Nyra floated, barely breathing.Her chains shimmered, not metal—something older.
Vael took a step closer.The whispers around him hushed.
"You wore the crown?" he asked.His voice didn't sound like his own.
Nyra nodded slowly."Long ago. Before it shattered."
Reylen stood still, eyes wide."This is impossible... You vanished centuries ago."
"I was sealed here," Nyra said,"by the same voices that guide your path."
The crown on Vael's head pulsed again.It hummed, not with power—but warning.
"They lied to you, didn't they?" Vael asked.Nyra gave a soft smile.
"They always lie.They promise strength, but feed on your soul."
Vael clenched his fist.The whispers returned, angry now.
"You've heard them too," Nyra said."But soon, they'll speak through you."
He looked at her.At the cracks on her skin. The faded light.
"Why are you still alive?"Her smile faded.
"I'm not. Not fully."She looked at the pool below her.
"This place holds what's left of me—My mind, my warnings, my sins."
The pool rippled suddenly.Images flickered across the surface.
A city in flames.A king torn apart.Nyra, alone on a throne of bones.
Vael's chest tightened.His breathing slowed.
"They showed me the same dreams," she whispered."And when I listened, everything burned."
The chamber rumbled.Chains shook. Shadows stirred.
"They're coming," Reylen warned."The ones who locked her here."
Nyra looked straight at Vael."Before they reach us, I must show you."
"Show me what?"
"The truth buried inside the crown."She raised a trembling hand.
Light surged from her palm—Blinding, cold, and deep.
Vael didn't move.He let it in.
And the world around him shattered.