Beyond the First Seal
The stone doors groaned as they swung open, revealing a passageway shrouded in unnatural darkness.
The air within was different—denser. Heavy with a presence that slithered beneath the skin, unseen yet suffocating. Zyra's grip on her dagger tightened as she stepped forward, Kieran beside her, his movements eerily controlled, as if he was holding something back.
Marek muttered a curse. "I don't like this."
Riven's usual sharpness was gone, replaced by something uneasy. "It's not about liking it. We don't have a choice."
Kieran's gaze flicked toward Zyra, silver eyes glowing faintly in the dim light. "Stay close."
She wasn't sure if the words were for her or for himself.
Then, together, they stepped into the abyss.
---
The Descent
The moment they crossed the threshold, the temple reacted.
The walls shifted.
Or maybe it was the air itself—folding, twisting, warping.
Zyra's breath hitched as the ground beneath her feet became unsteady. Not physically—but something was wrong. She turned her head to look at Marek and Riven, but—
They weren't there.
Her heart slammed against her ribs.
No.
The tunnel had split them apart.
She reached out, but her hand met nothing.
Only shadows.
Only him.
Kieran stood at her side, motionless. His silver eyes were unreadable, but his fingers curled slightly at his side, as if he could feel what she felt—the weight of the Rift pressing down on them.
Zyra swallowed. "Where are the others?"
Kieran tilted his head, listening to the silence. "Gone."
The word sent a chill through her.
Gone.
Not dead.
Not lost.
Just—gone.
Like the temple had swallowed them whole.
---
A Path of Shadows
The corridor ahead pulsed with a dim glow, revealing jagged stone walls etched with unfamiliar markings. They didn't look like the runes from before—these were older.
Zyra traced her fingers along one, feeling an icy pulse beneath her skin.
It wasn't a rune.
It was a warning.
Kieran exhaled slowly. "This place… it knows us."
Zyra turned to him, brow furrowed. "What do you mean?"
He hesitated, but his voice was steady. "It's not just testing us." He glanced at the shadows pooling in the corners of the chamber. "It's watching."
A chill ran down her spine.
Watching.
She could feel it now—something just beyond her senses.
Not alive. Not dead. But there. Always there.
She took a breath. "Then let's not give it anything to see."
They moved forward.
---
The Mirror of Fate
The passage opened into a vast, circular chamber.
At the center stood a pedestal—carved from obsidian, slick with an unnatural sheen. A mirror rested upon it, cracked down the middle, its surface shifting like liquid.
Zyra stepped closer, but Kieran's arm shot out, stopping her. His fingers curled around her wrist, grip too tight.
She looked at him in question.
His voice was low. "Don't."
Zyra's brows furrowed. "Why?"
He didn't answer. His eyes were on the mirror.
And for the first time, Zyra saw hesitation in him.
Not wariness.
Not calculation.
Fear.
Her stomach twisted.
Slowly, she turned back to the mirror—
And froze.
Because it wasn't her reflection staring back.
It was her.
But—different.
Her eyes burned gold, brighter than the sun. Her hair was streaked with silver, her features too sharp, too untamed.
And standing beside her, their hands intertwined—
Was Kieran.
Not as he was now.
But fully consumed by the Rift.
His silver eyes were gone, replaced by an endless void. Shadows curled from his body like living tendrils, his presence suffocating.
They stood together, as rulers of something unholy.
Zyra's heart pounded.
"What… is this?"
She turned to Kieran—but he wasn't looking at the mirror.
He was looking at her.
His expression unreadable. Silent. Still.
Like he already knew.
Like he had seen this before.
---
A Rift in the Truth
A sharp crack split the air.
The mirror fractured further, the image distorting before shattering completely.
Zyra stumbled back, chest rising and falling too fast. "That—" She shook her head. "That wasn't real."
Kieran's voice was quiet. "Wasn't it?"
She whipped toward him. "No. It was just another illusion."
His silver eyes met hers.
And he said nothing.
Zyra's breath caught.
Because for the first time since she met him… she wasn't sure if he believed that.
A heavy silence stretched between them before Kieran finally turned away.
"We need to keep moving."
But Zyra wasn't sure she could.
Not after what she had seen.
Not after what it implied.
She forced her legs to move, following him deeper into the temple.
But the image of them—standing together, side by side as something monstrous—lingered in the back of her mind.
Because if that was the future this temple was showing them…
Then what if the Rift wasn't just taking Kieran?
What if it was calling her, too?
---