The next morning broke with a strange hush—no birdsong, no rustling breeze, just a stillness that stretched across the grassy plains like a thick blanket. The ruins where they had rested felt colder somehow, as if touched by something ancient and unseen in the night.
Liam awoke first, the weight of Serene's words still echoing in his mind.
"Three paths… only one leads to what you seek."
The first path had nearly killed them.
Aeris stirred beside him, blinking against the pale dawn light. Kael was already sharpening his blade by the stones, and Nyra sat cross-legged, her summoning scroll open in front of her, her hands moving in slow, practiced gestures as faint blue sigils pulsed beneath her palms.
"Did we decide?" Kael asked as Liam approached. "Are we walking into another trap, or is this one supposed to be slightly less lethal?"
Nyra snorted but didn't look up. "I vote for less screaming this time."
Liam glanced back at Aeris, who stood with her cloak fluttering gently behind her, her eyes fixed on the horizon. "Serene's map indicated the second path lies to the east. Beyond the old Valewood."
Aeris nodded. "The Whispering Vault."
Kael frowned. "That's… not a place you say casually."
"What is it?" Nyra asked.
"It's an ancient chamber buried beneath a dead forest," Aeris said slowly, almost like reciting an old story. "Guarded by illusions. Voices. Whispers. They say if you hear your own name in the Vault, you're never seen again."
"Well, that sounds delightful," Kael muttered.
"But it's also where another trace of the spellbook is said to be hidden," she added. "Or at least… a key to it."
Liam's stomach tightened. Every lead they followed, every clue about the spellbook, felt like chasing smoke—but the memory fragment had shown them Serene for a reason. She had left them guidance. A direction. Maybe even hope.
They set out by mid-morning, crossing dry hills and winding through fields where magic pulsed weakly beneath their feet. The realm felt thinner here, as if the fabric between dimensions had stretched.
By nightfall, they reached the edge of the Valewood.
A twisted forest of gnarled trees, leafless and grey, stood like a silent warning. The trunks were cracked like old bones, and the branches curled overhead into a tangled canopy that blocked out the moonlight.
"I hate this already," Nyra whispered.
They lit no torches. Firelight had a way of attracting things in the dark places of the realm. Instead, Aeris used a subtle spell—just enough for a gentle violet glow to hover at Liam's shoulder, casting shadows that writhed like living things.
As they ventured deeper, the silence grew oppressive. Every footstep crunched dead leaves, but no animals stirred. No wind moved. Just the occasional creak… like the forest was breathing.
And then came the whispers.
Faint at first. So soft Liam thought it was just in his mind. But then Nyra turned, eyes wide.
"You heard that?"
"Yes," Kael said grimly. "And it said my name."
Aeris spun, voice low and urgent. "Don't listen to them. They lie. They echo memories, thoughts you don't want to remember."
"What if they tell the truth?" Liam asked.
Aeris met his eyes. "Then it's a truth you're not ready to face."
A low hum began, like wind through a hollow pipe, and suddenly the trees parted. A wide, circular clearing lay before them—at its center, a stone disk half-buried in the ground.
The Whispering Vault.
Runes encircled the disk, glowing faintly blue, and the whispers grew louder, more insistent. Liam stepped closer despite the chill in his veins.
"Liam Gray…"
He froze. The voice was Elira's.
But not from memory. This was her now—older, darker, layered in sorrow and wrath.
He knelt by the runes, brushing away dust.
"What are you doing?" Kael hissed.
"I think it needs blood," Liam said quietly. "It's calling to me."
"No," Aeris snapped. "We don't know what's inside—"
But Liam had already drawn his blade, pricked his thumb, and pressed it to the stone.
The runes flashed red.
A gust of wind exploded outward, knocking them all to the ground, and the stone disk split open with a grinding groan. A stairway descended into blackness.
From below, the whispers turned into sobs.
And then a single voice rose above them all.
"Return… the forgotten flame."
Aeris stared down the steps. "That's not Elira."
"No," Nyra agreed. "It's something older."
They descended together, magic flickering around them like nervous breath.
The Vault was vast, lined with mirrors—some cracked, some pristine. Each reflected not just their faces, but versions of themselves. A child Liam. A bloodied Kael. A serene, smiling Nyra. A crying Aeris.
"This place shows… what we've hidden," Aeris murmured. "Or what we might become."
They stopped before a pedestal at the chamber's center. Upon it lay a crystal shard—similar to the ones containing the memory fragments—but this one burned with white fire.
Liam reached out.
The room screamed.
A thousand voices. Every fear. Every failure.
And then—
A vision.
He stood in a city. Human world. Familiar. Streets cracked and overgrown, buildings in ruin. He saw Serene's face—older, weary. Holding the same shard.
"You'll find me when you're ready," she said.
The vision shattered.
Liam collapsed, gasping.
Aeris knelt beside him. "What did you see?"
"A path," he said. "The next step. In the human world."
Nyra took the shard, slipping it into her pouch. "Then we have to go. Before the Vault decides we belong here."
They turned back—only to find the mirrors shifting.
Reflections stepping forward.
Each figure a twisted version of themselves—smiling with too many teeth, eyes black with flame.
The Vault had one final test.
And this time, it wasn't illusions.
Kael drew his blade with a snarl. "Finally, something I can hit."
Liam's double lunged at him, and steel clashed with shadow.
Aeris and Nyra summoned magic—light, storm, chains of summoned beasts—while Liam fought hand to hand, every move mirrored, every blow matched.
"You can't defeat yourself!" the mirror-Liam screamed.
"I don't need to," Liam growled. "I just have to accept him."
He lowered his fists.
The figure blinked—hesitated.
And vanished.
One by one, the others followed.
The Vault calmed.
As they emerged from the depths, Liam held the shard tightly.
They had faced part of the truth. But only part.
And the path ahead… would cut deeper still.