SECRETS IN THE SMOKE

Darius led them through the crumbling streets, moving with a confidence that suggested he had known this was coming for a long time.

Elara stayed close, every muscle tense. Rael walked beside her, fingers twitching near his blade. He didn't trust Darius, and neither did she—but right now, they needed answers.

They ducked into an old stone passage beneath a collapsed bell tower. Inside, the air was thick with incense and dust. It looked like an abandoned sanctuary, relics of forgotten gods gathering dust on broken altars. Darius gestured for them to sit, but neither of them moved.

Elara's voice was sharp. "Start talking."

Darius chuckled. "Straight to business." He took a slow step forward, tilting his head. "Do you know what that pendant really is?"

Elara's grip tightened. "A key to the veil."

Darius smiled, but there was no warmth in it. "That's what they told you. But it's more than that."

Rael scoffed. "Enlighten us, then."

Darius's golden eyes gleamed. "The pendant doesn't just open the veil." He paused, letting the words settle. "It decides who controls what's behind it."

Elara's breath hitched. "What?"

Darius smirked. "You're not just holding a key, Elara. You're holding the throne."

The world tilted.

The whispers in the pendant roared.

Elara stumbled back, her breath catching in her throat. The pendant pulsed violently against her skin, as if in response to Darius's words. The weight of them settled over her like chains, wrapping around her mind, squeezing the air from her lungs.

Rael wasn't convinced. "That's a load of cryptic bullshit. Stop playing games and tell us what it really means."

Darius's smirk faded. He exhaled, his gaze flickering to the ruins beyond. "The Forgotten One isn't just some ancient horror sealed away. It wasn't banished behind the veil—it was placed there."

Elara forced herself to steady her breathing. "By who?"

Darius hesitated for the briefest moment. "By the last person who carried that pendant."

Silence stretched between them.

Rael narrowed his eyes. "You're saying the last wielder of this thing trapped the Forgotten One? Like a prison?"

Darius gave a slow nod. "Exactly. But prisons don't last forever."

Elara felt her stomach twist. "Then why the hell is it reacting to me?"

Darius's eyes darkened. "Because the last one to wield it wasn't just its jailer." He let the words hang before continuing. "They were also its creator."

Elara's blood ran cold. "No."

Rael shook his head. "That doesn't make sense. The Forgotten One is older than recorded history."

Darius let out a dry laugh. "Who do you think wrote that history?"

Elara's grip on the pendant tightened. "You're saying that whoever had this before… made the thing we're fighting now?"

Darius inclined his head slightly. "Not made. Shaped."

A sharp ringing filled Elara's ears. The whispers in the pendant were louder now, frantic, their voices overlapping in a chaotic cacophony. The air around her thickened, pressing against her skin like unseen hands trying to hold her still.

Rael noticed. "Elara—"

"I'm fine," she bit out. She wasn't. But there were more pressing matters. "Why are you telling me this now?"

Darius studied her carefully, then sighed. "Because I wasn't sure if you were strong enough to handle it. But now…" He gestured toward the ruins, toward the sky that was cracking apart at the seams. "You don't have a choice. The veil is breaking, and you either take control of it… or it takes control of you."

Elara swallowed hard. Her entire life, she had fought to survive. Fought to carve her own path. But this? This wasn't a battle she could just walk away from.

The throne. That's what he had called it. Not just a key, not just a weapon—

A crown for the one willing to claim it.

She exhaled shakily. "And if I refuse?"

Darius's lips pressed into a thin line. "Then you'd better hope someone else takes it first."

A deep rumble shook the sanctuary. The candles flickered violently. Outside, the violet flames consuming Varos burned brighter, twisting upward as if reaching for something unseen.

Darius's expression turned grim. "We're out of time."

Elara looked down at the pendant, its glow now writhing like a living thing.

She didn't want this.

But fate didn't care.

The choice had already been made.

And now, the war for the veil had begun.