The Citadel of the Council floated high above the crimson clouds, its towers black and seamless, carved from living obsidian. No door. No sound. Only the pulse — steady, ancient, and cold.
Inside, the air shimmered with whispers.
The link has awakened.
Impossible. The last Soulbinder was erased.
Then explain the surge.
At the center of the chamber, twelve figures sat in perfect symmetry, their faces hidden behind mirrored masks. Only one dared to speak above the murmurs — a woman's voice, sharp as cut glass.
Kael, she said, and the name hung like a curse. Unit 01. The defective.
Another voice answered — smooth, male, controlled. He was erased along with the rest of the prototypes. His return suggests interference.
The girl, someone murmured. The anomaly.
A pulse of light flickered across the room, displaying an image of Lyra — her eyes aglow with gold, her face half hidden in shadow. The sight drew a collective silence.
She's not supposed to exist, one whispered.
And yet she does.
The lead Councilor stood. Her mask reflected the light, turning her face into a starless void. Then it seems Elarion remembers what we chose to forget. The bond has reawakened — and with it, danger.
She turned toward the shadows. Bring in the Seeker.
A door of light formed and opened. From it stepped a tall figure clad in silver armor, a hood draped low over his face. He moved with mechanical precision — every step deliberate, every motion too smooth to be human.
My Lords, he said, his voice metallic yet melodic. You summoned me.
The lead Councilor regarded him. You know the defective.
Intimately, the Seeker replied. He was my brother.
The room seemed to pulse once, like a collective heartbeat.
You will find him, she said. And the girl. Retrieve the spark. Terminate the bond.
The Seeker inclined his head. And if he resists?
Then you will remind him what failure feels like.
The light dimmed. The Seeker turned and vanished through the portal, leaving only silence behind.
Far below, the ruins of Merinth were stirring awake. Lyra and Kael had made camp near an old water conduit, the moonlight glinting off the broken marble around them.
Lyra traced a symbol in the dust — a looping mark she didn't recognize, yet somehow felt familiar. This place feels alive, she murmured.
Kael looked up from where he was checking his weapon. Merinth was once a city of living code — thought, memory, and stone woven together. The Council used it to test creation itself.
And now it's just bones.
He nodded. Like me.
She smiled faintly. You really have to stop saying things that make me sad.
He gave her a look — almost amused, almost pained. You'd rather I lie?
I'd rather you hope.
Kael didn't answer, but his gaze softened. For a moment, they just sat there, the quiet hum of distant machinery beneath them.
Then Kael's head snapped up. The light in his eyes flickered red. Someone's tracking us.
Lyra froze. How far?
Close, he said. Too close.
The wind shifted — carrying a faint, metallic scent. Then came the hum — low, harmonic, familiar. Kael stiffened.
No, he whispered. It can't be.
What is it? Lyra demanded.
He stood, drawing his blade, eyes scanning the shadows. Run, Lyra.
I'm not leaving you.
Run!
The air behind them split open — a vertical seam of white light — and from it stepped the Seeker, silver and cold. His hood fell back, revealing a face almost identical to Kael's, save for the absence of warmth.
Hello, brother, the Seeker said.
Lyra's heart slammed in her chest. Brother?
Kael's grip tightened on his blade. You should be dust.
And yet, the Seeker said, I'm here to finish what you started.
He moved like lightning. Kael blocked the strike, steel meeting light, sparks scattering across the ruins. Lyra ducked behind a fallen column as the air filled with the sound of their clash — inhumanly fast, perfectly timed.
Kael's voice was raw. They sent you.
They trusted me to clean up your mistake, the Seeker said calmly. You were the first to feel. I'll be the last.
Kael lunged — their blades collided again, sending shockwaves through the broken city. Lyra's magic surged instinctively, golden threads wrapping around her hands.
The Seeker turned his gaze toward her. The anomaly, he said. You shouldn't exist.
Funny, Lyra said, standing her ground. That's what they told me the day I was born.
She threw her hands forward. Light burst outward, catching the Seeker off guard. Kael seized the opening, driving his blade into his brother's chest — but instead of blood, silver light spilled out.
The Seeker smiled. You can't kill what you are.
Then, with impossible speed, he vanished — the portal snapping shut behind him.
Kael stood trembling, his blade humming. He's not gone, he said. He's marking us.
Lyra stepped closer, heart still racing. That was your brother.
Kael's voice was low. Was. He's something else now.
Lyra reached out, touching his arm. We'll face him together.
He looked at her — and for the first time, his voice faltered. If he finds us again, he won't miss.
Then we'll make sure he doesn't get the chance.
The night wind rose, carrying the echoes of their fight into the hollow city. Somewhere, deep within the ruins, the machinery answered — a low hum, a promise of awakening.
Above them, the stars flickered — like eyes watching.