The light from the third fragment pulsed like a living heart in Liam's hands. Warm and steady, but somewhere beneath its golden hue was a deeper current—a whisper just beyond comprehension, like a voice he couldn't quite hear yet felt resonate through his bones.
He staggered back, eyes wide as the vision hit him.
A ruined cityscape cloaked in twilight. Cracked pavement, buildings half-consumed by creeping roots and black fog. And there, standing at the center, was a figure.
She looked like Aeris.
But her eyes were wrong—too bright, too knowing. They shimmered with shifting hues of silver and violet, swirling like galaxies lost in chaos.
And around her?
Men and women knelt, their eyes vacant, as if the very soul had been drained from them. The figure raised a hand—and the fog obeyed.
Then it all disappeared.
"Liam!" Aeris's voice snapped him back. Her hand gripped his shoulder, her gaze sharp with worry. "What did you see?"
Liam looked around—Kael and Nyra were watching him too. He hesitated.
"Something… in the human world," he finally said, voice uneven. "A city. Ruined. And… someone who looked like you."
Aeris's expression faltered. For a moment, just a flash, her mask cracked. "What did she do?" she asked quietly.
"She controlled the mist… and people were kneeling before her. Like they'd lost their will."
A beat of silence passed between them all.
Nyra folded her arms. "Could it be a doppelgänger again?"
"No," Liam said. "It felt… older. Like something from before this even began."
Aeris turned away slightly. "There are things about me I haven't told you."
Kael's brow furrowed. "We figured."
"I've never lied to you," she said firmly. "But I've withheld things. Because I wasn't ready. Because I wasn't sure if I remembered them right."
Liam stepped forward, lowering the fragment. "Start telling us now."
Aeris looked at him, something flickering behind her eyes. "Fine. But not here."
They set up camp near the edge of the Vale, far from the ruins of their illusions. The sky above was a canvas of stars, unbothered by the pain of mortals below.
Aeris sat on a fallen log, her hands wrapped around a flask of warmed tea Kael had brewed. She stared into the fire.
"I wasn't born in the magical realm," she said finally.
Nyra blinked. "What?"
"I was from your world," Aeris continued. "I don't know where exactly—my memories were damaged when I first crossed over. I was young… maybe twelve? Thirteen? I was running from something—I don't know what—but I remember mirrors. Everywhere. Then light. Then pain."
Kael leaned in. "So you're human?"
"I was." She met his gaze. "But I'm not entirely sure what I am now."
Liam's mind spun. It made sense. Her familiarity with their world, her instincts, her ability to connect dots faster than anyone else.
"The girl in your vision," Aeris said to Liam. "It's not the first time she's appeared. I've seen her in dreams… or memories. I think she's what I could have become, had things gone differently."
"Or maybe," Nyra added darkly, "what someone wants you to become."
A long silence stretched.
Then Kael stood. "So, what now? We've got three fragments. Four more to go. And this one's telling us there's something wrong on the other side."
"There always was," Aeris muttered. "We just weren't looking hard enough."
Suddenly, a sharp rustle cut through the night.
Nyra was on her feet instantly, summoning a shimmering orb of protection.
From the forest, a figure stepped into view.
Not a monster. Not a shadow.
A man in formal robes. His presence exuded power, and his hair—silver streaked with dark strands—floated slightly in the night air, as if moved by unseen energy.
"I come in peace," he said smoothly. "I've been watching."
Liam narrowed his eyes. "Who are you?"
"My name is Vaelen. An emissary… from someone who believes your mission aligns with hers."
Aeris tensed. "Whose emissary?"
Vaelen smiled faintly. "Lady Arienne."
Everyone froze.
Nyra's voice dropped to a whisper. "But… she's supposed to be dead."
"She was," Vaelen replied. "But even death bends to purpose."
A low wind blew through the clearing. Aeris slowly stepped forward.
"Arienne was the heroine of the realm… until she vanished. Her disappearance sparked the war of succession in the Outer Isles."
"Not a disappearance," Vaelen corrected gently. "A sacrifice. She crossed into your world… years ago. Chasing a fragment that shouldn't have existed."
Liam's pulse quickened. "And now she wants what?"
"To meet you," Vaelen said. "Before someone else does."
He tossed something toward Liam—a small crystal sphere, no larger than a marble. Within it, images flickered: a tall tower bathed in moonlight, and a path marked with three stones, each glowing faintly.
"Take this. Follow the path. And come prepared."
Then he turned and vanished into the mist as suddenly as he arrived.
No one spoke for a long time.
Then Aeris whispered, "If Arienne's alive… and she's acting from the human world, then whatever's happening—it's far bigger than we thought."
Liam nodded slowly. "And we're running out of time."