The next morning, Lira woke to the sound of quiet footsteps. She sat up quickly, heart hammering in her chest, but it was only Kaden, preparing supplies.
"Eat," he said, tossing her a piece of dried meat and a small loaf of hard bread. "We move at sunrise."
Lira took the food gratefully. Her body ached from the events of the last few days, but her mind was sharper now. She knew they couldn't afford to stay hidden for long; the hunters would find them eventually.
As they ate in silence, Kaden unrolled a worn, tattered map across the stone floor. The parchment was yellowed with age, and much of it was marked with cryptic symbols.
"Our destination," he said, pointing to a jagged line etched across the center, "is the Crumbled Sky. It's where the first Keepers once made their stand during the Sundering."
"The Crumbled Sky?" Lira repeated. "I thought that was just a legend."
Kaden gave a grim smile. "Most truths eventually become legends when people are too afraid to remember them."
He tapped the map again. "There's something hidden there—a fragment of the First Seal. Without it, the shards will remain unstable, dangerous."
Lira leaned closer, studying the route they would have to take. The journey would carry them across ravaged plains, through broken cities long abandoned to time and chaos. It would not be easy.
"When do we leave?" she asked.
"As soon as you're ready," Kaden said.
Lira nodded. Fear still gnawed at the edges of her heart, but something stronger pushed her forward now: determination.
They left the refuge under the cover of dawn, the rain from the night before leaving the ground slick and muddy. The ruined landscape stretched endlessly before them, broken remnants of towers jutting out from the earth like the bones of a fallen giant.
The shard in Lira's pocket pulsed gently, as if sensing the journey ahead.
As they walked, Kaden spoke little, but Lira found her mind full of questions.
"Why me?" she asked finally, breaking the long silence. "Why was I the one to find the shard?"
Kaden didn't answer immediately. He kept his eyes on the horizon as he spoke. "Sometimes, the shard chooses the bearer. Sometimes… destiny has its own plans."
"That's not an answer," Lira said, frustration creeping into her voice.
Kaden looked at her then, his gaze steady. "You're right. It's not. But the real answer is one you'll have to find for yourself."
They traveled until the sun was high overhead, the heat oppressive even beneath the broken sky. Just as exhaustion began to overtake them, Kaden raised a hand, signaling for her to stop.
Ahead, half-buried in the cracked earth, lay the entrance to an ancient tunnel. Stone steps led downward into darkness.
"The way to the Crumbled Sky isn't on the surface," Kaden said. "We go beneath."
Lira hesitated at the threshold. The air that poured from the tunnel was cold and heavy, filled with the scent of damp stone and old magic. It felt as though the very earth was holding its breath.
Taking a deep breath, Lira stepped into the darkness after Kaden, her heart pounding.
Somewhere ahead, buried beneath centuries of forgotten history, awaited the next piece of the puzzle—the fragment of the First Seal.
And whatever secrets it held would change everything.