The morning light crept through the shattered blinds, cutting across the dusty room in pale gold lines.
Aiden sat by the edge of the bed, his hands clasped tightly in his lap.
Sleep had not come easily.
Elias stood by the window, his back turned, his sword leaning against the wall.
He hadn't said a word since the night before.
The silence between them felt heavy, thick with things neither dared to ask.
Finally, Aiden spoke.
"Elias, do you believe him?"
Elias's shoulders stiffened, but he didn't turn around.
"I don't know who that man was. But I know what I saw in his eyes. He wasn't lying."
Aiden looked down at his hands. "He called me Ariselle. He said I was his sister."
The sound of the name seemed to hang in the air, trembling like a note too fragile to hold.
Elias turned slowly, his expression dark. "Don't listen to him. Whoever he is, he wants to pull you back into something that already destroyed us once."
"Destroyed us?" Aiden's voice was soft, confused. "What do you mean?"
Elias said nothing.
The silence stretched until it became unbearable.
Aiden stood, stepping closer. "You said you'd protect me. But how can you protect me if you keep hiding the truth?"
Elias met his gaze, and for a moment, the calm broke.
His eyes burned with something raw anger, guilt, and something else he refused to name.
"You don't understand what remembering means," he said quietly. "If you wake everything inside you, the world will burn again. Heaven will come for you. And I…"
He stopped himself, his voice faltering.
"And you what?" Aiden asked.
Elias looked away. "And I'll have to kill you again."
The words hit harder than any blade.
Aiden took a step back, the air around him trembling faintly.
"I don't believe that. You wouldn't."
"I would," Elias said, his voice low. "Because if I don't, they'll take you. They'll tear you apart piece by piece until there's nothing left but the weapon you used to be."
Aiden's chest tightened. "Then what am I supposed to do? Pretend I'm just someone else? Ignore everything that's happening to me?"
"Yes," Elias said. "Ignore it. Live. Stay human while you still can."
Aiden's breath shook. "You're afraid of me."
Elias didn't deny it.
"I'm afraid of what loving you will make me do again."
For a long time, neither spoke. The only sound was the faint hum of the sword in the corner, whispering words neither of them wanted to hear.
Then, without warning, the light in the room shifted.
The air shimmered, bending like heat over stone.
A figure stepped out of the distortion the same man from the fog, calm and unhurried, as if he had simply walked through the veil between worlds.
Elias reached for his weapon instantly.
"Stay back."
The man raised his hand. "Peace, brother. I didn't come to fight."
"I'm not your brother," Elias snapped.
The stranger smiled faintly. "No. You were never mine. But she was."
Aiden stood frozen. His heart pounded painfully. "If you're really my brother… tell me my name."
The man's gaze softened.
"You were Ariselle of the Flameborn. The last light of the old world. My sister, my queen, my curse."
The air trembled with the sound of his voice. Memories flickered behind Aiden's eyes flashes of white armor, a golden crown, a burning city.
He stumbled, gripping the edge of the bed for balance. "Stop… please…"
The man stepped closer, his tone gentle.
"They erased you from time. But I carried your name in my blood. I searched every age for you, and now, finally, you've returned."
Elias moved between them again, his sword drawn.
"You're not taking him."
The man's smile faded. "You still think you can protect her, don't you? You think love makes you strong. But it only makes you weak."
Elias's eyes narrowed. "We'll see."
The man's gaze lingered on Aiden one last time. "You'll remember me soon. And when you do, you'll remember why you died."
Then he vanished into the air, leaving nothing but silence behind.
Aiden sank to the floor, shaking.
Elias crouched beside him, hesitant to touch.
"I won't let him hurt you," he said softly.
Aiden looked up at him, eyes full of tears.
"What if he's not the one who will?"
Elias froze, his throat tightening.
For the first time since they met, he couldn't find an answer.