Two days passed since the incident in the Skygarden. Elior barely slept. He trained with Sirenya during the day and studied old Dominion maps at night. There were whispers about the strange event in the garden, but the Kaelith servants were paid well to keep quiet.
Now, Elior stood in the estate's main hangar, where a sleek, black transport vessel hovered a few inches above the floor. Sirenya double-checked their supplies: rations, plasma cartridges, backup blades, and a relic compass attuned to fragment energy.
Elior paced beside her.
"You're sure about the coordinates?" he asked.
"Yes," Sirenya said, adjusting the strap across her shoulder. "Lady Nyra confirmed it. The next fragment is buried near the Ember Spire."
Elior frowned. "That's where Lady Virel is from, isn't it?"
Sirenya nodded. "House Ember doesn't let outsiders in. Their territory is locked down tighter than the High Archives."
"So how do we get in?"
She turned and smirked. "We don't go in through the front."
Elior raised an eyebrow. "There's a back door?"
"Old smuggler tunnels. Used during the Second War. If we move fast, we can get in, find the fragment, and get out before anyone notices."
Elior didn't love the plan, but he didn't argue. He wanted that fragment. He needed to understand what was happening to him.
They boarded the transport and lifted off. The skies were clear as they broke through the city's shield barrier. Below them, the land changed from steel and spires to jagged black cliffs and molten rivers. Ember territory.
Three hours later, the ship landed behind a ridge of burnt stone. Sirenya activated a cloaking shroud to keep it hidden.
They hiked on foot toward the hidden tunnel entrance. The landscape was harsh—ash-covered rock, thick smoke in the air, and the faint smell of sulfur.
Eventually, Sirenya stopped and knelt beside a patch of cracked ground.
"Here," she said, brushing away the ash. Beneath it was a metal hatch, scorched but intact.
They pried it open and descended into darkness.
The tunnel was narrow and damp. Old Dominion lights flickered weakly, casting long shadows on the walls. They walked in silence, Sirenya leading with a small scanner in hand.
"How far in is the fragment?" Elior asked.
"Less than a mile. The signal's weak, but stable."
As they turned a corner, they froze.
A figure stood at the far end of the tunnel.
She wore a cloak. The same girl from the garden.
Her hood was up, but Elior recognized the violet eyes.
"You again," Elior said.
"You're slower than I expected," she replied.
Sirenya raised her blade. "Step aside."
The girl didn't move. "If you go further, you'll trigger the Spire's defenses. They'll bury the fragment—and you—with it."
Elior stepped forward. "Then help us."
The girl hesitated, then lowered her hood. Her face was sharp, sun-kissed, with a scar running across her right cheek.
"My name is Kaelen," she said. "And I've been looking for that fragment too."
Elior narrowed his eyes. "Why?"
"Because I need it to find my brother. He disappeared after activating one. Like you did."
Sirenya looked at Elior. "You think she's telling the truth?"
"I don't think she's lying," he said. "That's enough for now."
Kaelen turned and started walking deeper into the tunnel. "Follow me. I disabled one of the wards ahead, but there's more."
Elior and Sirenya exchanged glances, then followed.
The tunnel opened into a massive underground chamber. Obsidian pillars stretched upward into darkness, and at the center stood an altar with a glowing shard floating above it.
The fragment.
Elior stepped toward it—but Kaelen grabbed his arm.
"Trap," she said. "Pressure plate around the pedestal. You need to disable the runes first."
Sirenya knelt and began deactivating the old mechanisms. It took a few tense minutes, but finally, she gave a nod.
"Clear."
Elior walked up and reached out to the fragment.
The moment his fingers touched it, a shock ran through his body. Not pain—more like a pulse, syncing with his heartbeat.
Suddenly, he heard voices. Not from the past—from the present.
"…Elior Kaelith has left the capital."
"Track him. Kill him if he finds more fragments."
It was Lord Marran's voice.
The fragment faded to black in his hand.
He turned to the others. "We have to go. Now."
Back in the tunnel, a loud boom shook the ceiling. Dust rained down as the tunnel behind them collapsed.
"They know we're here," Kaelen said. "We're trapped."
"No," Elior said. "Not yet."
He looked to the right—a small maintenance tunnel, barely big enough to crawl through.
Sirenya groaned. "You've got to be kidding."
Elior grinned. "Come on. I'm the heir of House Kaelith, remember? I go first."
He dropped to his knees and crawled in. Sirenya followed, then Kaelen.
Behind them, the Ember Spire shook with more explosions.
As they crawled toward the light ahead, Elior's mind was already racing.
Marran was watching him.
The council wasn't just suspicious—they were afraid.
Which meant he was on the right path.
And now, he wasn't alone.