The sky was grey for three days.
No sun. No stars. Just clouds that never moved, as if time itself held its breath.
Evelyn sat on a stone near what remained of the sanctuary. The trees had stopped glowing. The birds no longer sang.
And inside her—silence.
Ever since the explosion of power, she felt empty. Her light had saved Lucien, had driven Seraphine and Alden away—but something had been lost in the fire.
She couldn't feel her magic anymore.
Lucien approached, slow and cautious. He carried a small cup of tea, steam curling in the cold air.
"You should drink something," he said gently.
Evelyn didn't move.
"I can't feel it," she whispered. "The power. The light. It's... gone."
Lucien sat beside her, placing the cup in her hands. "It's not gone. Just resting."
She shook her head. "It wasn't supposed to be like that. I nearly killed you, Lucien. I didn't even recognize myself when I let it out."
He reached for her hand. "But you stopped. You came back to yourself. That's what matters."
She looked down, voice breaking. "And if next time I don't?"
Lucien was quiet for a long moment. Then he said, "Then I'll be there to remind you. Like always."
For a while, they sat in silence. The kind of silence that doesn't hurt, but wraps around you like a blanket—warm, healing, shared.
Later that night, Evelyn walked alone through the forest ruins.
Every step echoed memories—of flames, screams, blood.
She reached the silver lake—the place where her mother used to sing. The waters were still.
She closed her eyes.
"Mom," she whispered. "What do I do now?"
The wind didn't answer. But the lake did.
Ripples spread across its surface, though nothing had touched it. Then—a figure appeared.
A woman in a white gown, her hair like starlight. Eyes that matched Evelyn's.
She gasped. "Mother?"
But the figure didn't speak. Only watched her with sadness.
Then behind the woman, shadows began to crawl. Dozens. No—hundreds. Dark creatures with glowing red eyes, twisted and wrong.
Evelyn stumbled back, but her feet were rooted.
The woman raised a hand—pointing toward the creatures.
And whispered only one word:
"Return."
The vision vanished.
Evelyn collapsed to her knees, gasping.
Return...?
To where?
To what?
Back at their camp, Lucien was sharpening his blade when Evelyn returned—pale, shaken.
"You saw something," he said at once.
She nodded. "My mother. I think. She showed me... an army. Something worse than Seraphine."
Lucien stiffened. "Worse than Seraphine?"
"They were coming from the mountains. Far beyond the Crimson Wastes."
Lucien's eyes darkened. "Then we don't have much time."
He stood, rolling his shoulders. "There's a place. A tomb. Hidden beneath the ruins of Aeredale. If your mother's spirit spoke to you, it means the old magic is waking. And if that's true... then we need answers from the dead."
Evelyn frowned. "You mean we're going to speak to ghosts?"
Lucien smirked. "Something like that."
She stared into the fire. "If I walk this path... there's no going back, is there?"
"No," Lucien said. "But you won't be walking it alone."
He offered his hand.
She took it.
But miles away, in the cold chambers of the Crimson Citadel...
Seraphine stood in front of a stone coffin. Her face was unreadable.
Alden watched from the shadows.
"I underestimated her," Seraphine murmured. "I thought she would break. But she's still rising."
"She's stronger than her mother," Alden admitted.
"That's why we need something more powerful than fear," Seraphine said. "Something that will break her soul, not just her heart."
She placed her hand on the coffin.
"You remember this one?" she whispered to Alden. "The child born before Evelyn. The one your wife hid from the world?"
Alden's face paled. "That child was stillborn. I buried her myself."
Seraphine's smile turned cruel.
"You buried a lie."
She whispered an incantation.
The coffin began to shake.
Cracks split the stone.
A cold mist spilled out.
And inside—a girl opened her eyes.
Skin pale as death. Eyes black like the void.
A twin Evelyn never knew she had.
"Welcome back," Seraphine whispered. "It's time to meet your sister."