Location: Tavara – The Palace Archives, Subterranean Vaults
The damp air carried the weight of forgotten centuries. Nora's torch flickered as she stepped further into the subterranean vault beneath the Palace Archives. The walls were lined with sealed scroll tubes, some made of silver, others bone, and a few carved from obsidian—symbols of power, secrecy, and danger.
Beside her, Victor scanned the area with a tactical flashlight, his movements precise. Behind them, two elite guards held their positions silently, alert for traps. Only Damien dared walk ahead, following the resonance he felt vibrating through the air like a magnetic pull.
"It's here," Damien murmured, stopping before a locked pedestal at the chamber's heart. "I can feel it."
Nora examined the locking mechanism. "Triple-layered seal. Ancient Tavarian script. Only someone bearing both Flame and Echo can unlock it."
Damien looked back at her. "Then let's do this."
Within seconds, Seren's presence graced the room. She had awoken stronger, more balanced—her inner power harmonized and tempered. She stepped to Damien's side without hesitation and placed her hand beside his on the seal.
Blue fire curled from her palm. Golden light sparked from his.
As their powers met, the lock dissolved with a gentle chime, revealing an ancient scroll encased in crystal.
Victor reached forward but hesitated. "Some things were buried for a reason."
Nora gave a short nod. "Which is exactly why we must read them."
Damien opened the crystal case and unraveled the scroll carefully. The parchment was weathered, but the ink glowed faintly—enchanted to last eternity.
As his eyes skimmed the script, his brows furrowed. "This wasn't just a prophecy. It's a warning."
Seren stepped closer, reading alongside him.
> When Flame and Echo unite under a blood moon,
The Third shall rise—neither light nor dark but the Void incarnate.
Born not of man, nor beast, nor spirit… but betrayal.
Only by unraveling the First Oath can peace return.
Victor tensed. "The Void incarnate? That… wasn't in any version of the prophecy we've ever seen."
"It was erased," Seren whispered. "Someone—maybe the original Circle—hid it. Because they knew the Third Force would not just challenge balance… it would rewrite it."
Nora exhaled. "So our union… it triggered something."
Damien's voice was low. "Something we don't understand yet."
---
Location: Eastern Range – Hidden Monastery Ruins
Far away, in the ruins of an ancient monastery nestled in the Eastern mountains, the wind stirred a veil of snow aside.
From beneath a slab of stone, a hand emerged—skeletal, glowing faintly violet. Not dead, not alive.
A whisper rode the wind: "The Oath is broken."
A child's laughter echoed—distorted, empty, haunting.
---
Location: Palace Archives, Moments Later
"We need to find out what the First Oath was," Seren said, rolling up the scroll. "And why it had to be broken to awaken this… Void."
Damien looked at her gravely. "And if the Void walks among us already?"
Victor handed him a dossier. "Then we find it. And we destroy it."
Nora interjected, "Not everything should be destroyed. Sometimes the only way to defeat the darkness… is to understand it."
They all fell silent.
Because in that moment, none of them could say for sure:
Was the Void coming?
Or had it already begun?