The Echoes Beneath
Far beyond Winterbell's northern gates, deep within the snow-kissed forests, the ancient ruins began to hum.
The runes carved into the stone weathered, half-buried, long forgotten glowed faintly with a color not seen in generations: violet.
The same shade as Caelan's eyes.
And someone was watching.
Not a spirit.
Not a ghost.
A man cloaked in ash-gray robes, his face unseen, his presence heavy like storm-slicked air. He whispered not to the wind, but to the stones themselves.
"He walks again… but not as the general."
"Let the crown remember."
Then he vanished.
In Winterbell
Khalid stood at the war table, flanked by generals and ministers, but his gaze lingered on the old map of Elaris a kingdom that no longer existed, yet lived on in his memories and sins.
He didn't speak much these days.
But tonight, he asked to personally lead an expedition to the border ruins.
"Old foundations are stirring," Khalid said, voice smooth, "and our enemies may seek what lies beneath."
King Aldred approved without question. Khalid was their loyal dog, after all.
But outside the council chamber, one man listened in secret.
Elior's Growing Doubt
Elior hadn't slept. His thoughts spun with whispers and fragments: Flynn's quiet panic, Khalid's sudden request, the unease in the halls.
That night, he went to the royal archives alone and found something peculiar.
An old report.
Stamped with the seal of Elaris.
Written five years ago.
"General Caelan Wintershade, elevated from common blood to High Commander, fell in battle against a traitorous noble. Body unrecovered."
The date matched the fall of Elaris.
Elior's breath caught.
Caelan.
Flynn's swordplay. His strategies. His stares into empty halls.
He didn't know the truth.
But now, he feared it.
And Flynn…
Flynn stood in his chambers again that evening, the same scroll clutched in his hand.
His heart beat louder than the wind outside.
Because something was calling him again.
And this time, it wasn't the ruins.
It was Seren.
Only he could see him only in shadow, only in silence.
But Flynn knew this truth now:
If Khalid reached the ruins first…
If the past woke too soon…
Everything he had rebuilt would fall apart.