The vault's shadows had quieted, but their presence lingered like a breath on the back of Umbra's neck. Outside, the sun hung low, painting the sky with bruised purples and burning gold.
Sunny sat on a broken stone, sharpening a rusted dagger with a practiced hand. He glanced up, meeting Umbra's gaze. "You said you weren't born a slave. What were you before all this?"
Umbra's eyes darkened. "A name lost to time. A memory buried deep beneath chains and dust. But the blade… it brought it back, if only in fragments."
He reached into his cloak and pulled out a cracked, faded pendant. The emblem on it was a shadowed sun, its rays twisted like claws.
"This belonged to my family. Once, we were guardians of the balance between light and dark — protectors of the realm. But betrayal shattered everything. I was cast down, forgotten."
Sunny studied the pendant. "So this power inside you… it's more than magic. It's legacy."
Umbra nodded. "And a curse."
A distant howl tore through the valley, chilling the air.
"We're not alone," Sunny said, rising quickly.
Umbra's hand tightened around the blade. "Then we need allies. If the past is hunting me, the future will demand a rebellion."