The fire crackled softly in the cold night. Sha sat on a broken stone, her hands wrapped around a cup of heated herbs. Kael kept watch near the trees, and Riva sharpened her blade in silence.
None of them spoke about the betrayal. Not yet.
But silence couldn't shield them forever.
Sha finally said, "Do you think they ever cared?"
Riva didn't look up. "I don't know. But Zev… he wasn't always like that."
Kael scoffed. "That's the danger of shadows. You never really see what's behind the mask."
---
Zev – Before the Betrayal
Once, Zev had been their strategist. Quiet, brilliant, and the youngest among them.
His eyes held too much pain for someone his age. Raised in the slums of Norbane, Zev watched his parents die of starvation. He was taken in by the Underground — a brutal network of mercenaries — and trained to kill before he could even spell his name.
But even then, he had one dream: to be seen.
To rise above the dirt, to become someone who wasn't stepped on.
The assassin group gave him a name. But the Crown of the Ring promised him something greater: power, status… freedom.
So when the secret offer came — betray the mission, hand over the crown, and be reborn as a royal shadow — he took it.
But guilt doesn't die easily.
Even now, Zev's fingers trembled each time he held a blade.
---
Lira – The Smiling Mask
Lira was different. Loud. Charming. Always laughing. She had a habit of braiding Riva's hair during downtime.
But her smile was a cage.
As a child, Lira had been sold by her father for gambling debt. She grew up in a noble's dungeon, trained to entertain and kill. Her heart hardened, but one thing always haunted her:
"Smile, and they won't hurt you."
That became her weapon — and her curse.
Joining Sha's assassin group gave her a new identity. For a while, she believed in the mission. In the family they had built.
But fear is louder than love.
When she learned about the crown's power — its ability to erase pasts, rewrite futures — she saw a chance to become untouchable.
So she smiled again… and betrayed them.
But deep inside, her soul still whispered Riva's name.
---
Back to the Present
Sha stared into the fire, her expression unreadable. "I don't hate them," she whispered.
Kael turned to her. "Then what do you feel?"
Sha met his eyes. "I feel sorry for them. But I won't forgive them. Not yet."
Riva stood, throwing her blade into its sheath. "We survive. We find the crown's core. We stop whoever's behind this."
"And if we see them again?" Kael asked.
Sha didn't flinch. "Then they'll have to face what they left behind."
The flames danced brighter, as if answering her vow.
Above them, in the dark mountains, a watcher stood.
A shadow cloaked in armor. Silent. Still.
Waiting.
The wind grew colder as night stretched over the valley. Sparks from the fire curled into the sky like fleeing ghosts.
Sha's voice sliced through the silence.
"They think they know pain."
Kael looked over. "They don't."
Riva's hand tightened around her blade. "They never saw what we went through."
---
Sha – The Girl Who Watched Her Village Burn
Before she became the infamous leader of the Assassin's Wing, Sha had another name—a quiet farm girl with a father who sang lullabies under the stars.
One night, war reached her village.
A king seeking the crown's hidden location sent raiders to slaughter everyone. They burned her home. Her father screamed until his voice was lost in the flames. Her mother hid her beneath floorboards, whispering, "Never let them see you cry."
Sha emerged from the ashes, alive—but dead inside. That night, she learned to live without mercy. And she never cried again.
Not even when she held her first blade. Not even when she killed her first target.
Zev never knew that part of her story.
Lira never asked.
---
Riva – The Orphan Who Chose to Fight
Riva had grown up in the temple of Nyra, hidden in the peaks. She was born sickly and cast aside by her clan. The monks raised her to read stars, not wield weapons.
But when mercenaries raided the temple, seeking "divine secrets," they killed her mentors one by one.
Riva escaped by gutting a man with a ceremonial blade.
From that day, she swore no one would ever pity her again. She trained in silence, mastered poisons, and turned her body into a weapon of quiet fury.
Lira always thought Riva was just cold.
She never knew the cold made her.
---
Kael – The Prince Who Chose Exile
Kael had once stood in royal robes, surrounded by marble halls and silver mirrors. He was a prince of Eron Vale, the youngest of the crown's line.
But when he discovered the royal court had enslaved whole villages to mine ancient relics—relics tied to the Crown of the Ring—he spoke out.
And they branded him a traitor.
His own brother ordered his execution.
He fled with nothing but a blade and a burned sigil on his shoulder—a constant reminder of the kingdom he once loved.
Zev always envied Kael's strength.
But Kael never felt strong—only haunted.
---
Back at the Campfire
Sha stood up, the flames flickering across her sharp features. "We've bled for this mission. For each other."
Kael nodded. "We've lost too much."
Riva's eyes burned, but her voice stayed level. "We didn't need the crown to become legends. We did it through scars."
A silence fell. But it wasn't empty—it was heavy with truth.
That was the difference between them and the traitors.
Zev and Lira ran from their pain.
Sha, Kael, and Riva became stronger because of it.
And in that strength… they would rise.
From the cliffs above, a faint, metallic chime echoed. A music box? Or a trap?
Sha turned toward the sound. "They're not done testing us."
Riva smirked. "Good. I'm just getting started."
The chime came again. Louder this time.
Not a music box.
It was wind striking old metal—an abandoned temple bell.
Sha motioned with her fingers, and they moved—silent as shadows—through the tall grass and underbrush. The moon cast silver light on the jagged ruins ahead, half-swallowed by vines and cracked stone.
The Temple of Mirael.
Riva narrowed her eyes. "I thought this place was destroyed."
Kael stepped closer to the crumbled archway, scanning the symbols. "Not destroyed. Buried by history… and protected."
Sha touched one of the engravings. "This temple was built to guard a piece of the Crown's song."
Riva blinked. "A song?"
Kael nodded slowly. "One of five. They say each fragment of the Crown reacts only to a specific melody—one created by the souls of those who seek it."
Riva looked at him, eyes hard. "Then Zev and Lira… they knew we'd come here."
Sha's jaw clenched. "They're trying to get to it first."
Kael shook his head. "They don't have the voice. Only the worthy can awaken the melody."
As if summoned by his words, a glowing pulse of blue light stirred deep within the temple—like breath through stone.
They stepped inside, weapons ready.
Suddenly, the air shifted.
From the shadows rose a woman made of starlight and ash, her hair flowing like smoke. Her eyes were empty sockets, and her voice echoed from the walls around them.
> "To those who seek the Crown of Ring, speak not with steel… but with soul."
Sha stepped forward. "We mean no harm."
> "Then sing your story," the guardian said, "and let the truth decide your fate."
Kael swallowed. "We weren't ready for this yet."
Riva touched her throat, uncertain. "Only one of us can sing… right?"
Sha looked at them both. Then she inhaled slowly.
Her voice rose—not loud, not polished, but raw.
A melody woven from her scars.
From fire. From betrayal. From silence.
The temple trembled.
The air thickened with energy.
Then—crack—the floor split open beneath them.
They fell into darkness.
---
Meanwhile…
Far from the temple, Zev leaned against a broken pillar, his sword dripping with fresh blood. Lira stood beside him, eyes distant, expression unreadable.
"I hate this," she muttered.
Zev looked at her. "You chose this path."
Lira didn't reply. Her mind was haunted by the memory of her little brother's scream—when the assassin's guild took him because she failed her mission.
She betrayed her team not out of greed… but for a promise.
That he'd live.
Zev, too, was no villain in his own eyes.
He was once Sha's closest friend—her shadow, her sword. But when he confessed his feelings and she gave him silence, something in him shattered.
All he wanted… was to matter.
And now, he'd make sure he did.
Even if it meant betraying the only people who ever saw him.
---
Back beneath the temple
Sha coughed, pushing rubble off her chest. Kael groaned beside her. Riva was already up, bruised but alive.
The cave was deeper than they imagined. And in the center…
A glowing orb. Inside it, a floating sliver of obsidian carved with runes.
Kael whispered, "That's it. The first piece of the Ring's melody."
But something stirred behind it.
Eyes opened in the dark.
Not human.
Sha drew her blade. "Guess we're singing for our lives now."