The group descended Mount Kaelgar in silence.
Darius Ironfall—The Forge—followed, each step of his molten boots leaving faint scorch marks in the stone. The mountain seemed lighter now, as if it, too, had held its breath for years waiting for its master's return.
But Kael's chest tightened. Something felt... off.
"Do you feel that?" Aeris whispered as they reached the base of the mountain.
"The cold?" Sera asked, shivering slightly. "Yeah. Which is insane, considering we just left a volcano."
It wasn't just cold—it was wrong. The air, which should've been heavy with smoke and heat, now carried a different weight. Stillness. Like the world was holding its breath.
Kael glanced at the horizon.
Storm clouds.
Not natural ones. These were darker than night, and they moved against the wind.
The Messenger
A shadow landed ahead of them, kneeling from above with terrifying grace. His cloak fluttered around him like ink spilled midair, and his mask gleamed with eerie silver etchings.
"No," Darius growled. "Not him."
Kael stepped forward. "Void Warden."
The figure stood slowly. "Kael. Forge. Blade-Dancer. Ash Whisperer."
He said their titles like reading names from gravestones.
"You're early," Kael said.
"I'm late," the Void Warden replied. "You've already lost one."
Silence.
"What do you mean?" Sera's voice trembled slightly.
"One of the Six is gone," he said. "Taken by the Choir's Hand. The Betrayer."
Darius stepped forward, eyes blazing. "Which one?"
The Warden turned his head, mask catching the light.
"The Seer."
Kael's stomach sank. "No…"
A Fractured Circle
The Seer. Her real name was Lyen. The only one who had foreseen the First Collapse. Who had stayed behind during the Fracture Wars to safeguard the Loom of Realms.
And now she was gone.
"They couldn't have taken her unless—" Aeris started.
"Unless someone let them," Kael finished grimly.
The Void Warden said nothing, but his silence said everything.
"There's a traitor," Sera muttered. "Inside the Circle."
"Not just a traitor," Darius said darkly. "A seed."
They all knew what that meant. Planted long ago. Forgotten. Hidden. Growing quietly inside one of them.
Kael clenched his fists, a low crackle of electricity crawling across his arms. The worst part wasn't that one of them had betrayed the circle.
The worst part was that he had no idea who.
The Choice Ahead
"What do we do now?" Aeris asked.
Kael looked up at the storm clouds swirling in the distance. "We regroup. We go to the Mirror Halls."
"You think the Mirror Halls are still standing?" Darius raised an eyebrow.
"They have to be," Kael said. "If we're going to find out who the traitor is—we'll need truth. And the Mirror only reflects what's real."
"Or what you fear most," Sera whispered.
Kael didn't argue.
Because he feared both.