king. He said I chose love over power.”

Theron’s jaw tightened. “Then we’ll prove him wrong.”

A voice rang out behind them.

“Or you’ll prove him right.”

They turned sharply.

Standing at the edge of the chamber was Elias.

He looked the same—and yet entirely changed. His golden hair was longer, his aura darker, his eyes filled with secrets.

“Elias,” Serena whispered.

He stepped forward, boots silent on stone. “You finally made it. The ruins have waited centuries for your return.”

Theron growled low in his throat. “You knew she’d come here.”

“I knew she’d have to. The moment she started awakening.”

Serena stood her ground. “You lied to me. About everything. My family. My blood. The prophecy.”

“I protected you,” Elias snapped. “If they had known who you were—if he had known—you wouldn’t be standing here.”

“Who is he?” Serena asked. “The Shadow King?”

Elias looked between her and Theron. His expression was unreadable. “You’re not ready for that truth.”

Serena stepped forward. “I decide what I’m ready for.”

There was a beat of silence.

Then Elias sighed and extended his hand. “Then come. There’s something you need to see. Something only the Oracle can show you.”

Theron placed a protective hand on Serena’s back. “We don’t trust you.”

“You don’t have to,” Elias said. “But she’ll trust herself.”

Serena hesitated… then nodded. “Lead the way.”

They followed Elias deeper into the ruins, where a crystal chamber lay hidden behind a veil of enchantment. Inside, the walls shimmered with starlight. And at the center floated a crystal heart—beating softly, as though alive.

Elias gestured. “Place your hand on it. Let it show you the truth of your blood.”

Serena looked once at Theron, who gave a reluctant nod. Then she stepped forward and placed her hand on the crystal.

Instantly, her body went rigid.

She saw flames.

Oceans.

Storms.

And then…

A woman—her mother, alive, standing beside a man with silver hair and storm-gray eyes.

A man who looked like—

Serena gasped. “That’s… that’s the Shadow King?”

Elias nodded grimly. “Your father.”

Everything shattered.