The dream returned like a storm swallowing the moon.
Kael stood in the sky, surrounded by fire. Her wings—once silver and radiant—were ablaze, the feathers turning to ash. Screams echoed all around her, but they didn't come from her lips.
They came from Earth.
From Ayden.
From Zion.
From mortals whose fate had unraveled because of her.
She reached for the stars—but the stars turned away.
Then a voice, ancient and cold, whispered in her mind:
"The fallen are not forgiven. And love will not save you."
Kael jolted awake, sweat clinging to her skin.
And there, pulsing on the inside of her wrist, was a glowing sigil: a wing made of flame, half-burnt, half-whole.
---
That Morning – Edenvale High
Kael sat quietly in her seat, her wrist wrapped in a bandage Ayden had found in their kitchen drawer. She hadn't told him about the dream. Or the symbol. Or the weight growing in her chest like guilt.
Ayden watched her from the corner of his eye.
She smiled less today. Talked even less than usual.
She looked… haunted.
But he said nothing. Because lately, he was afraid of the answers she might give.
---
Meanwhile, in the Abandoned Bell Tower
Zion stood before a shattered mirror, its surface covered in old chalk symbols—runes in a forgotten celestial script.
He traced one with his thumb. A symbol for "Watcher."
He remembered the day he'd seen Kael arrive—the same strange light, the same sudden death-defying miracle. But that was years ago.
It couldn't be coincidence that another Stellar had fallen.
Not when the stars were going silent again.
"Why her?" he muttered. "Why now?"
A shadow stirred behind him. He turned fast—only to find a chill sweeping through the room. The candles flickered blue.
Something was coming.
---
Lunch Break
Kael sat under the fig tree by the sports field, notebook open in her lap. She was sketching again—feathers, clouds, and a strange black shape with red eyes.
Ayden approached quietly. "You okay?"
She looked up, startled. Then, "I had a dream."
"Bad?"
She nodded.
He sat beside her, careful not to touch her hand.
"I used to have those too," he said. "After my mom died. Nightmares that felt real enough to swallow you."
Kael studied him. "Do they ever stop?"
He shrugged. "Sometimes. But sometimes… someone helps chase them away."
They sat in silence.
The wind stirred.
Kael slowly reached for his hand—but just as their fingers brushed, her sigil flared beneath the bandage. She winced and pulled away.
Ayden noticed.
"What was that?"
Kael looked down. "A reminder."
"Of what?"
"That I'm not supposed to feel this."
---
That Night – The Rooftop Again
Zion appeared beside her without sound, his presence cold as always.
"You've been marked," he said, noticing the glow pulsing through the bandage.
Kael nodded. "What does it mean?"
"It means you've been seen," he said. "By something that hunts your kind."
She swallowed hard. "A Voidwalker?"
"No. Worse."
Kael stood. "I didn't ask to fall. I didn't ask for this."
"But you did fall," Zion said, stepping closer. "And you broke the cycle. Saving Ayden disrupted fate. The balance is collapsing—and if you don't fix it, everything around you will unravel."
Kael looked at the stars overhead. They felt dimmer tonight.
"I don't even know how to fix it."
"Then start by remembering who you really are," Zion said, his eyes softening. "Before it's too late for all of us."
---
In the Shadows
In the depths beneath the school—beneath the Earth itself—a
dark figure stirred, its eyes glowing red.
It had felt her light. Smelled her defiance.
It remembered her kind.
And it was hungry.