Chapter 38: Beneath the Painted Sky

They reached the edge of the old kingdom by nightfall.

The road had vanished miles ago. What remained was a trail of broken stones and dry grass, leading toward the hills where the stars seemed to gather above a strange ridge. The land ahead had no name on any map. It was called many things in old stories—the Hollow Hills, the Place Between, the Land Where Sky Burns.

But Elira could feel it now.

The fourth seal was near.

They set up camp beneath a large ridge, where an old arch stood carved into the rock. The sky above them was painted in strange colors—red and violet streaks cutting across the black. Even the stars seemed wrong, as if someone had stirred the sky with a brush.

"Doesn't feel like we're in our world anymore," Aeren said, staring upward.

Kael didn't speak. He was sharpening his blade again. Not for show, but because he knew they were close. Too close.

Elira knelt beside the fire, unrolling a scroll taken from the temple weeks ago. It showed a map of the seals, drawn in strange ink. Three had already been marked with ash.

Only one remained.

She touched the last symbol.

A circle drawn with light lines, like a sun inside a shadow.

"I don't think it's just another ruin," she said. "The fourth seal feels… different."

"Because it is," Aeren replied. "Every time we've come closer, the world shifts around it. The seals aren't just places. They're connected to us."

Kael finally spoke. "Then that means Rael is connected too. He's not just opening doors. He's using them to change something inside himself. Or inside us."

Elira didn't answer. She was still thinking about her dream. The silver-haired woman. The warning. The warmth in her chest.

"You would do it—if the ones you love were in danger."

She looked across the fire at Kael and Aeren. Both were staring into the flames, lost in their own thoughts.

She didn't want to lose either of them.

Not again.

---

Later that night, Kael couldn't sleep.

He sat on a rock away from the others, staring out at the hills.

Elira approached quietly. She sat beside him, wrapping her cloak tighter around her.

"You always find the highest place to brood," she said gently.

Kael gave a soft laugh. "Habit."

She looked at him.

"You still blame yourself."

He didn't answer right away.

"I followed the wrong path," he said. "I thought I could fix it by being stronger. By protecting you this time. But every step we take, we get closer to the same end."

Elira shook her head. "You're not the same. I'm not either. That matters."

"I'm afraid that won't be enough."

Silence fell between them.

Then Elira said, "In the first timeline… the one I came from… you weren't a monster at the start."

Kael looked at her, eyes soft.

"You were kind. You laughed more. You tried to carry everything alone. I saw that. I just… I didn't help the way I should've. I was too afraid."

His voice was quiet. "And I pushed you away."

"Yes," she said, honest and gentle. "But I think… you were trying to protect me from the worst in you."

He looked down. "Maybe. Or maybe I was just afraid you'd see how broken I really was."

Elira touched his hand.

"You were never broken. Just lost."

---

A little later, Aeren returned from the woods with a few berries and roots he'd gathered. He paused when he saw Kael and Elira sitting close, speaking quietly. He didn't interrupt.

Instead, he sat down near the fire and quietly prepared food.

He wasn't jealous. Not exactly.

But something inside him still ached.

Elira always looked softer when she was with Kael. Like she remembered something worth saving.

But Aeren knew that kind of love didn't come easy.

He would wait. Stand by her. No matter what choice she made.

Even if it broke him.

---

By morning, the sky had changed again.

The colors were deeper, swirling like a painting left in the rain. The air felt heavy. Elira woke with a pressure in her chest, like something was pulling her forward.

They walked in silence for hours.

Until they found it.

At the heart of the Hollow Hills, hidden beneath a wide arch of stone, stood a smooth black door with no handle. No keyhole. No carvings.

Just a mirror-like surface that reflected the three of them standing together.

But in the reflection—

They were alone.

Kael wasn't holding his sword.

Aeren's cloak was torn and bloody.

Elira's reflection… was glowing.

"Is this it?" Aeren asked.

Elira nodded slowly. "Yes. This is the fourth seal."

Kael stepped forward and raised his sword.

The door didn't react.

He tried to strike it—his blade bounced off like it had hit glass.

Aeren reached for it, but the door shimmered and pushed him back.

Only Elira remained.

She took a deep breath and stepped closer.

The moment her fingers touched the surface, it rippled like water.

A voice echoed in her head.

"Are you ready to choose?"

She froze.

Kael grabbed her arm. "Don't."

But the voice came again.

"One choice opens. One choice ends."

Elira pulled her hand back. The door calmed.

Kael looked at her, worry in his eyes. "Did it speak to you?"

She nodded. "It wants me to choose. Now."

"Then we're not ready," Aeren said. "We don't even know what's behind it."

Elira looked up at the strange painted sky, at the last seal waiting to be opened.

And in her heart, she knew—

Rael was already close.

And time was running out.