A History in Blood and Song

Elias recounts their first life together how he was once a bard in a great kingdom and she, a noblewoman, promised to another. Their love defied the laws of their time, leading to a tragic betrayal and the curse that bound them forever. Liora is torn between believing him and fearing she is losing her grip on reality.

The candlelight flickered violently as if it, too, sensed the tension in the air. Liora sat at the center of the room, her heartbeat steady but her mind restless. The gathered nine figures loomed around her, shadows stretching against the stone walls. The weight of their expectations pressed into her chest like an iron vice.

Elias stood beside her, his expression calm but unreadable. "What I am about to show you will not be easy to bear," he warned, scanning the faces of those present. "But it is necessary."

Cassian let out a short laugh, crossing his arms. "Dramatic as ever, Varion. Just get on with it."

Selene shot Cassian a sharp look before addressing Liora. "Your memories are surfacing faster than we anticipated. If you are to control them instead of letting them control you, we need to proceed with caution."

Liora nodded. "Then let's begin. I'm ready."

Dante leaned forward, his fingers tapping against his knee. "Are you? Because once you see, there's no unseeing it."

Marcelline, standing near the doorway with her violin case slung over her shoulder, finally spoke. "We need to trust her. She's the only one who can complete the song, and if we don't act now, the Warden's forces will tighten their hold."

A tense silence followed before Orin, the quietest of them all, finally broke it. "Show her."

Elias took a deep breath and raised his hand. A pulse of golden energy rippled from his fingertips, distorting the air like heat rising from stone. The room seemed to shift, the walls warping, the very air growing thick with unseen voices.

Liora gasped as images crashed into her mind flashes of past lives, ancient battles, whispered secrets in candlelit halls. She saw herself standing on a balcony, clad in regal garments, speaking urgently to Elias as flames licked the sky behind them. She saw blood on her hands, a dagger at her feet. She saw herself singing a melody that bent reality itself.

She tore herself from the vision, gasping for breath. "That was"

"You," Elias confirmed. "Another you. Another time. And this is only the beginning."

The room remained silent, every pair of eyes on her, waiting, watching. The weight of the past had fully settled upon her shoulders now, and there was no turning back.