The night forest welcomed them like a dark blanket. The three men's breath condensed in the cold air, and only the rustling of leaves broke the silence. After hours of marching, they found shelter in an abandoned hut at the edge of a clearing.
Inside, the wood creaked, but at least it offered a roof. Duncan placed the meteorite on a dusty table: it glowed faintly, like an ember about to die out. Elias, exhausted, collapsed to the ground.
"You're crazy..." he gasped, looking at Duncan. "What we've done... will turn everyone against us. Nobles, the church, the Keepers. Everyone."
Duncan stared at him, the inner flame still throbbing in his chest. "Perhaps. But at least now we have a weapon they don't understand."
A heavy silence fell over the room. It was Selene who broke it.
"You don't understand…" she murmured, sitting with her knees to her chest. "You didn't just steal a meteorite. You tore out the heart of their faith."
Duncan turned to her. "You knew that place well. Too well. Speak to us, Selene. Why did you really help us?"
The girl's eyes wandered into space. Her lips trembled, but then she spoke.
"I was one of their 'chosen ones.' One of those who grow up in the cells as children. They teach us that we are both the sacrifice and the gift. They chose me to become a Keeper."
Elias blanched. "Then why did you run away?"
Selene lowered her gaze. "Because I've seen what happens to those who become one of them. They don't serve the Flame… they devour it. Keepers are corrupted slaves, not saints. My brother… he died during the ritual. I fled before it was my turn."
A chilling silence followed her words.
Duncan watched her carefully: the anger in her eyes was no different from the flame burning within him.
"So this meteorite," Duncan said, "can be used to destroy what they took from you."
Selene looked at him, and for the first time, a glimmer of trust crossed her dark eyes.
It was Elias who broke the tension, his voice uncertain: "So… what do we do now? They will chase us to the edges of the kingdom."
Duncan stood, placing a hand on the meteorite. Its surface vibrated at the contact, as if recognizing his touch.
"Now we hide. And then I will learn to tame it. Only then will we have a chance."
The silence of the forest fell again, but this time it wasn't fear: it was the beginning of an alliance.