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Chapter 35 - CHAPTER THIRTY-FIVE: The Sleepers Beneath the Mountain

Before the kingdoms divided,

Before witches wove the roots into prophecy,

Before flame and shadow wore names....

There were the Sleepers.

Ancient, buried, forgotten.

Neither gods nor mortals.

Neither demons nor spirits.

They were something else.

And they were not meant to wake.

But the world was changing.

The spiral burned hotter.

The chains had begun to whisper.

And the mountain that sealed the Sleepers cracked.

Mount Varethis, once called The Spine of the World, had long been considered sacred and cursed.

No map marked its summit.

No spell reached its core.

The witches of Witherwynd forbade entry.

The Skyborne never flew over it.

And Kaelreth, even in the height of his power, had never dared approach.

Now Seraphira stood at its base.

The mountain throbbed like a heartbeat.

It was calling her.

Not with words.

But with memory.

Theryn glanced up the slope. What lies beneath this place?

Elena's voice was hushed. The stories say… the first flame fell here. Not from above, but from within the earth.

Seraphira placed her hand on the stone.

The spiral glowed.

The mountain responded with a groan, long and low, like a beast yawning in its sleep.

Something stirred beneath the rock.

They entered the ancient passage carved long before kingdoms, marked in a language even the witches refused to speak.

The walls were warm.

And as they descended, they began to hear it:

Breathing.

Not loud. Not rhythmic.

But deep and old.

As though the mountain itself were alive.

At last, they reached a hollow chamber of black crystal and molten veins.

And there… they saw them.

Seven figures.

Tall as giants.

Curled in cocoons of obsidian.

Eyes closed. Chests unmoving.

Each one marked by a different spiral flame, root, wind, tide, bone, time… and one unknown.

Seraphira stepped forward.

And all seven opened their eyes at once.

"She has come," they said in unison, their voices a chorus of stone and starlight.

"The girl who broke the mirror."

"The flame that walks unbound."

"The one who can wake the world or end it."

Seraphira's breath caught in her throat.

Who are you? she whispered.

The center Sleeper, taller than all the rest, eyes glowing gold and void, spoke:

"We are what was left behind when the world chose crowns over balance."

"We are the first guardians."

"And now we ask: will you complete what was broken or bury it once more?"

The Spiral Flame on her wrist began to twist again, spiraling into a third ring she had never seen before.

A final layer.

Not flame.

Not shadow.

But choice.

Seraphira lowered her hand, the power singing through her blood.

I came to listen, she said.

Then listen well, the Sleeper whispered.

"The time of unity is near."

"But unity demands a price."

"You may wear every crown and bear every mark… but if you wake what lies deeper still, there will be no going back."

🌑 In the Underworld…

Kaelreth gripped the stone railing of the Hollow's highest tower, his flame flickering wildly.

She found them, he muttered.

Malkor looked pale.

You never told her about the Sleepers.

Kaelreth's gaze darkened.

Because not even I know what they truly are.

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