Night settled over the shattered plains like a thick, suffocating shroud. The cold pressed against my skin as I approached the remnants of the Old Citadel—an ancient fortress once belonging to the Seven Realms, now reduced to broken stone and forgotten echoes.
I wasn't alone. I could feel eyes watching me from the dark, studying every step I took.
The wind carried a distant hum… a whisper, rhythmic and unnatural. It vibrated against my bones. This was why I had come.
As I stepped deeper inside the ruins, the ground pulsed faintly beneath my boots. A thin line of silver light crept between the stones, like something beneath the earth was trying to break free.
"Finally," a voice murmured behind me.
I turned sharply.
A figure emerged from the shadows—Lunara. Her raven-black hair flowed like liquid night, her silver eyes glowing faintly. Her presence was both dangerous and magnetic, the kind of beauty forged in darkness rather than blessed by it.
"You shouldn't be here," I told her.
She smirked, stepping closer. "And let you claim the relic alone? I'm not that generous."
I didn't respond. I couldn't. The ground trembled again—stronger this time. Dust rained from the broken arches overhead.
Lunara's playful expression vanished. "The Whisper is waking."
I nodded. "And if we don't stop it now, it will consume every realm."
Together we descended into the heart of the ruins, where a circular chamber lay buried beneath centuries of debris. In the center, a crystalline monolith pulsed with silver light. Symbols etched into its surface writhed like living serpents.
The Whispering Monolith.
Its voice crawled through my head—soft, seductive, promising power without cost.
Lies. All of it.
Lunara touched my arm. "It's stronger than I expected."
"It's because someone tried to break the seal," I said. "Recently."
She frowned. "By who?"
Before I could answer, a sudden gust of heat burst through the chamber. Flames spiraled upward, forming a figure—a woman with blazing golden hair and eyes burning like suns. Aria. Fireborn. Fierce, headstrong, and always unpredictable.
She stepped forward, her flames dimming to embers. "I didn't break the seal," she said before I could accuse her. "I followed the trail of whoever did."
"Then show yourself," Lunara growled into the shadows. "We know you're here."
The air distorted. A fourth presence revealed itself—pale, silent, hooded. The intruder's voice was hollow, drained of emotion.
"You are too late," the figure whispered. "The Seven Realms will return to their rightful ruler… and the Whisper will be his voice."
A shockwave of dark energy blasted outward. Lunara shielded me with her magic while Aria countered with a burst of fire. I charged forward, my blade drawn, but the figure dissolved into thin mist, vanishing as quickly as it appeared.
Coward.
But the damage was done.
Cracks spread across the Monolith. The whispering grew louder, violent, hungry.
Aria cursed. "If it breaks, the boundary between the realms collapses!"
Lunara grabbed my hand. "You're the only one who can stabilize it. Do it!"
I hesitated—not because of fear, but because I could feel something inside the Monolith calling specifically to me.
A voice I recognized.
My father's.
It struck me like a blade to the chest.
Impossible.
He'd been dead for years… but the whisper carried his tone, his calm authority, his undeniable presence.
"Come to me," the voice said.
My breath froze.
Aria looked at me sharply. "What is it?"
I didn't answer.
Instead, I stepped toward the Monolith, placing my hands on its fractured surface.
Its light surged around me.
And the voice spoke again—
"The Seven Realms are awakening… and so are you."