Chapter 18: The Dreamer Beneath the Dying Sky

Ash fell from the sky like snow.

Kael stood alone atop a blackened cliff, overlooking the ruined plains of Velhara. The once-golden grasslands now smoldered under a dying sun. The world hadn't changed—but he had.

His right eye burned, not with pain—but with clarity.

Everything felt louder. Sharper. Alive.

The Eclipse Sigil on his chest pulsed in rhythm with the wind. It was as if the very fabric of the world now whispered secrets to him—memories from a past he never lived, voices of ancestors he never knew.

> "Seris…" he muttered.

She was gone. Again. Just like everyone else.

But this time, she had left something behind—a flame. A tether. A direction.

---

Kael began walking.

The shadow of a ruined tower emerged in the distance—an old watchpoint from the forgotten wars. As he approached, a sudden shift in the air made him stop.

A presence.

Then—movement.

From behind the cracked walls, a figure in silver robes stepped forward. His face was hidden beneath a porcelain mask. His fingers shimmered with gold wires, like strings of a puppet.

> "Kael Ardyn," the voice was calm, mechanical.

"The Light welcomes you. Surrender the Shadow, and be forgiven."

Kael narrowed his eyes.

> "You're one of his dogs."

> "The Mask of Origin is the truth. You are the mistake."

Before Kael could move, the figure raised his hand. The ground ruptured as chains of golden light erupted upward, seeking to bind him.

But Kael was faster.

With a step, he vanished—Shadowstep. A new instinct. A new gift.

He reappeared behind the figure, blade drawn, slicing cleanly through the golden chains.

> "Forgiveness," Kael growled, "is for the dead."

The clash was brief—but brutal. The silver-robed puppet moved with inhuman precision, every strike guided by an unseen will. But Kael no longer fought like before.

Now, he moved with the fury of Seris's flame and the cold focus of shadow.

His blade found the puppet's core. With a final surge, he impaled it through the chest. The porcelain mask cracked.

> "You are… waking up too quickly…" the puppet whispered, before exploding into shards of light.

Kael stood in silence, chest heaving.

He wasn't alone anymore.

---

Later that night, he sat under a broken tree, eyes staring up at a sky littered with fading stars.

The dreams returned.

This time, not visions of fire—but of a tower made of glass, suspended above a crimson sea. And within it—a girl with chains of light around her arms.

Her eyes were red. But not Seris.

Younger. Scared.

> "Help me," she whispered in the dream.

"They're going to erase me."

Kael awoke in sweat.

The girl's voice echoed in his head.

---

In a hidden hall beneath the holy capital of Solvanna, the Mask of Origin stared into a scrying pool. Around him knelt twelve faceless puppets.

> "The Dreamer walks," the Mask murmured.

"And the girl has begun to remember."

He turned toward the black mirror.

> "Send the Seekers. Kill the flame. Break the chain."

And as the sky cracked with silent thunder—Kael's journey was only just beginning.

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✅ End of Chapter 18