---
The skies were calm again. The clouds had drifted away, and the sun warmed the ground as it hadn't in weeks. But inside Chirag, a storm still raged.
He sat alone at the edge of a cliff near the Northern Mountains, watching the wind play with the ashes left behind by Orion's fall. The god had vanished after the battle—his divine form broken, scattered into sparks of light that faded with the wind. No body. No remains. Only silence.
But that silence whispered something dark.
Siya walked up behind Chirag, wrapping a soft fur cloak around his shoulders. "You've been quiet since the battle," she said gently.
"I can feel it," Chirag whispered. "There's more coming. Orion wasn't the strongest. Just the first."
Siya sat beside him. "Then we'll fight them together."
He looked at her, his eyes tired but steady. "I need answers, Siya. We can't keep guessing why the gods fear me. Why the prophecy matters. I need to know everything."
She nodded. "There's one place that might help. But it's not easy to reach."
Chirag raised an eyebrow. "Where?"
"The Ruins of Veyra. It's an ancient city built long before the gods ruled. Before the realms were split. They say the truths of the world are buried there—but so are the souls who tried to take them."
Chirag stood up, wind lifting his hair. "Then that's where we go."
---
The Ruins of Veyra were hidden deep in the Wailing Desert, where sandstorms screamed through the night and the ground burned like fire during the day. No maps showed its exact location. Only myths remained.
Kael joined them at the Demon Castle gate as they prepared to leave.
"You're both mad," he said, grinning. "But lucky for you, I like madness."
Raegor, the Demon King, approached them before they left. He handed Chirag a small black crystal that glowed faintly.
"It's a soulstone," Raegor explained. "It holds the voice of my father. He once traveled to Veyra. If anyone can guide you through that cursed land… it's him."
Chirag took the stone with a nod. "Thank you."
Raegor placed a heavy hand on Chirag's shoulder. "Be careful, boy. The truth has a cost. Don't lose yourself chasing it."
---
The journey across the Wailing Desert was brutal.
By day, the sun burned their skin and cracked the earth. By night, cold winds howled like ghosts. But Chirag didn't stop. His fire kept them warm, his will kept them moving. Siya used her shadow magic to block the worst of the sandstorms, and Kael hunted desert beasts for food.
After six days, the ground began to change. The sand turned dark, almost black, and strange ruins began to rise from the earth—broken towers, shattered statues, and stone walls covered in forgotten writing.
They had reached Veyra.
The city was silent. Not just quiet—silent. Even the wind refused to blow. It felt like the world was holding its breath.
Chirag activated the soulstone.
A deep voice echoed from it, low and rough. "If you hear this, you've reached the gates of Veyra. Do not go further unless your heart is pure, and your mind ready. The past lives here—and it does not forgive."
As the voice faded, the gates of Veyra opened.
---
Inside the ruins, the air felt heavy with magic.
Flames flickered along walls even though no torches were lit. Whispers echoed through halls without speakers. And the shadows… they moved, even when nothing else did.
Kael frowned. "I don't like this place. It feels like walking through someone else's memories."
"That's because it is," Siya said. "Veyra is alive. In a way."
Chirag led them to the center of the city, where a giant stone tower pierced the sky. Strange symbols glowed on its walls. As they stepped inside, a voice called out:
"Chirag."
He stopped cold.
It was his mother's voice.
But it couldn't be. She had left him as a baby. He had no memory of her voice. And yet… it felt real.
Then he heard another voice—his father's. Then Siya's. Then voices he didn't recognize at all.
They were inside the Tower of Truth.
Siya placed a hand on Chirag's back. "Don't listen too closely. This place tests you. It shows you what you want to hear… or what you fear."
The room ahead lit up with a soft golden glow. In the center was a pool of water, perfectly still.
"This is what we came for," Siya said. "The Pool of Origins."
Chirag stepped forward. "What do I do?"
"Look into it. It will show you your beginning—and what the gods tried to hide."
He knelt before the water and stared into its depths.
At first, he saw only his reflection. Then the image changed.
He saw a woman holding a baby—his mother. But she was crying, not because she was leaving him… but because she was forced to. Behind her stood a robed figure—a god—cold and commanding.
"He must not be raised by humans," the god said. "The prophecy cannot be fulfilled."
Chirag's heart pounded.
More visions came. A flash of fire. A hidden scroll. A young Siya watching him from the shadows long before he ever knew her.
Then—the Council of Gods.
He saw them standing around a glowing map, pointing at his name. "He must never awaken," they said. "If he does, the balance ends."
Chirag pulled back from the pool, his breath shaking.
"They knew," he said. "They knew I was meant to rise. They tried to erase me."
Siya helped him stand. "And they failed."
Kael looked at them both. "So what now?"
Chirag clenched his fists, his fire flickering brighter than ever.
"Now we stop hiding. The gods made this world to control it. I'll remake it to free it."
---
As they left the Tower of Truth, the shadows no longer whispered. The wind began to blow again.
The past had revealed its secrets.
And now, the future was ready to burn.
---