The wind was sharp that morning—dry and bitter, like the land had forgotten how to breathe.
Lyrius stood on the edge of the broken bridge, looking down into the valley swallowed by mist. The ruins of Aeras Hollow stretched before him, half-buried in ash and silence. A place once known for its libraries and the great Silver Bell Tower. Now, all that remained was rubble and the scent of burnt history.
He knelt and touched the stone. Warm.
"Someone was here… recently," he muttered, his voice barely more than the breeze.
A low hum vibrated through his fingers. A flicker. A pulse.
The mark on his right hand glowed faintly, responding to something buried beneath the ground. This wasn't just a ruin—it was a grave, a memory, and something else… alive.
He closed his eyes.
Feel it.
The lesson from the masked man echoed in his mind—"The world speaks. Your power isn't to bend it. It's to hear it."
The whisper came—quiet, trembling.
"He still lives… beneath the ash..."
Lyrius's eyes shot open.
"Who's there?" he called out.
No answer.
Only the sound of shifting gravel.
He turned—and froze.
A girl stood at the edge of the mist, cloaked in a ragged black coat stitched with faded runes. Her face was hidden beneath a hood, but her presence struck him like a thunderclap. Power—not raw, but ancient—wrapped around her like a shadow that had waited too long to be seen.
"You're not from this land," she said, voice smooth, distant.
Lyrius straightened. "Neither are you."
She didn't argue.
"I'm looking for something buried here," he said, watching her every move.
"No," she replied. "You're looking for something stolen."
He stepped forward. "You know what happened here?"
The girl turned slightly, and for the first time, he saw a shard of silver in her eye. Not color—metal. Like a blade had kissed her iris and left its mark.
"There are truths that only ashes remember," she said. "And liars who bury them in silence."
Before Lyrius could ask another question, the ground rumbled beneath them.
A low growl. A roar from the deep.
The earth cracked—and a monstrous claw burst from beneath the stones.
The girl didn't flinch. "You woke it."
Lyrius backed away, his hand glowing now, burning with energy.
"No," he said, stepping between the girl and the rising beast. "It was already awake."