Kael stood frozen.
The hooded figure didn't move closer, but the forest seemed to tighten around him. Trees leaned in, roots crept like fingers.
"The pendant doesn't belong to you," it said. "It belongs to the realm."
Kael gripped the gem tighter. "I found it. I didn't ask for any of this!"
"You were chosen," the figure hissed. "But choice is not the same as fate."
Before Kael could respond, the figure vanished—melted into the mist. But its voice lingered:
You must not go to the Hollow Gate. The others will lie. The Realm remembers… and it does not forgive.