A Truth Written in Blood

Chapter 19: A Truth Written in Blood

The night after the Harbinger's defeat was eerily calm. No creatures stirred in the Vale. No whispers haunted the trees. It was a silence soaked in fear—as if the land itself feared what came next. Even the moonlight filtering through the trees seemed subdued, as though mourning what had almost been unleashed.

Kael sat alone on the spire's highest ledge, silver eyes scanning the stars. Beside him, the silver stone pulsed gently, tethering him to something greater than himself. Each beat echoed the thrum of destiny, of a path forged not just by fate, but by choice and blood.

Selene found him there, her firestone dim for the first time since the bond was sealed. She sat beside him in silence, their shoulders brushing lightly. The air between them was filled with unspoken questions.

"Do you think it will ever be enough?" she asked, her voice barely above a whisper.

Kael didn't answer immediately. "I think enough stopped being the point the moment we were chosen."

Selene looked out over the forest stretching below. "The Gatekeeper showed us the past. But what of the future? What if we fail?"

"We don't," Kael replied with quiet resolve. "Because if we do… everything ends."

Below them, the others moved with purposeful silence. Elyra and the surviving council members prepared the spire's inner sanctum. The seal had held—for now. But the cost was growing.

Later that night, the council gathered beneath the ancient dome of the Moon Spire. Nhema, Thorne, Vexa, Corren, and a few others formed a circle of cloaked figures, each one armed, not just with weapons but with conviction.

Elyra stepped into the center, her expression grim. "The gate pulses stronger now. Each time Kael and Selene use their bond, it awakens. The seal was a test. A cage. But cages break, and tests end."

Thorne crossed his arms. "So what do we do? Wait until it tears itself open?"

"No," Selene said, her voice clear as she entered the circle beside Kael. "We find the source. The root of the curse."

"You mean the original bearer?" Vexa asked, narrowing her eyes. "The witch who betrayed Elyra?"

Elyra's expression darkened. "My sister. Nyxaria. The one who made the pact with the void and offered her blood to the abyss."

Corren let out a low whistle. "She's still alive?"

"Not alive," Elyra whispered. "But not gone either. Her soul is bound to the ruins of the First Sanctum. And her hatred feeds the gate's hunger."

"Then we sever that tie," Kael said.

"She won't make it easy," Elyra replied. "Even in death, she is dangerous. Twisted by darkness. She became something else."

Plans were made in haste. Maps unfurled, symbols etched into scrolls, protection runes painted in moonwater. Selene and Kael were marked with glyphs that pulsed in time with their breath. The journey to the First Sanctum would begin at dawn, joined by Vexa and Corren.

But while others prepared, Selene wandered deep into the moonlit forest. The firestone guided her, its glow flickering like a heartbeat. In a glade she had never seen, a silver pool lay still as glass.

She knelt beside it, drawn by an unseen force.

A vision erupted across the surface—herself in a future of flame. A crown of embers rested atop her head. Her eyes burned gold instead of green. She wielded fire that cracked the skies. Beside her stood Kael, his wolf form immense, his eyes no longer silver but glowing white with primal power.

They faced a black gate torn open to the heavens. Screams echoed from the other side. The wind carried whispers of the end.

Selene gasped and pulled back. Her heart raced.

She looked into the water again. Her reflection was normal—green eyes, silver-red hair. But the vision remained etched in her mind.

The future wasn't fixed.

But it was watching. Waiting. Hungering.

She returned to the Spire just before dawn, where Kael was already ready, blades strapped, expression unreadable.

"Did you see something?" he asked without looking.

Selene hesitated. "Yes. But it's not fate yet. Just a warning."

Kael nodded. "Then we carve our own way."

Together, they turned toward the path that led into the wilds. Toward the ruins where the past bled into the future. Toward a final truth that might break them… or bind them forever.