The battle was over.
Shards of broken illusions littered the clearing. The fire was gone, smoke rising in curls. Blood dripped from Elira's arm, and Coker's knuckles were raw, but no one moved.
They were all staring at the spot where Kairo had vanished.
His words still echoed in the silence.
"You're not Kael."
"And neither was your mother."
Violet Girl—still unnamed—stood frozen.
She didn't blink. Didn't breathe.
Just stared at the empty air where Kairo had stood.
Naia stepped closer. "Hey... are you okay?"
No response.
Coker frowned. "We should talk. You know—figure out what that meant."
Violet slowly turned toward him.
And for the first time since they met, there was fear in her eyes.
Real fear.
"I need... air," she whispered.
Then she walked off into the forest, hands trembling.
Coker moved to follow, but Elira caught his arm.
"Let her be. For now."
"But—"
"She's remembering something," Elira said. "And memories like that… they don't come easy."
[A Few Minutes Later – Deep in the Trees]
The wind was sharp.
The leaves hissed like snakes.
Violet Girl knelt beside a mossy boulder, gripping her arm, trying to breathe.
Something was crawling under her skin.
A pressure behind her eyes. A rhythm in her bones.
Kael…
Kael…
Kael…
She didn't know him. But she knew that name.
It haunted her dreams.
She touched her mark.
The violet spiral shimmered faintly.
Suddenly—
Flash.
She gasped.
Her mind shattered for a second. Then rebuilt.
She saw a woman.
Silver hair. Soft eyes. Wrapped in a torn white cloak.
She was kneeling. Crying.
Blood soaked her clothes.
In her arms—
A baby. Wrapped in a glowing blanket.
The woman's voice shook.
"Don't let them use you like they used him."
Behind her, flames roared.
A battlefield.
A fallen man in red—charred and broken.
Kael.
The woman kissed the baby's forehead.
"Your name... is Lira."
Violet Girl—Lira—jerked back to the present.
Her chest heaved.
Sweat poured down her neck.
"I… I remember…"
She grabbed a branch to steady herself.
"My name is Lira."
"And she was my mother."
[Later – Back at Camp]
The group had settled into a half-silent wait.
Elira cleaned her blade. Naia stared at the trees. Coker paced.
"She's been gone too long," he muttered. "What if something found her? Or she—"
Before he could finish, she stepped out of the trees.
Lira.
But now... something had changed.
Her eyes were sharp. Her back straighter. Her mark brighter.
And she spoke before anyone could ask:
"My name is Lira.
And my mother fought beside Kael… until he lost control."
Everyone went quiet.
Even the wind seemed to pause.
Elira stood. "What do you mean? Lost control how?"
Lira walked to the fire, staring into the coals.
"They were part of the first Vessels. Seven in total. Kael was the strongest. My mother, the second."
Naia whispered, "She was a Vessel too?"
Lira nodded. "Yes. She carried the god of Balance. Its mark was silver. They believed she could keep Kael stable."
Coker sat down slowly. "But something went wrong."
Lira closed her eyes.
"He wasn't corrupted."
"He was broken."
[Flashback – Years Ago]
Kael screamed in the rain, hands glowing black.
His mark bled onto his chest, dripping like ink.
He stood over the bodies of kings and beasts.
And in the shadows, a child cried.
Lira, no older than five, hiding beneath her mother's cloak.
The woman—Selya—stepped forward, placing her hand on Kael's arm.
"Come back."
Kael's voice cracked. "I can't."
"You're stronger than this."
"No," he whispered. "I'm not."
A blast of power exploded from him, hurling her back.
And in that moment...
Lira saw his eyes.
Not angry.
Terrified.
[Present]
"My mother sealed him away," Lira said softly.
"She used her own life to trap his spirit beneath the mountain."
Coker stared. "Then… Kael's dead?"
Lira shook her head. "No."
Elira's voice was a whisper. "His body was destroyed. But his mark... his will... passed on."
Lira looked at Coker.
Directly. Calmly.
"It passed to you."
Coker blinked. "No. No no no. I'm not—"
"You're not him," she said quickly. "You're not Kael. But his power chose you."
Naia frowned. "Why him?"
"I don't know," Lira said. "But my mother once said this..."
She knelt by the fire, eyes distant.
"The one who carries Kael's mark must be the one who breaks the chain."
"Or repeats the end."
A cold wind passed through them all.
Naia's voice shook. "So we're just... time bombs?"
"No," Lira said. "We're keys."
Elira nodded. "And someone's trying to force the lock open."
Coker stood.
He looked around at the others.
Naia—the storm, always calm until she snapped.
Elira—the blade, steady but bleeding inside.
Lira—the ghost, born from fire and silence.
And him—the flame that didn't know what it could burn.
"I don't care who had this mark before," Coker said.
"I'm not Kael. I'm not a god. I'm not some chosen weapon."
He clenched his fists.
"I'm just a kid from the outer towns who got lucky and stupid."
"And if this mark wants to end the world—then it picked the wrong body."
Lira smiled faintly.
"You sound just like him."
Suddenly—Elira froze.
She raised her blade.
"Something's coming."
They all stood, ready.
From the shadows of the forest came a new sound.
A slow, metallic knock.
Knock.
Knock.
Knock.
A figure emerged—cloaked in red chains, dragging a coffin behind him through the dirt.
Coker stepped forward.
"What... now?"
The figure spoke with a voice like rust and thunder.
"I am the Herald of Binding."
"And your time is up."