When Selene finally left the cave, I turned toward Kai, who seemed distracted by something etched into the wall. His eyes traced glowing runes, flickering with a pulse that felt almost alive.
Before I could speak, the air shifted—like a sudden drop in pressure.
Then a voice echoed from the shadows behind us. Cold. Familiar. Laced with amusement that made my skin crawl.
"Ah," the man said as he stepped into view, his cloak trailing shadows behind him. "So you've finally found it—the blade your dear ancestor Anaria once intended to use to destroy the very village your lover calls home."
His eyes glittered as they locked onto mine.
"And still, you think the fates will change?"
My breath caught. A chill ran down my spine—but I didn't step back.
I raised the blade slightly, the runes along its surface beginning to glow in quiet response.
"I don't know if fate can be changed," I said slowly. "But I won't stand by and let it be repeated."
The man tilted his head, amused. "Bold. Even when you don't fully understand what you've inherited."
The cave responded before I could.
A low rumble trembled through the floor, the stone walls pulsing with blue and gold light—protective runes flaring to life, reacting as though the chamber itself recognized him as a threat. A barrier of light shimmered between us, thin but growing stronger with each heartbeat.
Kai moved beside me now, tense and alert. "Who are you really?" he asked. "What do you want from her?"
The man smiled wider. "The same thing Anaria wanted. Power... and release."
He looked at me again—this time not with malice, but almost pity. "She was the first to break the world. You may yet be the last to mend it... or finish what she started."
The cave gave another deep groan, and cracks of golden energy spiderwebbed through the floor at the man's feet.
He stepped back, slowly, letting the shadows coil around him like smoke. "Until then, Anna... I'll be watching. The blade is only the beginning."
And with that, he vanished—pulled into darkness as if the cave itself rejected his presence.
The air stilled.
But the pressure in my chest remained.
A familiar voice whispered softly—so faint only I could hear it."Don't worry. He won't harm you as long as you stay true to yourself, Anna. Don't give up, no matter who tries to make you."
I turned sharply, scanning the chamber, heart pounding. But no one was there. Just the echo of that gentle voice lingering in the air like a fading breath.
"Where are you?" I called, my voice soft but urgent. "Who are you?"
There was a pause—then the air shimmered, and the light from the runes dimmed slightly, as if making room for something ancient to speak.
The voice came again, clearer this time, laced with something that felt like sorrow and recognition.
"I am what remains of Anaria. Not the warrior... but the part of her that was never allowed to forgive. Never allowed to feel."
I froze.
"You're her?" I whispered. "You're... me?"
"I was." The voice was calm now, almost motherly. "Or... you are becoming what I could not. You carry the same blood, the same burden. But you are not bound to my ending. That is why the blade chose you."
A soft warmth bloomed in my chest—aching, confusing, and oddly comforting all at once.
"Then why do I feel like I'm still walking her path?" I asked. "Still repeating her mistakes?"
There was silence, then the voice returned—gentle, but firm:
"Because walking the same path is not the same as making the same choices. You are here now, Anna. You're listening. You feel. That alone means you're already changing the story."
I swallowed hard, emotion tightening in my throat.
"Will I be strong enough to finish it?"
"That depends." The voice began to fade, like wind through leaves.
"Not on your power. But on your heart."
And just like that, the chamber fell silent once more. The runes brightened again, and
The silence lingered for a long moment after the voice faded. The warmth in my chest remained, steady but fragile, like an ember trying to stay lit.
Kai's hand was still on my arm, grounding me.
I turned to him slowly, searching his face for any sign of judgment. There was none. Just that quiet, steady presence I had come to rely on.
"That voice I heard..." I began, my voice barely above a whisper. "It was her. Anaria. Or… a part of her. What was left behind."
Kai's brow furrowed slightly, but he didn't pull away."What did she say?"
I took a breath, trying to hold on to the echo of the words before they slipped away completely.
"She told me not to give up. That as long as I stay true to myself, he can't hurt me. She said... I'm not bound to her ending. That I still have a choice."
I looked down at the blade, its glow calmer now. Not demanding, not heavy—just… present.
"And she said the blade chose me not because of my power... but because of my heart."
Kai was quiet for a moment, then his hand found mine again.
"Then we follow your heart," he said gently. "Not hers. Not the prophecy's. Yours."
I met his gaze. There was no magic in his words. No grand destiny in his voice.
But somehow, it steadied me more than any vision had.
I nodded."Then let's keep going. I think the next part of the story is waiting."
And with that, we turned toward the passage bathed in rune-light, side by side.
This time, I didn't feel like I was walking in someone else's shadow.
I was stepping into my own.
"Let's get out of here now, Kai. We got what we came for—the blade." I turned to lead us out of the cave, but an eerie silence followed me, and it felt as if Kai was no longer behind me. My steps slowed. I looked around, scanning the dim cavern, but he was nowhere to be seen. A sudden chill crept up my spine.
Then I heard it—a faint echo, like whispering carried on the wind, too soft to make out the words. Shadows along the cave wall twisted unnaturally, and just ahead, I saw a flicker of movement. "Kai?" I called out, my voice unsteady. But no answer came. Only the blade in my hand pulsed with a low hum, as if reacting to something unseen.
Suddenly, a jolt shot up my arm from the blade's hilt, and my vision blurred. The cave around me dissolved into gold and crimson light. I was no longer standing—I was floating in the middle of a battlefield I'd never seen, but somehow knew. A younger version of myself—no, of Anaria—stood at the center of the chaos, wielding the same blade, her eyes fierce and glowing. Around her, soldiers shouted her name with reverence and fear.
A voice echoed through the vision, low and familiar: "This is the moment she chose fate over freedom. Will you do the same, Anna?"
My breath caught as the younger Anaria turned and looked directly at me—her expression not surprised, but knowing.
Then, just as quickly, the vision shattered.
I was back in the cave, heart pounding, knees weak, and the blade still pulsing in my grasp. But now I understood something I hadn't before: this weapon didn't just carry power—it carried memory, warning, and a choice.
And Kai was still missing.
I clutched the blade tighter. "Kai!" I called out again, louder this time. My voice echoed back to me, distorting as it bounced through the stone passageways.
But then—something answered.
Not an echo. Not Kai.
A voice, distant yet crawling beneath my skin, rasped from the shadows: "He cannot follow where you now tread, Anaria reborn…"
My breath hitched. The shadows seemed to grow thicker, and the temperature dropped.
"Who's there?" I demanded, trying to sound braver than I felt.
The voice hissed again, curling around me like smoke: "The blade remembers… but do you?"
I clutched the blade tighter. "Kai!" I called out again, louder this time. My voice echoed back to me, distorting as it bounced through the stone passageways.
But then—something answered.
Not an echo. Not Kai.
A voice, distant yet crawling beneath my skin, rasped from the shadows: "He cannot follow where you now tread, Anaria reborn…"
My breath hitched. The shadows seemed to grow thicker, and the temperature dropped.
"Who's there?" I demanded, trying to sound braver than I felt.
The voice hissed again, curling around me like smoke: "The blade remembers… but do you?"
My heart pounded in my chest. Every instinct screamed at me to run.
I took a step back—then turned and bolted, deeper into the winding cavern, the blade still clutched in my hand. My boots skidded over loose stone, and the cold air stung my lungs as I ran. Whatever was behind me… it wasn't following. Not with footsteps. It moved differently. It felt like it was inside the very air, the walls—watching.
I raised the blade in front of me without thinking, desperate for protection.
It responded.
The markings along its edge flared to life, glowing a fierce blue-white. Energy pulsed from the hilt into my arm, up my spine, and out through my skin. A ring of light burst outward from the blade, pushing back the creeping darkness.
I didn't stop running, but the whispers were momentarily silenced. The voice shrieked—not in pain, but in frustration—and I felt it recoil.
A tunnel ahead opened into pale light—an exit?
But as I reached it, the ground trembled beneath me. A crack split the path, and from the darkness behind me came one last warning, its voice warped and ancient:"You cannot outrun what lives in your blood, Anna. The blade has awakened… and now so have the others."
I leapt across the fissure just as it widened, landing hard on the other side. Light bathed my face as I stumbled into a narrow clearing outside the cave.
Breathing hard, I turned and looked back—but the entrance was gone. Sealed.
And Kai… was still nowhere in sight.