Darkness.
Cold. Endless. Yet strangely comforting.
Elara floated in it, her mind suspended in a sea of voices—some warm, others warning. And then, among the thousands of whispers echoing in her soul, one stood out, clear as crystal.
"You are not Elara."
Her breath caught.
"You are Elyndra."
The name echoed through her spirit, lighting every corner of her hidden strength. Images flashed: her mother's arms, the day the gods fell, and the sealing of her name in the icebound dimension. The moment she was born, a beacon the demon feared.
Elyndra… daughter of the true Light.
---
Her eyes snapped open.
She was back in the cave chamber, lying on the platform. The crystal pulsed beside her, now dull, as if it had given all its energy.
The warriors rushed over.
"You're awake," Rael said, his brows furrowed. "You were out for two days."
"T-two days?" she whispered.
Porco peeked out from her bag, eyes wide. "She's alive! Someone kiss her forehead and call it divine rebirth!"
Ronin leaned closer with a dramatic hand motion. "Don't mind if I—"
Lior blocked him with a scroll. "No."
Thorne sighed in relief. "You scared us."
Daemon, ever silent, simply stood beside her, gaze locked. "You've changed."
"I remember," she whispered. "I remember my name. Elyndra."
A soft wind rippled through the cavern at the utterance. The fire dimmed. The earth shifted.
And something ancient stirred awake.
---
Back at camp, Elyndra sat with her legs curled up, hands wrapped around a mug of warmed tea Kairon had insisted she drink. It tasted like spiced smoke and something floral. She didn't ask.
"It means you're one step closer," Lior said gently. "To being who you were meant to be."
"But that's what scares me." She stared into the flames. "I don't know what Elyndra is like. I only know Elara."
Rael sat beside her. "Then let both live in you. Let Elara remind Elyndra what kindness is."
Ronin appeared, holding a withered flower dramatically. "Elara gave me this three weeks ago. If you die, I'm planting it on your grave."
"Do you think I'm dying?"
"No. But I want attention."
Thorne threw a pebble at him.
---
Meanwhile, the seven seals that had once locked their powers began to flicker faintly.
Daemon approached Lior. "Did you feel that?"
"Yes," Lior said, brows knitted. "Her awakening… it's shifting the seals."
Rael looked up from the fire. "We may be getting our powers back earlier than expected."
Porco grinned. "Oh, I knew befriending a secret ice princess would have perks!"
Elyndra blinked. "I'm not a princess."
"You are in this group," Porco declared.
Ronin jumped up. "Then I shall be your knight!"
Kairon stood. "No. If anyone's her knight, it's me."
"You literally stabbed her in Chapter 8," Ronin argued.
Thorne crossed his arms. "Technically, I saved her twice."
Rael groaned. "Here we go again."
---
Later that night, Elyndra stood alone at the cliff's edge, watching the stars.
The cold wind kissed her cheeks, but she welcomed it.
She whispered the name again. "Elyndra."
The stars pulsed.
From behind her, Daemon's voice was quiet.
"You know the demon will come for you soon."
"I do."
He stepped closer, barely a shadow beside her.
"When that time comes," he said, "you won't face him alone."
Elyndra turned to face him. "Why do you care?"
His expression didn't change, but his words lingered.
"Because you're the key. And… you looked at me like I wasn't a monster."
Then he walked away.
---
As dawn broke, the seal on Thorne's right arm flared with light.
He looked down.
"It's starting," he muttered.
Kairon's daggers hummed in their sheaths. Rael's sword glowed faintly. The others shifted in reaction.
Their powers were coming back—one by one.
And in the heart of the mountains, something far older had awakened.
A whisper.
A laugh.
The demon knew her name now.
And he would not let her live to speak it again.
---