Location: Northern Isles – Isle of Kordha, Circle Ruins
The sea was violent that morning—waves slamming the reinforced hull of the stealth vessel as it surged toward a jagged strip of land barely visible on any modern map. The Isle of Kordha, long believed swallowed by time, loomed ahead, wrapped in fog that shimmered like glass.
Damien, Nora, Seren, and Victor stood at the bow, silently watching the island emerge.
"This is where the Circle began?" Seren asked quietly, her voice barely rising above the wind.
Nora nodded. "Where they forged the First Oath… and where, I believe, it was broken."
Victor's voice was grim. "The satellite scan showed underground structures still intact. If something survived, we need to find it before the others do."
Damien gave him a hard look. "We're not the only ones after the truth."
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Location: Kordha – Inner Sanctum Ruins
The ruins were ancient yet oddly preserved. Runes glowed faintly beneath moss-covered stones. Vines had grown over most of the circular dais in the center of the main temple chamber, but power pulsed beneath the surface.
Seren's eyes widened as she ran her hand along an altar stone. "This wasn't just a temple. It was a prison."
Damien paused. "A prison for what?"
Victor knelt, brushing dirt off a carved sigil. "Or for who."
Nora deciphered the inscription aloud. "Let not the Three ever kneel. Let not love undo the seal."
Seren flinched. "That line… I've heard it in my dreams."
A sudden tremor shook the chamber. The dais cracked slightly, revealing a circular seal embedded in obsidian and silver. As they approached it, the markings flared to life.
And then… a voice spoke.
Not aloud, but within their minds—ancient and weary.
> Who seeks the truth bound in betrayal?
Who dares awaken what should have remained buried?
Damien stepped forward. "We do. Because someone already awakened it."
The voice paused. Then a slow, spectral form appeared—an echo of a woman in flowing robes, face veiled, eyes glowing violet-blue.
> Then you must know the truth. The Circle was not created to protect power… but to hide a sin.
The First Oath… was a lie.
They stared at her in disbelief.
> We swore an oath to bind the Void—a child born not from malice, but from forbidden love. The product of light and shadow. We feared it. We sealed it. But we were wrong.
Because love… is never a crime.
The ghost turned to Seren.
> You carry her echo. You, Flame. And he, your anchor.
She turned to Damien.
> The Oath will break fully… when the Third remembers who she is.
The chamber darkened.
> And she already walks among you.
The vision shattered. The echo vanished.
Silence.
Seren trembled. "They sealed the Third Force… a being of both light and dark… because they didn't understand her."
Damien's jaw clenched. "And now she's awakening. Somewhere in Tavara."
Victor nodded slowly. "Or right beside us."
Seren met their eyes. "If I am that force, then we must be careful… because the same love that binds me… could be what dooms us all."