THE UNSEEN CHAINS

The air still hummed with lingering magic as Seraphine knelt on the cold, black stone of the Boundless Realm. Her heart pounded in her chest, her hands still trembling from what she had seen—the reflection, the choice laid before her.

Rule the darkness or be consumed by it.

But she had rejected the choice.

She had forged her own path.

Seraphine exhaled sharply and pushed herself up, turning to face the Keeper. His silver eyes watched her, unreadable.

"You have passed the First Gate," he said. "Few do."

Caius, who had been standing tensely beside her, scoffed. "Yes, wonderful. She survived. Now tell me—what the hell was that?"

The Keeper ignored him, his gaze fixed solely on Seraphine. "You were shown the truth hidden within you. The power you will wield is greater than you know, but it will also demand a price."

Seraphine frowned. "What price?"

The Keeper did not answer.

Instead, he lifted his hand, and the air rippled. A new sigil glowed in the space between them, shifting and twisting like a living thing.

A mark.

It was the same one Seraphine had seen in the vision of her mother—the symbol woven into the ancient banners of Ashenhold. The same mark that had appeared in her reflection's shadowy crown.

Her breath caught.

"This was on my mother's robes."

The Keeper inclined his head slightly. "Yes. And it is the sigil of the First Seal—the one you are bound to."

Seraphine clenched her fists. "Then tell me what it means. Tell me why my mother was fighting for it—why she disappeared."

The Keeper's gaze darkened. "Because the First Seal is more than a boundary between worlds."

Caius crossed his arms. "Let me guess. It's a prison, isn't it?"

The Keeper's silence was answer enough.

Seraphine felt the weight of it settle in her chest. A prison.

And somehow, she was bound to it.

---

The Chains of the Seal

"The First Seal was not meant to hold forever," the Keeper continued, stepping forward. "It was forged in an age long forgotten, meant to keep something far older than men or gods locked away."

Seraphine swallowed. "What was locked away?"

The Keeper's voice was quiet. "The Harbinger."

A cold shiver ran down her spine.

She had heard the name before, whispered in the echoes of the Veil. But now, standing here, she felt its full weight.

Caius exhaled slowly. "That's bad. That's very bad."

The Keeper ignored him. "The Seal weakens with time. The moment it was first created, its unraveling began. Your mother fought to delay the inevitable."

Seraphine's breath hitched. "And now…?"

"Now, you are the last Warden. The last link in the chain keeping the Harbinger bound."

Silence stretched between them.

Seraphine's mind raced. Her mother had known. She had fought to protect this Seal, had vanished to protect something more than just her daughter.

And now, Seraphine bore the same burden.

She clenched her fists. "If the Seal breaks—"

"The Harbinger will walk free."

The words rang through the air like a death sentence.

Seraphine exhaled, forcing herself to stay steady. "Then tell me how to strengthen it."

The Keeper studied her. "To mend what is broken, you must first understand it. And to understand it—you must uncover the past."

---

The Lost City of Oraveth

The Veil shimmered around them as the Keeper stepped forward. "There is a place where the truth still lingers. A city swallowed by time, hidden beyond mortal sight."

Seraphine's pulse quickened. "Oraveth."

She had read of it once, long ago—a city that had vanished from the world, consumed by war, its ruins said to be cursed.

The Keeper nodded. "There, you will find the answers you seek."

Caius sighed. "Lovely. A cursed ruin. That sounds safe."

Seraphine ignored him, determination burning in her chest.

If Oraveth held the truth—if it held any clue about her mother, the Seal, and the Harbinger—then she would go.

She turned to the Keeper. "How do we get there?"

The Keeper lifted his hand once more, and the Veil parted.

A door formed from the mist, its edges lined with silver fire. Beyond it, Seraphine saw a glimpse of something vast—stone towers rising against a storm-torn sky, their walls covered in ivy and shadow.

The lost city.

The path had been opened.

Seraphine took a deep breath and stepped forward.

Whatever awaited in Oraveth, she would face it.

---

The Silent Watchers

As Seraphine and Caius crossed through the threshold, the temperature dropped.

They emerged on the outskirts of a ruined city, its vast spires and broken streets stretching into the mist. A heavy silence hung over the land, thick and suffocating.

Caius muttered under his breath, rubbing his arms. "I already hate this place."

Seraphine ignored him. Her gaze swept the ruins, searching for anything alive.

Then she saw them.

Figures stood at the edges of the city—statues, at first glance. But the longer she looked, the more wrong they seemed.

They were too still. Their forms were too perfect, their faces carved in expressions of agony and despair.

Her stomach twisted.

They were not statues.

Caius swore. "Please tell me those aren't—"

Seraphine inhaled sharply. "People."

A curse turned to stone.

The realization sent a chill down her spine. What kind of power had done this? What kind of magic had turned an entire city into a grave of the damned?

Then, in the distance, something moved.

A flicker of shadow between the ruins. A presence that did not belong.

Seraphine tensed.

They were not alone.

---

The Unseen Threat

The air grew thicker.

Magic coiled around them, unseen but felt. The very ruins seemed to breathe, shifting in the mist.

Caius drew his sword, his voice low. "Something is watching us."

Seraphine steadied herself. "We need to move."

Whatever was here, it was ancient. And it did not want them in its city.

They had entered Oraveth.

Now, they had to survive it.