The echo of Kael's breath still lingered in the Vault when they heard it.
A step. Not rushed. Not hesitant. Deliberate.
Lira spun toward the entrance, hand moving to the glyph-bound cloth at her belt. Kael, still reeling from the memory, struggled to find his footing as a figure stepped into the Vault.
Tall, lean, cloaked in dusk-colored layers with a black scarf wrapped high over the lower face. A silver half-mask covered the upper half—shaped like a falcon's beak. Beneath it, sharp blue eyes regarded them with something closer to disdain than curiosity.
The figure stepped forward.
"I knew I'd find you here," he said, voice smooth and cool. "Or rather, I knew he would."
Lira raised her hand, fingers brushing the glyph.
"Stop," the masked figure said.
She froze, frowning. "You cast something."
"No. I just know your habits."
Kael narrowed his eyes. "Who are you?"
The figure tilted his head. "Funny question, coming from someone who doesn't even know his own name."
"I know enough."
"You know nothing."
He stepped forward again, gaze fixed on Kael.
"I should kill you. Right now. Before you remember more."
"Try," Lira said quietly, hand twitching toward her glyph.
The figure smirked under the scarf.
"You wouldn't win. And if I wanted him dead, I'd have slit his throat while you were playing with glass."
Kael straightened. "You know me."
"I did. Once."
The figure reached up and pulled the mask free.
The face beneath was handsome in a severe, aristocratic way. Black hair streaked with silver at the temples. A faint scar traced the right jaw. His eyes, though—those stayed unchanged. Cold, calculating, and deeply familiar.
"My name is Corren Valis," he said. "House Valis. Second Circle."
Kael searched his memory. Nothing.
"And I knew you," Corren said. "Back when your name still meant something. Back when people trembled when you entered the room."
Lira stepped between them, cautious.
"What name?" she asked.
Corren looked at Kael, not her.
"Rin."
Kael flinched.
That word. That syllable. It hit like a buried bell suddenly struck.
Corren smiled, but it didn't reach his eyes.
"There it is. A flicker of recognition. I told them you weren't gone. Just hiding."
Kael's voice came out low. "What did I do to you?"
Corren's expression darkened.
"You chose yourself over everything we built. Over me. You erased it all."
He turned and started walking toward the exit.
"But you won't stay hidden forever, Rin. The Houses will come for you. And this time, I might not be so forgiving."
His footsteps vanished into silence.
Kael stood there, stunned. Lira didn't speak for a long time.
Finally, she said, "You remember the name?"
Kael nodded.
"I don't know what it means. But it's mine."