Chapter 43

The Councilor stepped out of the fog like she owned it.

Her robes weren't dusty or torn like the ruins around her. They were pristine. Impossibly clean. Snow-white and lined with sapphire thread—formal attire from an era Kye thought had been buried beneath centuries of silence.

The seal of the High Table was fastened to her left shoulder—a triangle within a circle, flanked by two downward-facing wings. The symbol glowed faintly, not with magic, but authority. Cold and old.

She stopped ten steps away from them.

And smiled.

It wasn't a cruel smile. Or a warm one. Just polite. Trained.

"Kaelion truly is impatient," she said, her voice steady and smooth. "He didn't even wait for the gate to open fully."

Renna raised her dagger. "You knew he was coming?"

The Councilor tilted her head. "We *sent* him."

That made everyone pause.

Even the boy took a half-step back.

Kye narrowed his eyes. "What do you mean 'sent'?"

The Councilor folded her hands in front of her. "Kaelion is not your enemy, Kye. He is your *completion*. The one born to fill in what you lacked when the world took your memories."

"I didn't *ask* to be completed."

"No," she replied calmly. "But you were *designed* to be."

Veika scoffed. "Designed? What the hell does that even mean? You think he's a program?"

The Councilor looked at her, then at the group as a whole.

"We feared what the Overlord might become. So we split him. Half of him was allowed to walk among the people—forgetful, drifting, powerless. The other was preserved deep underground, intact. Watching. Waiting. The moment Kaelion awakened, we knew the two halves would converge."

Renna took a slow breath.

"And Sena?"

The Councilor's expression didn't change.

"She was an unfortunate casualty. Her memory held too much... *raw will*. Enough to destabilize both halves. So we sealed her."

"You *sealed* a living person?" Veika spat.

"She wasn't living when we found her," the Councilor said softly. "She had already broken. We kept the pieces from vanishing."

Kye took a step forward.

"You're talking like all of this was a chess match. You stole lives. *Erased* truths."

The Councilor's eyes sharpened. "And you're angry. Good. Anger will help you survive what's coming."

Kye's grip on his sword tightened. "You're not here to help. You're here to control the outcome."

"We're here," the Councilor said, voice steady, "because you're not the only one approaching the Vault. Others have heard the call."

"Others?" Renna repeated.

"Remnants of old factions. Sleepers who never fully forgot. Even a few fractured warlocks from the Hollow Ward. The Citadel is waking, and you are at its center."

Kye stared at her.

"Why tell me this?"

The Councilor stepped closer.

"Because you don't have much time."

She pointed toward the Citadel's highest spire.

"The Vault isn't just where you'll meet Kaelion. It's the last anchor point of the world's true timeline. When it breaks open… so will *everything else.*"

Veika groaned. "Of course it will."

The Councilor ignored her. Her gaze remained fixed on Kye.

"We will not interfere. Not directly. But know this: if you survive Kaelion… if you survive *yourself*... you'll have to choose."

Kye raised an eyebrow. "Choose what?"

"To remain... or reset."

"What's that supposed to mean?"

But the Councilor didn't answer.

She reached into her robe and pulled out a small crystal—round, no larger than a marble. It shimmered with faint purple light.

She tossed it to Kye.

He caught it.

"Press it to the gate at the Vault's entrance," she said. "It will open for *you.* And only you."

Kye looked down at the crystal, then up again.

The Councilor was gone.

No fading.

No sound.

Just gone.

As if she had never existed.

---

They stood in silence for a long moment.

Finally, Renna spoke.

"Do we even know what we're walking into anymore?"

Kye turned the crystal in his palm.

"No. But we're already walking."

The boy crouched by the map he had drawn earlier and spread it out over a flat rock.

"The path to the Vault runs through the Echo Spiral. It's an old stair hidden beneath the Citadel's outer wall. But if we take it, we'll have to pass through the Eye."

Veika raised an eyebrow. "That sounds ominous."

"It is," the boy replied. "The Eye sees all who carry fractured memory. If it marks you… you might forget why you're there in the first place."

Renna frowned. "So we might lose pieces of ourselves just by walking through?"

"Only if you let the Eye *see deeper* than you do."

Kye looked toward the looming city.

"Then let's not give it the chance."

---

They moved at dusk.

The Citadel grew larger with every step—like a dream reshaping itself to match their fear. The fog began to thin near the outer walls, revealing jagged arches and shattered statues. Moss had overgrown the walkways, but faint trails remained.

Kye felt it the moment they stepped inside.

Not a trap.

Not magic.

A *presence.*

Like being watched by something older than gods.

The hallway they followed was lined with murals—mostly chipped away by time and neglect. But occasionally, an eye would remain, or a piece of a face. Some looked angelic. Some monstrous.

All stared *forward*—toward a narrow corridor at the end.

The Spiral.

The boy pressed a hidden tile on the wall.

Stone groaned.

The spiral stairs opened, descending into darkness.

They lit three torches and stepped in.

The stairs were tight, curved, seemingly endless. The deeper they went, the heavier the air became—dense with silence and whispers that weren't real.

Or maybe they were.

Halfway down, Veika suddenly gasped.

She reached out and grabbed Kye's arm.

"I can't remember my brother's face."

Renna turned to her. "You never told us you had a brother."

Veika blinked. Her hands trembled.

"I… don't know if I do."

The boy gritted his teeth. "It's starting."

Kye clenched the crystal in his hand.

"We move. Now."

They descended the last fifty steps in near silence.

When they emerged, they found themselves in a circular chamber.

At the center—

A giant sealed gate.

Black.

Silver-lined.

In its middle, a socket.

Kye stepped forward.

The gate pulsed once—recognizing the crystal.

He pressed it in.

The air warped.

The walls trembled.

And slowly—

The gate opened.

Just wide enough.

Just for him.

On the other side—

A vast, dark hall.

And standing at the far end…

Kaelion.

Waiting.

But beside him—

No Sena.

Instead, someone else stood in the shadows.

Someone even Kaelion kept his distance from.