The cavern had gone silent.
Not peaceful.
Just… waiting.
Fragments of the shattered Core still floated in the air like dying light.
Riven broke the silence first.
"…Okay. I've decided I hate ancient places. All of them. No exceptions."
No one responded.
Kael stood ahead, motionless, eyes locked on the fading symbols.
Then—
a voice cut through the stillness.
Sharp.
Controlled.
"…Stop talking."
Riven blinked.
"…Wow. That sounded personal."
Elara stepped forward from the edge of the shadows.
Not rushing.
Not emotional.
Just present.
Her eyes were different now.
Focused.
Heavy with something unspoken.
"…You keep speaking," she said coldly, "as if nothing happened."
Riven scratched his head slightly.
"…I mean… a lot happened. That's kind of the problem."
Elara didn't even look at him properly.
"…And yet you understand the least."
Riven paused.
Then sighed.
"…Fair."
Her gaze shifted.
Now locked on Kael.
"…You knew this place would react to him."
Kael didn't deny it.
Didn't confirm it.
Just silence.
Riven frowned.
"…Wait… so this was a planned emotional disaster? Nice."
Elara finally turned slightly toward him.
"…You talk too much for someone who only follows."
That shut him up.
For once.
Kael spoke.
Low.
Controlled.
"…Elara."
She answered instantly.
But colder.
"…Don't call me like I still belong somewhere."
Silence dropped again.
Riven muttered quietly.
"…Okay yeah, that one hurt."
Elara stepped closer to Kael.
Each step deliberate.
"…You didn't just seal a memory," she said.
"…You sealed me from it."
Kael's hand tightened slightly on his weapon.
Riven noticed immediately.
"…Oh. That's the 'I'm one sentence away from violence' posture."
Elara continued.
Her voice steady.
But sharper now.
"…If I am a fragment…"
"…then what exactly are you protecting me from remembering?"
Silence.
Even the broken cavern felt heavier.
Riven stepped back slowly.
"…I'm just gonna stand over here where emotional damage is less likely."
Kael finally spoke.
Low.
Controlled.
"…From what you become when you remember everything."
Elara's eyes narrowed.
"…Or from what you did."
That hit deeper than any attack.
Riven stopped completely.
No jokes now.
Kael didn't move.
But the pressure in the air changed.
Elara stepped closer.
Now standing directly in front of him.
"…I don't need protection from truth."
A pause.
"…I need it from lies."
Silence returned.
Final.
Heavy.
Riven exhaled slowly.
"…Yeah… I'm officially regretting asking what's going on."
But this time—
Elara didn't fade into the background.
She didn't disappear.
She stood in the center of it all.
Equal in weight to Kael.
And for the first time—
even Riven understood:
This was no longer just Kael's battle.
It was all of theirs.