Elara stood in silence, yet her mind was echoing with voices—
a voice that sounded like her own,
but from a life she didn't remember.
A soft whisper—clear and haunting:
> "Don't trust him... If you awaken the god... the world will never be the same..."
She clutched her head, her breath hitching. Her expression trembled with confusion.
"Elara!"
Kael rushed to steady her.
"What's happening? That voice… what did you hear?"
Slowly, she looked up at him, her eyes wide.
"I… I saw something. A temple covered in flames… and I… I was standing there, but the person I killed was—"
She stopped.
"Who?" Kael asked gently.
She shook her head.
"I don't know. But I felt something… deep sorrow.
Like I had done something terribly wrong."
The altar gave a soft "ting" sound.
The glowing eye vanished, replaced by a new sigil—
a five-petaled flower surrounded by shadow.
Kael was quiet for a moment before speaking softly.
"It's begun…"
"What has?"
He pulled out a pendant from beneath his shirt, revealing a charm shaped exactly like the flower on the altar.
"When this symbol appears, it means the 'Path of the Key' has started.
You'll begin to see fragments of your past life—
until you discover who you truly are."
Elara stared at the pendant.
"And if I don't want to know?"
Kael looked at her, his voice low.
"Then the Shadow will show you instead… and twist it into a weapon."
A cold wind swept through.
The sky darkened unnaturally, though the sun still hung above.
On the horizon, a massive temple crumbled silently—
stone by stone, with no sound… no warning.
Elara's breath caught as she watched it fall.
And then—
the same voice echoed again:
> "If you don't choose… someone else will choose for you."
The temple on the horizon had collapsed entirely, yet no smoke rose, no rubble remained.
It was as if it had never existed—except in Elara's memory.
Kael stood beside her, tense.
"This isn't just a vision. That place... it was one of the Nine Pillars. And now it's gone."
Elara's fingers curled into fists.
"What does that mean?"
"Someone is breaking the seals."
Kael's eyes darkened.
"One by one, they're destroying the temples that keep the last god asleep."
The wind grew colder.
Suddenly, from the shadows beyond the altar, a figure emerged—cloaked in black, face hidden.
A soft voice echoed through the air, neither male nor female.
> "The past calls to her, and so do we."
Elara turned sharply.
"Who are you?"
The figure didn't answer, but stepped closer.
Each footstep left a faint trail of ash that dissolved behind them.
Kael stepped between them, sword drawn.
"Don't come closer."
But the figure only laughed softly.
> "You protect her now, Kael. But you didn't last time."
Elara's eyes widened.
"What do you mean—last time?"
> "Ask him who betrayed you."
Kael's grip tightened.
"Don't."
But Elara turned to him, voice shaking.
"Kael… is there something else you're not telling me?"
Before he could answer, the figure dissolved into shadow—
but not before whispering one last thing into the wind:
> "When the fifth petal falls… she'll remember everything."
Then silence.
Elara's heart pounded in her chest.
She looked down at the pendant Kael had shown her.
The flower symbol now had one petal missing.