Nightfall — Border of Kemetwa and the Eastern Sea
The moon hung low over the horizon, tinted in crimson like a bleeding wound in the sky. A strange stillness weighed on the world. Not the silence of peace — but the breathless pause before the gods weep.
Nalya stood atop the cliff of N'Jaro, where the ancestors once watched the stars. Her emerald cloak swayed in the salty wind, and the carved spear at her back glinted under the blood moon.
Beside her stood Enar, his face grave.
"The spirits no longer sleep," he said. "Even the water runs backwards in the northern streams."
"Kaeshar," Nalya whispered. "He has awakened."
"Yes, my Queen. And he brings with him a war not of steel — but of soul."
Behind them, the warriors of Kemetwa gathered in silence, torches in hand, weapons blessed by fire and salt. Not since the founding of the empire had such a night been seen.
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Goryeo — Temple of Whispering Stones
Tae-jun knelt in the center of an ancient temple deep in the forest, surrounded by monks who chanted in tongues forgotten by time. A golden circle surrounded him, drawn with phoenix ash and powdered pearl.
Suddenly, the flames of the candles blew outward.
A monk fell to the ground, shaking.
"Majesty," he gasped. "Your soul is not alone."
Tae-jun opened his eyes. In the reflection of the temple's pool, he saw a second face overlaying his — older, darker, full of pain.
"What is this?" he asked.
"The spirits of the past… they bleed into you now."
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Kemetwa — Palace Courtyard
The Queen's body trembled. In the sacred courtyard of her ancestors, she collapsed to her knees.
The flame of the Eternal Basin flared wildly — then froze.
In its glow, Nalya saw herself… but not herself.
A vision of a woman she did not know… standing under fluorescent lights. Wearing strange clothes. Her skin was the same. Her eyes, too. But she was somewhere else — a world filled with steel and skyless towers.
Nalya gasped.
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Spirit Realm — Between Time
Unseen by mortal eyes, the two souls of Nalya and Tae-jun flickered like twin candles across the spirit veil.
They had been marked.
Kaeshar's curse had broken more than balance — it had pierced the timeline.
Their bond was no longer bound to the present.
It had opened a path.
A fracture.
A doorway.
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Shrine of the Forgotten
Kaeshar roared with rage, flames spilling from his eyes.
"NO!" he bellowed. "They must not awaken the bond across time! It is forbidden!"
He struck his staff upon the earth again — and this time, the mountain split.
But it was too late.
The path had begun to form.