The descent back to the surface was shrouded in silence, but it was not the peaceful kind. It carried the weight of unspoken thoughts, heavy with the echoes of the past that still clung to them like mist in the wake of a storm. Kaelen gripped the obsidian medallion tightly in his palm, its cool surface thrumming with an energy he couldn't fully grasp. It was a key, a piece of a puzzle far older than him, and yet, somehow, it felt as though it had always belonged to him.
The tunnels that led them out of the Harbinger's tomb twisted like veins beneath the earth, their air thick with dust and forgotten time. The glow of their torches flickered against the damp stone, creating long, shifting shadows that seemed to move of their own accord. Every step upward felt heavier than the last.
Rina walked beside him, arms crossed, her face unreadable. He could tell she wanted to say something, but she hadn't yet decided what. It was a rare moment of hesitation from her, and for that reason alone, Kaelen didn't push.
Eryndor, on the other hand, had no such reservations. "That entity, the Harbinger, what it said changes everything." His voice was laced with the excitement of discovery, yet beneath it lay something deeper, something edged with caution. "You are not just linked to the past, Kaelen. You are part of it."
Kaelen exhaled, his grip on the medallion tightening. "I know."
Rina shot him a sideways glance. "And you're just… okay with that?"
He stopped walking.
The others paused as well, the flickering light casting their faces in half-shadow.
"No," Kaelen admitted, turning the medallion over in his fingers. "But I don't think I have a choice."
Silence settled between them again, this time heavier. Then, with a small shake of her head, Rina resumed walking. "Well, I'd say we should probably figure out who else knows about this Harbinger business. Because if we found it, chances are someone else was looking for it too."
Eryndor hummed in agreement. "And we have yet to uncover what exactly these 'forgotten echoes' are. If the past repeats itself, then that means..."
"...there are more remnants of it waiting to be found," Kaelen finished, his voice quiet but firm. He pocketed the medallion and took the lead again. "Let's get out of here first. Then we decide what's next."
They emerged from the ruins just as dawn began to creep over the skyline of Vael'Zyrenn, its soft golden hues doing little to erase the grime of the slums below. The city was waking, merchants setting up their stalls, beggars already on the streets, guards making their early patrols. It was a stark contrast to the weighty silence of the tomb.
Kaelen glanced at his companions. "We need somewhere safe to talk."
Rina smirked. "I know a place. It's terrible."
Eryndor sighed. "Lovely."
With that, they vanished into the city, the first whispers of a new journey already beginning to stir.