Eira lay on the cold stone floor of the Ruins, her breath shallow, her body thrumming with exhaustion. The silence around her wasn't empty, it pulsed with a quiet throb, a rhythm older than the stone beneath her fingers. The magic lingered in the air like smoke after a fire, faint and trembling, as if reluctant to settle.
Her limbs felt like they had been stretched past their limits. Each lesson left her wrung out, like wet cloth hung too long in the wind. And still, the power inside her swelled. It was no longer a whisper. It howled behind her ribs.
"Focus," came Kaela's voice, sharp as ever.
Eira blinked slowly, her vision dragging itself back into place. Kaela stood across the chamber, arms folded, her silhouette framed by the flickering light of a nearby brazier. Her face was unreadable, stern as always but in the firelight, something softer crept through. A tightness around her eyes. A weight she never named.
Eira sat up with effort, her spine stiff. The floor bit into her palms as she steadied herself. Her hands still tingled, her skin warm from the magic she had summoned minutes ago. It was getting easier. That was what scared her most.
"I don't know if I'm doing this right," she said, her voice barely above a whisper.
Kaela didn't move. "It's not about right or wrong. It's about control."
Eira looked down again. Her fingers curled into her lap. There were no burns this time, but she could still feel the heat, like embers buried just beneath her skin. The fire didn't hurt her anymore. But she knew, deep down, it could hurt others.
"You said it was a gift," she murmured. "It doesn't feel like one."
"It rarely does," Kaela replied, her voice quieter now.
She walked forward, her steps soundless on the stone, and knelt beside Eira. For a moment, they sat in silence. Only the fire cracked, the shadows on the walls shifting with it. Kaela reached down and placed two fingers on the floor.
"This place," she said, "was once a sanctuary. Before the Veil turned the word into ash. Magic used to be honored here. Not feared. You feel that, don't you?"
Eira nodded slowly. She had felt it since the moment she first stepped into the Ruins. The pull. The memory of something lost.
Kaela turned her head slightly, her gaze resting on a faded mural etched into the far wall. It was cracked in places, but the figures still stood out, tall beings cloaked in light, their hands raised, magic flaring from their palms.
"You should know what you're becoming," Kaela said.
Eira frowned. "What do you mean?"
Kaela didn't look away from the mural. "The magic inside you…it's not just raw power. It's Mageborn."
Eira's breath hitched. "That's just a story. A legend."
"No," Kaela said, turning to her at last. "It's a truth the Veil buried. The Mageborn were real. They still are."
Eira felt the floor shift beneath her, or maybe it was just the weight of everything suddenly falling into place.
"You mean I'm…?"
"You're the last," Kaela said. "The last spark the Veil couldn't extinguish."
Eira stared at her. "How do you know that?"
Kaela hesitated. Her jaw clenched slightly, like she was deciding which version of the truth to offer.
"Because there's a prophecy. It speaks of a child born of fire and shadow. One who could restore the Mageborn… or destroy what little remains. The Veil has been hunting for you since before you could speak your name."
Eira lowered her gaze, her chest tightening. The questions tangled in her throat. Why her? Why now? She'd never asked for any of this.
"I didn't want this," she said softly.
"None of us did," Kaela replied, her voice almost gentle. "But here we are."
Eira's hands trembled. "Why didn't you tell me sooner?"
Kaela exhaled slowly. "Because knowing changes things. And once you know, you can't un-know."
Silence hung between them, thicker than before.
Eira looked up again. "You're Mageborn too."
Kaela flinched, barely, but enough. She didn't deny it.
"I was," she said. "Once. Before the world made me choose between hiding and surviving."
There it was.
A crack in Kaela's armor. Not weakness something deeper. Regret. A past she hadn't outrun.
"What happened to the others?" Eira asked. "Are there any left?"
Kaela stood slowly, her gaze distant. "Some vanished. Some forgot themselves to stay alive. And some… Some of us stayed. We watched. We waited."
"For what?" Eira asked.
"For you."
The fire cast long shadows now. Eira could feel it. The weight of it all pressing on her chest like a second heartbeat.
Kaela turned to face her. "You have a choice, Eira. You always will. That's the part no prophecy ever tells you."
Eira met her gaze, the fear still there, but quieter now. It curled around her heart, not to choke it but to protect it.
"I'm scared," she said.
Kaela nodded. "Good. That means you still care what happens next."
Eira rose to her feet, still unsteady but no longer unsure. Her voice was clear when she spoke again.
"Then teach me."
Kaela looked at her for a long moment, something flickering in her eyes. Not pride. Something older. Recognition.
"I intend to."