The fire was dying when the wind changed.
Not cold.
Not warm.
Too clean.
Draviel felt it before the air even moved. The forest fell silent as of sound itself had stepped back in reverence. Serenya's pen stopped mid-stroke.
The world did not darken.
It deepened.
From the edge of the treeline, light emerged- Not radiant, not blinding but ancient. A presence stepped forward, shaped like a man yet heavier than any mortal existence.
Auriel.
Draviel rose slowly, one hand resting over the book of Eldara. "You were with the other's," he said quietly. "Why are you here now?"
Auriel's wing unfolded-woven from the threads of light rather than feathers. His voice did not echo. It settled directly into their souls.
"You have chosen," he said. "And she has chosen."
His gaze shifted to Serenya.
"But a bond declared without trial is only emotion. Not truth."
Serenya stood despite the exhaustion in her limbs.
"Then test us," she replied. "If we are weak, let it break now."
Auriel watched them both for a long moment.
"Good," he said. "For the path ahead will not spare you. Faith will be stripped. Hope will be questioned. Love will be tested. And the truth… will wound you more than any blade."
The ground vanished.
Erased.
The trial space.
Darkness unfolded around them– not empty, but endless. A crimson flame ignited in the distance, pulsing like a living heartbeat. Then music began.
Low.
Rhythmic.
Wrong.
Not sung. Not played. Remembered.
Serenya's breath trembled.
"I can see you from your eyes…
I can read you from your thoughts.."
The melody twisted through the void like something alive.
"You feel me, you crave for me…
You rebel for me, you sing for me…"
Her body froze.
Fear.
Not from an enemy.
From recognition.
A presence formed behind them-unseen, yet aware. Draviel did not turn. He already knew.
A voice spoke.
Calm. Observing. Unbound by space.
"So…thus the point where truth becomes unavoidable."
Serenya tightened her grip on Draviel's sleeve. "Who are you?"
Silence followed.
Then the flame expanded– not revealing a body, but an outline. A watcher. A presence that did not belong to their world, yet knew it entirely.
"The one who Observes your path," the voice answered. "Not your ruler. Not your enemy. Not your God."
A pause.
"But the one who records truth when illusion collapses."
Draviel's eyes narrowed slightly. "The author," he said.
The presence did not deny it.
The Four Books of Truth.
Four light ignited in the void.
Each different. Each ancient.
"The world you walk," the observer continued. "Was never meant to be ruled by power alone. It was structured by truth."
The first light pulsed white.
*Eldara – The book of creation.
The book you hold. The one rebuilds, restores and judges existence through divine intent.
A second light turned silver-gold.
*Elanoz – The book of time.
It does not control time. It witness it. Past, present and futures that have not yet chosen form.
A third light deepened into the violet darkness.
*Eliti – The book of shadows.
Not evil. Not light. The book reveals hidden nature – what beings truly are beneath masks."
The final light did not shine.
It simply existed.
*Nofrentz – The book of unbeginning
The record of beings who knows neither origin nor end. Even Gods 0,3,6 and 9 fear it's existence."
Serenya stared, breath uneven. "So the four books.. are not weapons."
"They are verdicts." The observer replied.
Draviel remained silent.
Understanding.
Heavy.
The Truth of Organizations
Symbols began appearing in the void – glowing across invisible bodies.
"Your enemies are not random," the observer continued. "They are structured."
A white flame burned across a spectral neck.
Hellfire – white flame users. Marked by the white moon at the front of the neck.
A horn shaped sigil appeared.
Calve's head – horsemen of brute force. Horn tattoo on the left neck."
Stars shimmered into illusion.
School of night – masters of illusion and reality distortion. Star mark at the front of the neck."
A void hat symbol emerged.
Hermetic order of the golden dawn – controllers of magic flow. A void wearing dark hat sigil on the left neck.
A staff with twin serpent followers.
Freemansonry – corruption through disease and societal manipulation. Twin‐serpent mark on the right neck.
Lightning inside a cloud appeared.
Ordo templi Orientis – strategic manipulators. Cloud with lightning on the right neck.
A triple mark surfaced faintly.
Order of Nine Angles – religious selectors. Three nark sigil on the back of the neck.
Finally, a heart-shaped mark.
Illuminati – users of sacred symbols for selfish dominion. Heart shaped mark on the back of the neck.
Serenya's eyes widened slightly. "So the tattoos…were never decoration."
"They were declaration," the observer said.
The Truth of Serenya.
The void shifted.
Images appeared.
A younger Serenya. Watched. Marked. Observed by unseen forces for years.
"You," the voice continued softly. "Weren't random."
Serenya froze.
"You were identified as a late-bloom reality scribe. An existence capable of turning written thought into temporary truth."
Her fingers trembled.
"They waited for eighteen years," the observer said. "To recruit you or eliminate you."
Silence crushed the space.
"Your power awakened the moment death become inevitable."
Serenya lowered her head slightly.
"So I wasn't lucky."
"No," the observer replied. "You survived because your story refused to end."
Draviel looked at her.
Not with pity.
With understanding.
The Prophecy of Draviel.
The music deepened.
The crimson flame darkened.
The observer spoke slower now.
"And you, Draviel… you were never an accident."
The void trembled.
"You will walk the path of the four books.
You will face the crowned self.
You will stand against false Gods.
And one day…"
The flame flickered.
"You will raise your blade against the one you fear to question."
Serenya looked up sharply.
The observer did not say the name.
But the weight of it was clear.
Draviel didn't flinch.
"Then let it be so," he said quietly.
The final song of the trial.
The void began collapsing.
Before they returned, the music changed.
No longer wrong.
Now solemn.
A song that only the two of them could hear.
Thus who stayed with me when I was weak heart broken,I am grateful of you
You are my strength
My spirit grows stronger when I'm with you
Let me be your words when you cannot speak,let me your strength when you feel grounded,
as long we are together we stand up
When the world feels heavy and the night feels long,
I will be the light that reminds you you belong.
Hand in hand through every fall and climb,
In your courage, I find mine.
No storm can break what trust has sewn,
Two hearts together, never alone.
The flame vanished.
The forest returned.
The fire cracked softly as if nothing had happened.
Serenya stood pale, exhausted but smiling faintly.
Draviel closed the book of Eldara.
"So the trial was not strength," she whispered.
Draviel looked at her.
"No," he replied. "It was truth."
And for the first time since his journey began, he understood one thing clearly.
He was not walking alone.
Not as a warrior.
Not as a chosen.
But as a man whose path had already begun to echo across time.