THE FIRST TRUTH
Some truths set people free.
Some truths destroy everything they believe.
The truth waiting beneath Black Hollow Station belonged to the second kind.
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Rain continued falling across the abandoned station.
The ancient symbol beneath the cracked platform still glowed faintly.
Its golden light reflected in pools of rainwater.
The message remained visible.
THE FOUR HEIRS HAVE RETURNED.
No matter how many times the girls looked at it, the words refused to change.
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Silence surrounded them.
Heavy.
Uncomfortable.
Dangerous.
---
Riva stared at the glowing message.
Her thoughts felt tangled.
For years she believed her visions were a curse.
A strange accident.
Something that made her different from everyone else.
Now she wasn't sure who she was anymore.
---
Parna looked toward the dark forest surrounding Black Hollow.
The trees had become unusually quiet.
Nature itself seemed to be listening.
Waiting.
Watching.
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Eva tightened her grip on the compass.
The needle no longer pointed northwest.
For the first time since awakening, it pointed toward the caretaker.
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Aarvi held the mysterious box close to her chest.
The carvings glowed softly.
As if reacting to the ancient symbol beneath them.
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All four girls slowly turned toward the caretaker.
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He knew something.
Far more than he had revealed.
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"You said you know who we are."
Eva finally broke the silence.
"Then tell us."
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The caretaker remained still.
Rain dripped from his coat.
For several moments he said nothing.
As though searching for the right words.
Or perhaps delaying the inevitable.
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Then he sighed.
A tired sound.
The sound of someone carrying memories too heavy to bear.
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"My name is Elias."
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The girls exchanged glances.
At last.
A name.
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"For years," Elias continued, "I hoped this day would never come."
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Riva frowned.
"Why?"
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Elias looked toward the glowing symbol.
His expression darkened.
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"Because once you learn the truth, there is no going back."
---
Thunder rolled above them.
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"You are not ordinary girls."
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The words hung in the air.
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"You were never ordinary."
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The station suddenly felt colder.
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"Fifty years ago, before Aurelia fell, four children disappeared."
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The girls listened carefully.
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"The kingdom called them the Four Heirs."
---
The same title from the message.
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"The future of Aurelia."
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Aarvi swallowed nervously.
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"What happened to them?"
---
Pain crossed Elias's face.
A deep pain.
The kind that never truly heals.
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"We saved them."
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The answer surprised everyone.
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"We?"
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"The king, the queen, and I."
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Lightning flashed.
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"The kingdom was under attack."
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A memory flickered behind his eyes.
Fire.
Screams.
Chaos.
---
"The enemy wanted the heirs."
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"The man with the red eyes?" Riva asked.
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Elias slowly nodded.
---
Even now the name seemed dangerous.
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"He was once part of Aurelia."
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The girls froze.
---
"What?"
---
"He wasn't born a monster."
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Elias looked away.
---
"He became one."
---
For a moment his voice carried regret.
Almost guilt.
---
"As the kingdom fell, the king gave me a final order."
---
The caretaker's hand unconsciously moved toward the old pocket watch.
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"Protect the heirs."
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The same words they had seen in the memory.
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"Hide them."
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The storm intensified.
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"And erase their past."
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Silence followed.
---
No one understood.
Not completely.
---
Then Eva's eyes widened.
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"Wait."
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She looked at the others.
---
"You mean..."
---
The realization arrived like lightning.
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"No."
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Aarvi stepped backward.
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"No, that's impossible."
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Elias closed his eyes.
---
"When the gate opened, the heirs were sent away."
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His voice softened.
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"To different places."
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"Different lives."
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"Different futures."
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Parna's heartbeat quickened.
---
"You're saying..."
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The caretaker nodded.
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"You are the heirs."
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The world seemed to stop.
---
Thunder disappeared.
Rain disappeared.
Everything disappeared.
---
Only those words remained.
---
You are the heirs.
---
Riva couldn't breathe.
---
Parna couldn't think.
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Eva couldn't move.
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Aarvi couldn't speak.
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Because deep inside—
A part of them already knew.
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The dreams.
The visions.
The memories.
The symbols.
The artifacts.
---
Everything pointed toward the same answer.
---
They weren't connected by coincidence.
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They were connected by history.
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Their history.
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Suddenly—
The compass reacted.
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Its silver light exploded outward.
---
At the same moment, the box released golden energy.
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The ancient symbol beneath the station brightened.
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A powerful pulse spread through the ruins.
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The girls cried out.
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Images flooded their minds.
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A palace garden.
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Children laughing.
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A silver river.
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Golden towers.
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And each other.
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Not as strangers.
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As friends.
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As family.
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The memories lasted only seconds.
Yet they felt real.
Painfully real.
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When the visions ended, tears filled Parna's eyes.
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"I know you."
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She looked toward Riva.
---
The words escaped before she could stop them.
---
Riva stared back.
---
A strange familiarity existed between them now.
---
The same feeling appeared on Eva's face.
And Aarvi's.
---
Fragments of forgotten childhood had returned.
Not enough to understand everything.
But enough to hurt.
---
Enough to remember loss.
---
The ground suddenly shook.
Hard.
---
Everyone stumbled.
---
Elias's expression changed instantly.
---
Fear.
---
Real fear.
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"No."
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He turned toward the forest.
---
The trees trembled.
---
Birds exploded into the sky.
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Animals fled in every direction.
---
Parna noticed immediately.
Nature was panicking.
---
Something was coming.
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Fast.
---
The compass spun wildly.
---
The box began shaking.
---
The ancient symbol flickered.
---
Then—
A shadow appeared between the trees.
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Far away.
Barely visible.
---
Yet everyone saw it.
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A tall figure.
Motionless.
Watching.
---
Two crimson eyes glowed within the darkness.
---
The same eyes from the visions.
The same eyes from the fall of Aurelia.
The same eyes haunting their dreams.
---
The villain had finally found them.
---
The air became impossibly cold.
---
Even from this distance, his presence felt wrong.
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Ancient.
Powerful.
Terrifying.
---
Elias stepped in front of the girls.
Protectively.
Instinctively.
---
The movement surprised them.
---
For years they had believed he was stalking them.
Watching them.
Following them.
---
Now, for the first time—
They understood why.
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He wasn't hunting them.
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He was protecting them.
---
The crimson-eyed figure smiled.
---
Even from across the forest, they could see it.
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A smile filled with certainty.
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A smile that promised disaster.
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Then he spoke.
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His voice echoed unnaturally through the storm.
As if the darkness itself carried his words.
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"Welcome back..."
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The girls froze.
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The smile widened.
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"Your Highnesses."
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Lightning split the sky.
---
The station trembled.
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And for the first time since Aurelia fell fifty years ago—
The enemy stood before the heirs once more.
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The war had returned.
And this time—
There would be nowhere left to hide.