Day 4 Before the Second Gate Awakens
A storm brooded over Arclight Academy—lightning that struck too close, thunder that pulsed like a heartbeat. The sky felt wrong, and the students could feel it in their bones.
But Rae didn't notice the weather.
She was in the family crypt.
Beneath the dormitories, beneath even the magical wards that protected the academy's elite bloodlines, Rae stood with trembling hands before a sealed sarcophagus marked not with her sister's name—but with a symbol that had haunted her dreams.
☽☼ – The Sun and Moon Crossed
The same sigil that had flashed in her mind the moment she and Brent had unlocked their Dual Core Resonance.
And the same symbol burned above the Second Gate.
Inside the crypt, Rae uncovered her sister's true journal—hidden beneath the false records her family had left behind. The pages were singed and brittle, but still legible.
What she read unraveled everything.
"The Soul Bond was real. But it wasn't meant to be for healing. Not at first."
"The Arclight bloodline didn't discover the Gates. We locked them."
"The First Paladin bonded with Her… not to save the world, but to keep Her asleep."
"Now She's dreaming again, and the system is trying to replicate the bond that once contained her."
"If the resonance grows too strong… it won't seal her.
It'll set Her free."
Rae dropped the journal.
It all made sense.
The way her bond with Brent was accelerating too quickly. The way her family had warned her off forming any emotional ties. The way her sister had died—not in battle, but consumed by a failed Bond Trial.
She had tried to contain Her again. And failed.
Flashback Fragment (System-Shared Vision):
Rae stumbled back as the system unexpectedly triggered a memory echo—not hers, not Brent's, but from the chained woman behind the Gates.
A young Rae's sister, glowing with radiant fire, stood before the throne of chains.
"You don't have to be alone," she whispered.
The chained woman smiled with infinite sadness.
"You always say that."
The room filled with light.
Then screaming.
Then fire.
And silence.
Back to Present – Brent and Rae Reunite
Brent found her that night, sitting in the rain just outside the Divination Tower. Her hands trembled. Her eyes were unfocused.
"She was the Seal," Rae said. "My sister. And my family made her into a tool… to hold Her in place."
Brent knelt beside her, placing a hand on hers. The warmth of his merged Twilight Flame Core pulsed gently through the bond.
"Rae… you think that's going to happen to you?"
She nodded. "The system doesn't just want us strong. It wants a perfect Bond. It wants—Her back."
System Alert – New Trait Discovered: Bloodbound Echo
Subject: Rae Ellanor
History: Descendant of the First Flamebound Paladin
Lineage Tag: Arclight Covenant – Gatewatcher Class
System Note: Due to ancestry, Soul Bond synchronization exceeding 85% may trigger Gate Cascade Events.
Recommendation: Restrict Dual Core proximity during Gate activation sequence.
Brent clenched his fist.
"No," he growled.
"We're not tools. We're not pawns in their prophecy. If she wakes—if they force this—we fight."
Rae met his eyes, and the storm paused for just a moment as lightning lit the path to the Second Gate in the distant mountains.
She squeezed his hand.
"Together."
Final Days Countdown – Gate Status: Unstable
Gate Resonance: 96%
Observer Interference: Active
Kalen Status: Unknown
Vaelrick: Relocating assets to the Gate perimeter
Unknown Entity Within: Fully aware. Watching. Waiting.
In the shadows of the Gate, Her chains trembled with anticipation.
And from behind them, Her voice reached out to both Rae and Brent in their dreams:
"You were born for more than light and fire."
"You are echoes of me."
"Come find your truth… behind the Gate."