INICIAR SESIÓNThe creature roared once more. The sound tore through the heavens. The starry platform beneath my feet cracked from one side to the other, and I stumbled backward trying to maintain my balance. The Shadow King stood a few feet away. For once he was not smiling. His crimson eyes stayed fixed on the enormous golden eye, staring at us from beneath the darkness."What is it?" I asked. He kept quiet."Shadow King!" His finally turned his attention toward me. "You shouldn't have awakened it.""I didn't.""You did." His voice was unusually quiet."The old magic recognized you the moment you rejected the Trial's choice." I tightened my grip around the Moon Trident."Tell me now what I'm up against." He looked back at the beast."The Fourth Guardian.""The guardian of what?" His expression darkened."The beginning." The creature moved. A massive claw emerged from the darkne
I fell. There was no ground beneath me. No sky or stars, just darkness. My stomach twisted as the force of the fall pulled me deeper into the unknown. I reached for the Moon Trident but felt nothing. It had vanished. The Moon Crown still rested on my head, but its light had disappeared. For the first time since coming to the Sky Temple, I was absolutely powerless."Help!" My voice vanished into the darkness. Nothing came back, not even an echo. I tried once more, but there was still nothing. Then something touched my shoulder. I spun around but saw nothing. A cold sensation crawled down my back."Who's there?" A whisper responded."You." I froze. A figure appeared before me. It was me. But not the future version I had seen before. This version looked exhausted. Her clothes were torn and her face was streaked with dirt. One side of her forehead was covered in blood.
"The Trial of the Sky has begun." The ancient voice rumbled over the endless sky like a distant thunder. The staircase under my feet shimmered with silver starlight and stretched higher than I could see. Each step seemed to float in empty space, supported only by ancient magic. I heard another deafening crash behind me. The heavy prison doors creaked and a second crimson eye opened within the darkness. Whatever was trapped inside was becoming more powerful. Elyra put both hands against the chains binding her. Sillver light shot from her body as she poured every ounce of her remaining strength into the failing prison."Go!" She barked. "I will hold him!" My chest tightened. heart constricted."I will come back for you." A soft grin crossed her face."I know you will." I turned and started climbing. The moment I reached the tenth step, the staircase vanished beneath me. There was no way back, only forwar
"I have been waiting for you for a thousand years." The woman before me stood as though time itself had forgotten her. Though they were not ordinary chains, silver ones wrapped around her ankles, wrists, and waist. Little runes shimmered across each link, pulsing with a rhythm that matched the stars floating above the unending abyss. I swallowed."A Thousand years... How come you're still alive?" She gave a faint smile. "I am not alive in the way you understand. My body perished centuries ago. What remains is my soul, bound to the Third Seal." I gazed at her in wonder."So you've been here... alone?" She turned toward the sea of stars all around us."I have never truly been alone. The memories of every guardian who has protected the Sky Seal remain here." I followed her gaze. The stars gleamed once more. This time, I saw faint figures walking among them. I saw warriors, priests, and Queens. A few smiled quie
"Run, Aria! Don't let him get to the Heart Seal!" The ancient voice faded, but it's warning still echoed throughout the entire Sky Kingdom. The battlefield fell quiet. Even the Nightwings stopped circling. Alaric gazed at the Sky Temple, disbelief replacing the confidence that had filled his face only moments before."No... That's not possible." His voice was barely above a whisper. Cassian turned quickly toward him."You know that voice." Alaric said nothing, though h's jaw tightened. I moved forward, tightening my grip around the Moon Trident."Who is she?" His crimson eyes met mine."I assumed she had died." The response sent a chill down my spine. "You know her.""I knew her." His eyes turned toward the towering temple."She was the first High Priestess of the Sky Temple." Cassian inhaled sharply."Priestess Elyra... She disappeared before the First Betrayal.""She didn't disappea
"The ritual... It's already begun." Cassian's horrified voice echoed through the deserted streets as the pillar of black light pierced the heavens. The Moon Key burned against my chest. I clutched it as I fell to one knee. It felt as if fire had seeped within my skin."Aria!" Kael shouted as he rushed toward my side."I'm fine," I lied through gritted teeth. The pain subsided just enough for me to be able to stand. I looked toward the Sky Temple. The black pillar was not only rising into the sky, it was also spreading. Dark clouds gathered above the city, swallowing the morning sun. The floating crystals around the kingdom dimmed one after the other. The light that had made the city seem so alive slowly vanished. Commander Lyssara never looked away from the man in front of us."Alaric," she said with a trembling voice. "I buried you." The man smiled without warmth."You buried an empty coffin.""You... You let u







