They didn't speak as they ran. The valley warped around them, mist growing heavier, pressing like wet cloth against their faces. Emberlynn pushed herself forward, even as her lungs burned. Behind them, the sky twisted. Something was coming—not a creature, but a force. Ancient. Malevolent.
Her mind reeled.
The Paragon Key. The real Demon King. The Hollow Court.
Every truth she thought she knew shattered like glass underfoot.
"Malphas," she gasped, "where are we going?"
"Somewhere they won't follow."
She didn't ask how he knew that. She trusted him—a strange, dangerous kind of trust that made no sense. Even if Velrian was right. Even if Malphas was only bait.
The trees grew closer together. Thorny limbs clawed at their clothes. Emberlynn stumbled, and Malphas caught her before she fell.
"Are you okay?"
"Just keep going."
They burst through the final thicket and into a clearing—a circle of standing stones worn with age and covered in glowing runes. The moment they stepped inside, everything stilled.
The mist stopped creeping. The wind hushed. Even the wrongness chasing them seemed to hesitate.
Malphas knelt and pressed his palm to the center stone.
"Sanctum of Echoes," he said. "Old magic. Older than the seal."
Emberlynn turned slowly, eyes scanning the monoliths.
"Why haven't you brought us here before?"
"Because this place isn't meant to be found. Not unless it wants to be."
The runes flared with pale blue light. The air shimmered, and a low hum vibrated through the earth.
Emberlynn clutched her shoulder. The mark was reacting.
"Something's happening."
"It's responding to the truth. The Key is waking. You're starting to remember."
Her breath hitched. "Remember what?"
Malphas stood. His face was unreadable.
"Who you were. Before."
The light from the stones pulsed like a heartbeat. Suddenly, Emberlynn staggered back, eyes wide.
Visions. Fractured and flickering.
A throne of obsidian. A crown she didn't want. Fire raging through a sky torn open by screams. Her voice—older, colder—commanding legions of shadow.
"Stop," she whispered. "This isn't me."
"It was."
Malphas moved closer.
"You weren't always mortal. The Key wasn't forged to contain you. You are the Key. You chose to forget."
Her legs gave out. She hit the ground hard.
"Why?"
He knelt beside her.
"Because you loved him. The Demon King. And when you saw what he became, you sealed him away... with your own soul."
Tears sprang to her eyes.
"Velrian said you feared the King. Is it because he was you?"
Malphas was quiet. Pain flickered behind his eyes.
"No. I feared what I would do if I ever saw him again. Because once, I followed him."
The silence between them cracked like old ice.
A shadow passed over the moon.
Then another.
Emberlynn stood, steadying herself. The air felt heavier, almost oily. The light from the stones dimmed.
"They found us."
Malphas cursed. "They shouldn't have been able to."
Figures emerged from the mist.
At first, they looked human. Soft faces. Familiar shapes. But their smiles were wrong—too wide, too brittle. And their eyes were hollow.
"Shadows in skin," Emberlynn whispered. "Like Velrian said."
The lead figure stepped forward. It wore the face of her mother.
"Ember," it cooed. "Come home. You're tired, aren't you? Let me carry your burden."
Malphas drew a blade of black fire.
"Don't listen to it."
But Emberlynn didn't move.
Her hands trembled. Her thoughts twisted. That face—it had rocked her to sleep as a child. Kissed her forehead. Now it stood with eyes like tombs.
"You left me," Emberlynn said. "You died."
The creature's smile widened. "Because you sealed me away, child."
Malphas threw his blade.
It struck the creature in the chest, and it burst into smoke, hissing like boiling blood.
"Move!" he shouted.
The other shadows lunged. Emberlynn raised her hand, not knowing what she was doing—and light erupted from her palm. Pure, blinding, white.
The shadows shrieked and recoiled.
"What the hell was that?" she asked, shaking.
Malphas grinned. "That was you."
The runes brightened again, creating a barrier. The creatures snarled outside the circle but didn't dare enter.
Emberlynn was panting. Her limbs trembled. Her mind felt like it was splitting in two.
"I can't do this."
Malphas took her hands.
"You already are."
She stared at him.
"If I really sealed the King... what happens when he wakes up?"
He looked down.
"Then we find out what you were willing to die to stop."
Her mark blazed.
The wind howled.
Far above them, a red star flickered to life in the night sky.
The prophecy had begun.