The silence didn't last.
It never did.
The hall lived and breathed in its own rhythm, and though Kaelen said nothing, Lyra could feel it the slow stirring of something vast beneath the marble floor, the air thickening as if the world itself was preparing to inhale.
Kaelen's gaze lingered on her for a heartbeat longer, then turned away.
"The hall has heard you," he said quietly.
Lyra frowned. "What does that mean?"
"It means it has chosen."
The torches dimmed again, not into full darkness, but enough to make every flicker of light seem uncertain. The air grew heavier, colder, and in the centre of the room, the shadows began to twist.
Lyra stepped closer before she realised what she was doing. Her instincts told her to keep her distance, but the pull was too strong, curiosity, fear, and something she couldn't name.
Kaelen didn't move. His stillness was unnerving, almost reverent.
And then the shape began to form.
⸻
At first, it was nothing but mist.
Then it began to take shape, a human outline, fragile and trembling. The faint shimmer of a body, a face, eyes opening in confusion.
Lyra's breath caught.
It was a man.
Not old, not young. His face was half-lit, his expression raw with disbelief as his eyes swept the hall, then stopped on her.
For a long moment, he just stared.
And then he whispered her name.
"Lyra."
The sound of it shattered something inside her.
Her own name, spoken with such aching familiarity, made her chest tighten until she could barely breathe.
She took a step back, heart racing. "Who"
But she already knew.
Even before the memory formed, before her mind caught up with what her soul was already screaming, she knew that voice. She knew the way he said her name soft, careful, like it was something fragile he didn't want to break.
⸻
She tried to speak, but the words tangled in her throat.
"Do you know me?" she finally whispered.
The man's eyes darkened. "I did. Once."
Kaelen's voice cut through the air. "The hall has called him for a reason."
Lyra turned sharply. "You knew this would happen."
He didn't answer.
His silence was confirmation enough.
Lyra turned back to the man, her pulse still thundering in her ears. "Tell me your name."
He hesitated, his eyes flicking between her and Kaelen. "It's been a long time since anyone asked me that."
"Please."
He swallowed. "Elias."
⸻
The name fell like a blade.
The sound of it pulled a hundred memories from the shadows laughter in a narrow apartment, rain against a window, the warmth of hands that once traced her skin like a promise.
Elias.
The man she'd loved.
The man who had been with her the night she died.
Her knees felt weak again. She barely managed to steady herself.
Kaelen's voice was quiet, almost unreadable. "He stands before judgment, as all souls must."
Lyra turned toward him sharply. "No. Not him."
Kaelen's eyes glowed faintly in the low light. "You do not choose who appears. The hall does."
"I won't judge him," she said, her voice breaking. "I can't."
"You can," Kaelen said. "And you must."
⸻
Elias stepped closer, his expression twisted in something between longing and guilt.
"Lyra," he said again, voice rough with disbelief. "It's really you."
Her chest ached. "How do you remember me?"
He gave a small, broken laugh. "How could I forget? You were the last thing I saw."
She froze.
"The car—" he began, but stopped himself, his face tightening. "I tried to pull you out. You wouldn't wake up. And then…"
He looked around the hall, confusion flickering in his eyes. "And now I'm here. Wherever here is."
Lyra wanted to reach for him, to hold him, but her hands trembled. "You shouldn't be here."
Elias's gaze softened. "Then where should I be?"
⸻
The question hit her harder than any accusation.
She looked to Kaelen, searching for an answer, but his face remained unreadable. His power filled the space quietly, reminding her that this was still his realm, his law, his design.
Lyra's voice was soft, almost breaking. "Why him?"
Kaelen turned his gaze toward her. "Because the living cannot move forward until they face the dead who anchor them."
Elias frowned slightly. "He talks like a preacher."
Kaelen ignored him. "He is here because you are not free."
Lyra stared at him, her chest rising and falling too fast. "Free from what?"
Kaelen's eyes didn't waver. "From guilt."
⸻
The word hung between them like a curse.
Lyra's breath caught, her eyes darting back to Elias. "I didn't kill him."
Kaelen's tone was quiet, but merciless. "You don't have to kill someone to be responsible for what destroyed them."
"Enough," she said sharply.
But he didn't stop.
"You were angry," he continued. "You were leaving him that night."
Lyra's throat closed. "Stop it."
"You wanted to make him hurt. You said it yourself — you didn't care what happened next."
Her hands trembled. "You don't know anything about that night."
Kaelen's gaze burned cold. "I know everything about that night."
Elias's voice broke through, soft and strained. "Lyra… is that true?"
Her eyes filled with tears. "I didn't mean for any of it to happen."
⸻
For a moment, the hall was utterly still.
Elias stepped closer again, and though his form was fainter — more light than flesh — Lyra felt the warmth of him. That same warmth she had loved, that same ache she had never forgiven herself for losing.
He looked at her like she was something he had waited an eternity to see. "I know."
The simplicity of it shattered her.
"I forgave you a long time ago," he whispered. "I just didn't think I'd ever get the chance to tell you."
Tears slipped down her face.
Kaelen watched quietly, his expression unreadable but not entirely cold. "And yet," he said, "forgiveness from another does not cleanse what you hold against yourself."
⸻
Lyra turned to him, her voice shaking. "What do you want me to do?"
Kaelen took a step forward, his presence filling the hall again like thunder without sound. "Speak the truth."
"I did."
"No," he said calmly. "You spoke what you believe you can live with. Speak what you've buried."
Her hands clenched at her sides. "I left him," she whispered. "I was angry, and I left. I wanted him to come after me. I wanted to make him feel how much he'd hurt me."
Her breath hitched.
"But he did come. He followed me. He tried to stop me before I crossed the road."
Her voice broke entirely. "And then there was light. Noise. Screaming. I didn't see the car."
Elias's eyes closed, his face twisted with pain.
"I killed us both," she said.
⸻
Silence.
Pure and endless.
Then Kaelen spoke, his tone low and solemn. "And now you understand."
Lyra sank to her knees, the weight of it crushing her. "What does understanding change?"
Kaelen walked closer, stopping just in front of her. His voice was quiet, but it filled the space. "It makes you human again."
Her tears fell freely. "And him?"
Kaelen looked to Elias. "His path is his own. You cannot walk it for him. But now he may go where you cannot yet follow."
Elias smiled faintly, sadness soft in his eyes. "Then maybe this isn't goodbye."
Lyra reached out — but her hand passed through him. His image shimmered, fading into light.
" Elias "
But he was gone.
⸻
Lyra stayed there, breathing in the emptiness he left behind.
Kaelen stood over her, silent for a long moment. Then he said softly, "You see now why you were chosen."
She looked up at him, her voice small. "Because I was broken?"
His eyes met hers, dark and steady. "Because you understand what it means to be."
For the first time, she didn't look away.
And though the hall still felt heavy, it no longer felt cruel.
She could almost breathe again.