The deeper Kael went, the louder the river became. It no longer sounded like a whisper but a heartbeat, steady and alive. The glow under the water lit the rocks around him, painting them in streaks of pale blue. Every few steps, he had to duck under a hanging stone or step over a jagged rise in the floor.
He kept one hand on the wall, feeling the rough surface as if it might vanish without touch. The cave air grew warmer now, the kind of warmth that came from something living — or something burning far away.
After a while, the tunnel opened into another chamber. It was enormous, the ceiling lost in shadow. The river flowed right through the middle, splitting the floor like a scar. On the other side, Kael could see carvings etched into the wall — old, deep, almost alive.
He crouched near the edge of the river and stared. The water was bright here, brighter than anywhere before, glowing from its very heart. It reminded him of veins under the skin.
He spoke softly. "You brought me here for a reason, did you not?"
For a moment, there was nothing. Then the pulse returned, a single flash of light beneath his skin.
Yes.
He swallowed. "So what is this place?"
The heart of what was lost.
"That is not an answer," Kael said, his voice shaking.
No, the voice agreed. It is not.
He sighed, rubbing his forehead. The reply did not help, but somehow, it felt honest.
He looked back at the carvings. Shapes of people, creatures, and something else — circles connected by lines, symbols like the ones from the last memory. Only now, when his light touched them, they shifted. The stone itself seemed to breathe.
A low hum filled the air, the same tone that had haunted him since the ring first burned his hand. The carvings shimmered, and the ground trembled lightly under his feet.
Kael took a careful step back. "What are you doing?"
Not I, the voice said. You.
"Me?" He laughed, though it sounded hollow. "I am just trying to survive."
And yet the stone listens to you.
He opened his mouth to argue, but the floor cracked before he could speak. The glow from the river surged, flooding the chamber with light. He shielded his eyes, stumbling backward.
When the light dimmed, something stood in front of him. A figure — tall, cloaked, faceless. It looked like shadow given form. But in its chest, faint and pulsing, was that same blue light.
Kael froze.
The voice whispered inside his mind, quieter now. A fragment remains. What was broken remembers you.
The figure moved, tilting its head as though studying him. Then it spoke — not aloud, but through the same strange connection that linked him to the ring.
"You should not be here."
Kael stared. "I have heard that before."
"Then you did not listen."
The figure raised its hand, and the water behind it rippled upward like a living wave. The sound was deafening. Kael stepped back, his heart pounding so hard he thought it might break.
"I do not even know what I am supposed to do!" he shouted.
The shadow's voice softened. "Remember. Or the world will end again."
The wave crashed.
Kael threw himself aside. Water exploded over the rocks, knocking him down. The cold bit into his skin. He rolled, coughing, trying to find his balance. But the figure was already fading, its body melting into the light until only the faint hum remained.
When the sound finally faded, the cave fell silent again.
Kael sat there, drenched and shaking. His thoughts ran wild — flashes of towers, the woman with gold eyes, the voice that called him "ours." Everything tangled into one breathless knot.
Slowly, he looked down at his palm. The blue light was fading, pulsing weaker than before.
He whispered, "What are you turning me into?"
No one can turn you into what you already are.
He closed his eyes, not sure if that was comfort or another curse. Then he pushed himself to his feet, water dripping from his clothes.
Somewhere ahead, the tunnel continued — and he followed, one step at a time, because that was all he could do.
The ring pulsed again. Faint. Reluctant. But alive.
And Kael kept walking toward whatever waited in the dark.