Chapter Four

The carriage continued toward the Imperial Capital, but the peaceful rhythm of the journey had been broken.

Elara sat quietly beside the window, her fingers curled around the edge of her cloak.

She could still feel her father's gaze.

He hadn't asked another question since the Shadow Wolves disappeared.

Neither had she offered an explanation.

Outside, the forest slowly faded behind them. Tall trees gave way to rolling hills covered in golden grass, and the road became wider as they approached the central territories of the empire.

Yet Elara couldn't enjoy the scenery.

Her mind remained trapped on one sentence.

The Origin Guide has awakened.

She had heard it clearly.

The mysterious man on the cliff had spoken those words.

Origin Guide.

That classification didn't exist in the novel.

At least, she had never seen it.

She leaned her head against the carriage wall and closed her eyes.

"System."

Nothing happened.

"Are you there?"

Silence.

She frowned.

"System?"

A faint blue light finally appeared.

[The system is currently unavailable.]

Elara's eyebrows twitched.

"Convenient."

The message disappeared.

She stared at the empty space.

"Whoever designed you must have had a terrible sense of humor."

No response.

Elara sighed.

She pulled her sleeve over her wrist.

The strange silver symbol was still there.

A crescent moon surrounded by five tiny stars.

Five.

The same number as the male leads.

She had noticed it before, but now the connection made her uncomfortable.

Could it be related to them?

She immediately rejected the thought.

No.

She was overthinking things.

The original story had five male leads. The symbol probably meant something else.

Probably.

A sudden movement outside caught her attention.

The carriage slowed.

Elara looked through the window.

A group of armored riders had appeared ahead.

Their uniforms bore the crest of House Veyne.

Her father stepped outside to speak with them.

Several minutes later, he returned.

"We'll stop at the next village."

Elara looked at him.

"Why?"

"There is a problem with the horses."

She knew immediately that he was lying.

She didn't know how she knew.

She simply did.

"Father."

Cedric looked at her.

"What?"

"Are you afraid of me?"

The question caught him completely off guard.

For several seconds, he said nothing.

Then his eyes shifted toward her covered wrist.

Elara noticed.

Her stomach tightened.

"You know something."

"I know many things."

"About my Guide abilities?"

His expression hardened.

"Who told you that?"

"No one."

"Then why are you asking?"

Elara stared at him.

Because she had awakened inside a novel.

Because she knew his daughter was supposed to die.

Because she had watched fictional events become real.

But she couldn't say any of that.

So she chose the safest answer.

"I've been having strange dreams."

Something changed in his face.

Fear.

It was brief.

But she saw it.

"What kind of dreams?"

Elara hesitated.

"A field of white flowers."

Cedric went completely still.

Her heart dropped.

She continued carefully.

"The sky was red. There were five moons."

Her father's face lost its color.

"And there was a little girl."

He whispered,

"No."

Elara leaned forward.

"You know what I'm talking about."

Cedric looked toward the carriage door.

Then he lowered his voice.

"Never speak about this outside this carriage."

"Why?"

"Because if the wrong person hears you..."

He stopped.

"What?"

His jaw tightened.

"They will come for you."

A chill ran down her spine.

"Who?"

Cedric didn't answer.

Instead, he reached inside his coat and pulled out a small wooden box.

He placed it between them.

Elara stared at it.

"What is that?"

"Something your mother and I should have given you years ago."

He opened the box.

Inside lay a necklace.

A thin silver chain held a dark crystal pendant.

The crystal was shaped like a crescent moon.

Elara's breath caught.

The symbol engraved on it was identical to the mark on her wrist.

She reached for it.

The moment her fingers touched the pendant—

The crystal lit up.

A wave of cold energy swept through the carriage.

Elara gasped.

For one instant, the world disappeared.

She saw a woman standing beneath a massive white tree.

The woman's hair was black.

Her eyes were silver.

She wore a long white dress covered in strange symbols.

Five figures stood behind her.

Their faces were hidden.

The woman turned.

Her eyes met Elara's.

Then she smiled.

"If you're seeing this..."

Her voice was soft.

"...then they've finally found you."

Elara's heart stopped.

The vision vanished.

She jerked her hand away.

The pendant fell against the velvet lining of the box.

"What was that?"

Cedric looked horrified.

"You saw her?"

"Who?"

He closed the box.

"Your mother."

Elara stared at him.

"My mother?"

Cedric shook his head.

"Not your mother."

Her confusion deepened.

"Then who?"

He looked directly into her eyes.

"Your ancestor."

The carriage seemed to grow colder.

Cedric continued.

"Three hundred years ago, a woman appeared in Elarion."

Elara listened silently.

"She possessed an ability no Guide had ever possessed. She could enter the spiritual cores of Sentinels without harming them. She could heal corruption. She could strengthen magical bloodlines."

He paused.

"She was called the Origin Guide."

Elara's breathing stopped.

The mysterious man's words echoed in her mind.

The Origin Guide has awakened.

"Who was she?"

Cedric's expression darkened.

"Her name was Lyra Veyne."

Elara looked down at the pendant.

"Why have I never heard of her?"

"Because the empire erased her from history."

"Why?"

Cedric's voice became quieter.

"Because five of the most powerful Sentinels of that era became bound to her."

Elara's heart began pounding.

"Bound?"

"They loved her."

He looked toward the window.

"Some worshipped her. Some wanted to possess her. One wanted to kill her."

Elara swallowed.

"And what happened to her?"

Cedric's expression became grim.

"She disappeared."

"Disappeared?"

"Her body was never found."

The carriage suddenly shook.

The horses screamed.

Cedric immediately grabbed his sword.

Elara nearly fell from her seat.

"What happened?"

A guard shouted from outside.

"Monsters!"

Cedric opened the carriage door.

Elara looked outside.

The road ahead was covered in fog.

Figures moved inside it.

Too many.

Her father drew his sword.

"Stay here."

Elara grabbed his sleeve.

"Father."

He looked at her.

Her silver mark had begun glowing again.

The fog parted.

A massive creature stepped onto the road.

Its body was covered in black scales.

Two enormous horns curved from its skull.

Its eyes glowed crimson.

Elara recognized it immediately.

Her blood ran cold.

A Nightmare Drake.

It was supposed to appear in the story almost a year from now.

Not today.

Not here.

The creature opened its jaws.

A deep roar shook the mountains.

And somewhere beneath Elara's skin, something answered.

The five stars on her silver mark suddenly illuminated.

One.

Then another.

Then another.

Until all five were glowing.

Elara stared at her wrist.

She whispered,

"What are you?"

For the first time, the system responded immediately.

[Emergency Warning.]

[Five Fate Bonds detected.]

[Synchronization has begun.]

Elara's eyes widened.

Then the system added one final message.

[First Fate Bond: Awakening.]

She didn't know whose bond it was.

But far away, somewhere beyond the northern mountains, a man suddenly opened his eyes.

And for the first time in years—

He felt another person's presence inside his soul.