All sound seemed to vanish from the world in a single instant.
Elara's heart pounded uncontrollably in her chest.
She couldn't tell if it was the silence of her own mind—or if the world itself had stopped breathing the moment the petal disappeared.
She looked down...
At the crystal pendant—
The one Kael once said was the symbol of the guardian deity who stood at the border between two realms.
Now, it had only four petals.
One petal… was gone.
She remembered clearly. Just yesterday, the flower had been whole.
"What does this mean...?" Elara whispered to herself.
The sound of steady footsteps came from beyond the veil of mist.
Kael appeared once more, his grey eyes dimmer than ever.
He glanced at the pendant in her hand and spoke softly.
> "The first petal… is gone."
"That means one of the guardian gods has given up their power to protect you."
Elara looked up sharply.
"What do you mean? Why would they protect me?"
Kael didn't answer directly.
Instead, he silently reached into the folds of his cloak
and drew out a slab of sapphire stone engraved with ancient runes.
He held it out to her.
> "This is the first gate you must open."
Elara took it, confusion stirring in her eyes.
"A gate...? Gate to what?"
Kael looked at her, unblinking.
> "To your past," he said.
"And to the truth you chose to forget."