Chains of the Forgotten

The air inside the temple was thick with silence, the echoes of their battle still lingering. The last of the spectral guardians had vanished, their hollow eyes fading into mist, but Aria could still feel their presence—a memory lingering beyond death.

She pulled her hand away from the pedestal, its glow now fully extinguished. A strange warmth pulsed through her palm, like an invisible thread tying her to something long lost. The sensation was unsettling, like something had reached through time to touch her.

Quinn stepped closer, his voice cautious. "What did you do?"

Aria shook her head. "I don't know." But deep inside, she felt the weight of something shifting. A whisper of the past reaching out.

Kael scanned the ruins with sharp eyes, his sword still in hand. "If the Echoes were protecting something, then there has to be a reason."

Lyric adjusted her glasses, her mind already sorting through the possibilities. "This place was a Seeker stronghold. Maybe there's a record left behind—something that explains what happened to the ones who lived here. To Celeste."

At the mention of her mother's name, Aria's breath caught. The vision she had seen—the fragment of the past—showed the Lumina Shard being shattered. Celeste had been there. But why?

Before she could voice her thoughts, Finn let out a sigh. "So we're looking for ancient notes? Or do you think someone left behind a convenient instruction manual?"

Quinn smirked. "Actually… maybe they did."

---

They searched the ruins for what felt like hours, picking through fallen stone and half-buried artifacts. Most of the temple had crumbled, the weight of time reducing entire halls to little more than rubble and dust.

Despite the destruction, remnants of the past remained—fragments of carved murals depicting Seekers standing against faceless figures, shattered relics buried beneath debris, and half-burned scrolls whose ink had long since faded.

Aria knelt beside an overturned bookshelf, running her fingers over the wooden frame. "Whoever lived here… they left in a hurry."

Kael straightened from where he had been shifting through debris. "Or they didn't get the chance to leave at all."

A heavy silence settled over them.

It was Kael who finally found something.

"Over here."

They turned to find him kneeling beside a broken pillar, brushing away dirt to reveal a stone tablet beneath it. The inscriptions carved into its surface were faded but still legible. Lyric crouched beside him, tracing the ancient script with her fingertips.

"This is old Seeker writing," she murmured. "But some of it is still readable."

Aria leaned in, her pulse quickening as Lyric translated.

"The last keeper of the lost knowledge remains hidden. Bound by chains unseen, he waits where the stars meet the silent river."

A shiver ran through Aria. The words felt weighted, as if they carried more than just history—they carried warning.

Aria frowned. "The last keeper… Could that mean a scholar?"

Quinn's eyes narrowed. "Someone who knew the truth and was left behind."

Lyric tapped her fingers against the stone, deep in thought. "And the part about the stars meeting the silent river… that sounds like a place."

Kael stood, scanning the ruins. "A riddle." His jaw tightened. "If this scholar was part of the old group, they might know why Celeste shattered the shard."

Finn let out a low whistle. "Great. So now we have to track down a lost Seeker scholar using cryptic poetry."

Aria's fingers tightened around the Lumina Shard. There was something about the words—bound by chains unseen—that sent a chill through her. It didn't just mean secrecy. It meant captivity. Whoever this scholar was, they weren't just hidden.

They were trapped.

She looked at her friends, resolve hardening in her chest. "Then we find him."

---

Tracking the location described by the riddle wasn't easy. The group spent the following days piecing together old maps, cross-referencing locations, and using Lyric's extensive knowledge of Seeker history.

Eventually, they found it.

The Silent River was not a river at all—it was an old, forgotten library hidden within the mountains, said to be one of the last places where true Seeker knowledge remained untouched by the Wardens of Balance.

It had been abandoned centuries ago. Or so the world believed.

As they traveled, the landscape shifted. The forests gave way to jagged cliffs, the air growing colder with each step. Mist clung to the valleys below, swirling like ghosts in the wind.

Finn pulled his cloak tighter. "I'm going to be honest. This place is creepy."

Lyric ignored him, her gaze fixed on the horizon. "The stars meet the Silent River… We should be close."

And they were.

As the sun dipped below the mountains, they saw it—a hidden alcove carved into the rock face, barely visible unless you knew where to look. A single lantern flickered at its entrance.

Kael went first, his hand resting on his sword. "Stay behind me."

Aria followed close, her heart hammering as they stepped inside.

The library was nothing like she expected.

Instead of decay, there was preservation. Shelves upon shelves of books lined the stone walls, untouched by time. Ancient scrolls lay neatly stacked, their bindings barely worn. A fire burned in the hearth, its warmth chasing away the mountain chill.

And at the far end of the room, an old man sat at a wooden desk, writing.

He didn't look up as they approached.

"You took longer than I expected," he murmured. His voice was rough with age, but steady.

Aria exchanged glances with the others before stepping forward. "Are you the keeper?"

The man finally lifted his gaze. His eyes—dark and piercing—studied her with an intensity that sent shivers down her spine.

"I was," he said simply.

Lyric narrowed her eyes. "Your name?"

The man exhaled, as if the weight of it had been buried for too long.

"Aldric."

---

Aldric was more than a scholar—he was a Seeker who had survived when so many others had been erased from history.

And he knew why Celeste had been taken.

"The Wardens of Balance feared her," Aldric explained, his fingers tracing the cover of an old tome. "Because she knew what they had buried."

Aria swallowed hard. "What did she know?"

Aldric met her gaze. "That the Chains of the Forgotten weren't just legend. They were real."

A heavy silence fell.

Kael clenched his jaw. "Chains of the Forgotten… We saw that phrase before."

Aldric nodded. "They are prisons, built not of stone, but of magic. Designed to erase those who opposed the Wardens' vision of balance. Your mother… she wasn't just taken, Aria."

His eyes darkened.

"She was sealed away."

The air grew thick with tension.

Finn muttered, "That's worse than I expected."

Aria's breath quickened. Sealed away. That meant Celeste wasn't just held captive—she was locked in a place designed to keep her from ever escaping.

Lyric spoke, her voice grim. "Where?"

Aldric hesitated before unfolding a map. His finger landed on a single, heavily marked location.

"The Black Veil," he said.

Kael frowned. "I've never heard of it."

"You wouldn't have," Aldric said. "It doesn't exist in this realm."

Aria's heart pounded. Then how do we get to her?

Aldric sighed. "There's only one way in. The same way your mother was taken."

Quinn tensed. "Meaning…?"

Aldric's voice was quiet but heavy with meaning.

"Someone has to be taken in her place."

---

The revelation sent a ripple of shock through the group. Aria felt the weight of it settle over her like a storm cloud.

But before she could speak, Aldric sighed.

"There may be another way."

Hope flickered in Aria's chest. "How?"

Aldric met her gaze. "The key to the Black Veil still exists." His expression darkened. "And it's in the hands of someone you won't like."

Aria swallowed. "Who?"

Aldric hesitated. Then, finally, he spoke the name.

"Dorian Veyl."

Aria's blood ran cold.

Of course it had to be him.