The ashes still danced in the wind.
They drifted like embers around the group, silent and slow, while Ivyra's words hung heavier than smoke.
> "She's not who she thinks she is."
Naia didn't speak. Her mouth parted slightly, confusion widening her eyes, but nothing came out. The wind tugged at her hair. Even Lyxra didn't speak. He stood by Ivyra's side, his star-dappled form faintly glowing in the aftermath of the creature's destruction.
"Ivyra…" Serren's voice broke the silence, soft but unsure. "What do you mean?"
"I mean she's not just a village girl." Ivyra's gaze stayed on Naia. "She's more. Something inside her… ancient. Buried. And it's beginning to stir."
Naia blinked. Her hands trembled as if the truth itched beneath her skin, aching to rise. "I don't—"
"You felt it," Ivyra interrupted gently, but firmly. "Back in the ruin. When you touched that gem, you didn't just see its memories. You woke something. And it saw you."
---
They didn't rest long after that. By dusk, they were already moving.
The forest turned dim and damp as they left the site of their encounter. The next ruin lay deeper into the west, but they were low on supplies, and Lyxra insisted they stop at a nearby village Serren remembered from her early wanderings.
> "Only a day away," she'd said. "Peaceful place. Traders pass through often."
They reached it just before twilight.
Nestled against the edge of a sleeping valley, the village of Tennel's Hollow was built of darkwood and stone, surrounded by wispy fields and flanked by moonflower trees. Its people eyed the travelers cautiously but welcomed them with curt nods and few questions. They were allowed to stay in an empty cottage at the village's edge—quiet and worn, but safe.
That night, the wind felt off.
Ivyra sensed it first. She stood on the porch, her arms crossed as she stared into the open dark. The stars were unusually dim. The moon had a pale gold hue, like it was watching. Listening.
Lyxra emerged from the shadows behind her.
> "The sky is too still," he said quietly. "No birds. No frogs. Even the wind forgot how to breathe."
"Something is coming," Ivyra murmured.
He nodded.
Inside, Serren dozed lightly in a chair near the hearth, her blade leaning beside her. Naia sat curled by the window, staring at the moon with wide, uncertain eyes. There was something about the night that stirred the ache in her chest again. The same one she'd felt in the ruin. The same one that kept humming louder every time Ivyra looked at her with those knowing, haunted eyes.
And then it happened.
A chime.
Like a silver bell.
Soft… and alien.
Naia stood suddenly. Her legs moved before her mind could catch up. She reached for the door, her heartbeat skipping. Behind her, Serren stirred.
"Naia?" she called out blearily. "What—"
The door creaked open.
A gust of wind burst through, smelling of frost and stars.
---
Outside, the night shifted.
The moon dimmed.
And then—he arrived.
A figure shimmered down from the sky, made of flickering light and void-dark robes. No wings. No feet. Just an elegant form, floating as though gravity was optional. His face was a perfect blur, like even the world itself refused to remember what it looked like.
Naia gasped.
"I found you," the being said. His voice echoed like song inside a cathedral—beautiful, terrifying, too large for the night. "Your spark… it is no longer sleeping."
Lyxra leapt between them, wings unfurled in a storm of celestial dust.
"Ivyra," he hissed.
But Ivyra was already moving.
In a blink, she was beside Naia, her blade drawn and thrumming with dark heat.
The celestial being tilted his head slowly. "The God Slayer… You are not what binds her. She will awaken. And when she does, your path will burn."
Naia's legs gave out.
She collapsed, eyes wide as silver light cracked along her veins—soft at first, then glowing. A mark bloomed on her collarbone: a spiral star, ancient and divine. She clutched her head as whispers flooded her ears. Voices she didn't recognize. Names she couldn't pronounce. Memories that weren't hers.
> "Stop—stop—what's happening to me?!"
"Ivyra!" Serren shouted from the doorway, sword in hand. "There's more of them! In the fields!"
And there were.
Shadows cloaked in celestial light—beings without form, drifting from the moonlight like dreams uninvited. The village erupted into chaos. Screams. Lights. Villagers running from homes as the air warped with divine pressure.
Ivyra turned to Lyxra. "Get Naia out of here. Now!"
Lyxra grabbed the trembling girl with his tail, hoisting her gently onto his back. His wings beat the air with thunderous grace.
Ivyra turned back toward the celestial, eyes like obsidian flame. "You made a mistake coming here."
The being didn't flinch. "You stand between a star and its rise. You cannot stop it."
"Maybe not," she growled. "But I can delay it."
She struck.
Darkness met light. Her blade collided with the being's form, and the world rippled. Trees cracked. The ground split. The very sky seemed to hold its breath.
Lyxra soared above the chaos with Naia clinging to his back. She could barely see through the blur of tears and glowing pulses. Her head felt like it was being split open by the weight of an entire cosmos pressing to be remembered.
Below, villagers screamed. The celestial beings passed them by, uninterested. They only wanted her.
Why?
Why her?
Naia whimpered as another vision flashed:
—A throne of light. —A voice calling her "Daughter of the First Star." —And Ivyra… kneeling before her, eyes full of sorrow.
---
Back on the ground, Ivyra battled the celestial being alone.
Serren fought in the field, trying to defend the villagers from the growing number of light-walkers. But it was Ivyra who drew their leader's attention. Her blade moved with fury—each strike honed from years of pain and exile.
But this enemy didn't bleed.
And he didn't die.
With a flick of his wrist, he sent Ivyra flying through the village square, crashing through the old well's stone rim. Blood ran down her cheek, but she rose, panting, grinning through the pain.
"You're stalling," the being said.
"I'm buying time."
Above, Lyxra disappeared into the forest edge with Naia.
The celestial turned to follow, but Ivyra hurled her blade—it sliced through the air, breaking across his side in a burst of cursed flame.
The being screeched—a sound like tearing silk across the stars. He stumbled briefly, light flickering.
Ivyra rose and whispered to herself, "You're not the only one tied to the old world."
---
The chaos burned long into the night.
Eventually, the celestial beings vanished—called back to wherever they had come from. Ivyra collapsed near the well. Serren found her minutes later, covered in dirt and blood, but alive.
"Where's Lyxra?" Ivyra croaked.
"He took Naia. I think… I think she passed out."
The village was in ruins. Fires raged in patches. People sobbed, mourning loved ones or running from what they'd seen. Tennel's Hollow would never forget this night.
Ivyra clenched her fists.
"It's starting," she said softly.
Serren looked at her. "What is?"
Ivyra turned her eyes to the fading stars. "The return of the Celestials."