The Sanctuary trembled.
Ancient wards groaned as Seraphina, cloaked in silver flame, stood before the Gate of Whispers — the threshold to the Veiled Hollow, a realm where time folds, truths awaken, and echoes walk beside you.
Ravon, pale but steady, placed his hand in hers.
> "Do you feel it?" Seraphina whispered. "The stillness. Like the world is holding its breath."
> "No," he murmured, "I feel her. And she is watching."
Behind them, Liora stood as guardian, clutching the pendant that held the unborn's flickering heart. Around her, the Ashborne readied ancient chants. The crossing would not be safe.
The gate cracked open with a low, endless hum —
And the moment Seraphina stepped through, her breath caught.
She was not alone in her body.
Her child's awareness bloomed — not like a baby, but like a star returning to its shape.
> "Mother," a voice echoed within.
"Your fire is mine. Your choice, mine to remember."
Seraphina wept.
And so, with flame trailing her every step, she vanished into the Hollow — a realm where the Cradleless could not reach her… yet.
---
The Cradleless Rise Again
Far from the Sanctuary, beneath a cracked sky, the hooded woman stood before the tomb of salt and bone.
Thousands of Cradleless knelt before her.
To her right, the Silent King, his eyes reflecting nothing, whispered:
> "She has crossed into the Hollow. The womb of secrets. The birth of prophecy."
The woman raised a blade forged of mirror-glass.
> "Then we strike.
We burn what remains — the Sanctuary, the Ashborne, and every loyal flame."
The Silent King's voice rang out across the battlefield:
> "Before the child takes breath, we end the cradle itself."
The skies rumbled.
Their armies surged forward.
And as they marched…
…the wheel turned again — cracked and broken, yet still spinning fate toward the final blaze.
---
> Seraphina: walking through memory and light.
Ravon: shadowed by something watching.
The child: no longer waiting.
The enemies: rising.
The fire: trembling.