The tremor continued for nearly a minute.
Then everything became still.
Too still.
Kael stood before the enormous black eye beneath the academy, unable to look away.
**Eclipse.**
The name felt familiar.
Not like a forgotten word.
Like a piece of himself.
Seraphine watched him carefully.
"You shouldn't stay here."
Kael looked at her.
"Why?"
"Because the more Eclipse awakens, the stronger your connection becomes."
"Isn't that a good thing?"
"No."
Her answer was immediate.
Kael frowned.
"Why?"
"Because ten thousand years ago, Eclipse didn't become this."
She pointed toward the enormous eye.
"It was something much smaller."
Kael looked at the Abyssal Heart.
"What happened?"
Seraphine's expression darkened.
"He was created from the Void."
"And you?"
"I found him."
She looked at Kael.
"You were the one who gave him a name."
Kael slowly remembered.
A small creature.
Black fur.
Silver eyes.
It had followed him everywhere.
He remembered carrying it through a ruined city.
Feeding it.
Talking to it.
Training with it.
And then—
another memory surfaced.
A battlefield.
Thousands of celestial soldiers.
Kael standing alone.
Eclipse beside him.
Something had gone terribly wrong.
Kael touched his forehead.
"I can't remember."
Seraphine nodded.
"That's because the memory was sealed deliberately."
"By whom?"
She looked toward the sky.
"By the people who defeated you."
Kael turned toward the academy's exit.
"Then we're leaving."
Lyra looked surprised.
"Where?"
"The Ancient Ruins of Elaris."
Seraphine's eyes narrowed.
"You've seen the quest."
Kael looked at her.
"You know about the system?"
"I know more about it than you think."
"Then tell me."
"Not yet."
Kael sighed.
"Everyone keeps saying that."
Seraphine smiled.
"Because every answer you receive will create ten more questions."
Kael walked past her.
"Fine."
He stopped.
"But I'm still going."
Lyra followed him.
"So am I."
Kael looked at her.
"You don't have to."
"I know."
"Then why?"
Lyra smiled faintly.
"Because I'm curious."
Kael laughed.
"That's dangerous."
"So are you."
By evening, Azure Wind Academy had been evacuated.
The celestial soldiers had disappeared.
But the city remained under lockdown.
No one was allowed to leave without permission.
Kael, Lyra, Seraphine, and Hale gathered in an abandoned meeting room.
Hale placed an ancient map on the table.
"Elaris is here."
He pointed toward a region far beyond the eastern mountains.
"It takes approximately two weeks to reach."
Kael frowned.
"Two weeks?"
"On foot."
"How long with a flying beast?"
"Three days."
Kael smiled.
"Then we'll find one."
Hale looked at him.
"You aren't seriously planning to leave during a celestial invasion."
"Exactly why I'm leaving."
"You could be walking into a trap."
Kael looked at the map.
"I've spent eighteen years knowing nothing about myself."
He touched the broken-star symbol.
"Now that I finally have a clue, I'm not stopping."
Hale studied him.
Then sighed.
"You're exactly like the person from the ancient records."
Kael looked up.
"What did they say about him?"
Hale hesitated.
"They called him arrogant."
Kael smiled.
"Sounds accurate."
"They also called him fearless."
Kael's smile faded.
"That sounds less accurate."
Seraphine laughed quietly.
"You're becoming more like yourself."
Kael looked at her.
"That's what worries me."
That night, Kael couldn't sleep.
He sat outside the academy dormitory, staring at the stars.
Lyra eventually joined him.
"You should rest."
"So should you."
"I couldn't sleep."
"Neither could I."
They sat in silence.
After a while, Lyra asked:
"What was she like?"
Kael looked at her.
"Who?"
"Your mother."
Kael was quiet.
"I don't know."
"You saw her memories."
"Fragments."
"What do you remember?"
Kael looked toward the sky.
"She was afraid."
Lyra waited.
"Of what?"
"Of Heaven."
Lyra frowned.
"Why would Heaven fear your family?"
Kael smiled bitterly.
"Maybe my family wasn't the one being hunted."
Lyra looked at him.
"Then who was?"
Kael touched his pendant.
"Me."
A silence followed.
Lyra slowly reached toward his hand.
Her fingers touched the pendant.
"You don't have to figure it all out alone."
Kael looked at her.
Their eyes met.
For a moment, neither spoke.
Then Lyra withdrew her hand.
"I'll see you tomorrow."
Kael smiled.
"Good night."
She walked away.
Kael watched her disappear into the dormitory.
The system appeared.
> **[Emotional bond detected.]**
>
> **[Relationship with Lyra Valen: Trust — 31%]**
Kael stared at the notification.
"Why are you measuring that?"
No answer.
He laughed quietly.
"You're ridiculous."
The next morning, they prepared to leave.
Kael checked his supplies.
Food.
Water.
Healing potions.
Weapons.
The map.
The Starfall Pendant.
Then the system appeared.
> **[New destination confirmed.]**
>
> **Ancient Ruins of Elaris**
>
> **Distance:** 1,274 km
>
> **Known Danger:** Extreme
>
> **Hidden Reward:** Memory Fragment
>
> **Additional Information:**
>
> **A Sovereign relic may be present.**
Kael's eyes lit up.
"A relic?"
Seraphine overheard him.
"Don't get excited."
"Why?"
"Because Sovereign relics are rarely gifts."
Kael smiled.
"Then I'll take it anyway."
They left the academy through a hidden gate.
Lyra carried a silver sword.
Seraphine walked silently beside her.
Hale remained behind to protect the academy.
As Kael crossed the city gate, he looked back.
Azure Wind City had given him more questions than answers.
But he now had a destination.
Elaris.
The Ancient Ruins.
The place where his former self had supposedly hidden something.
They had traveled only a few kilometers when Kael suddenly stopped.
Seraphine turned.
"What happened?"
Kael looked toward the western sky.
A black mark had appeared among the clouds.
His system flashed.
> **[Warning.]**
>
> **[Celestial tracking formation detected.]**
>
> **[Host location exposed.]**
Lyra drew her sword.
"How many?"
Kael activated Void Sense.
His expression changed.
"Not many."
"How many?"
Kael looked upward.
"One."
A figure descended from the sky.
A woman in white armor.
Unlike the soldiers from yesterday, she carried no weapon.
She simply floated before them.
Her long white hair moved in the wind.
Her eyes were golden.
She looked at Kael.
Then bowed.
"Starborn."
Kael raised his sword.
"Who are you?"
The woman smiled.
"I am **Aurelia**, one of the Seven Celestial Guardians."
Seraphine's expression became cold.
"Aurelia..."
Aurelia looked at her.
"So you're still alive."
Seraphine stepped forward.
"And you're still serving them."
Aurelia's eyes narrowed.
Then she looked at Kael.
"I did not come to fight."
Kael didn't lower his sword.
"Then why are you here?"
Aurelia's expression became strangely sad.
"To warn you."
"About what?"
She looked toward the eastern mountains.
"The Ancient Ruins of Elaris are not abandoned."
Kael waited.
Aurelia continued:
"They are waiting for you."
The wind stopped.
Kael's system appeared.
> **[Hidden Quest detected.]**
>
> ### **Return
to the Sovereign's Throne**
>
> **Objective:** Enter Elaris.
>
> **Warning:** Do not trust the first person you meet.
Kael stared at the message.
Then he looked at Aurelia.
"Who is waiting for me?"
Aurelia smiled.
"Someone who has been sitting on your throne for ten thousand years."
She disappeared into a burst of golden light.
Kael remained silent.
Seraphine looked toward the distant mountains.
Lyra tightened her grip on her sword.
And Kael slowly smiled.
"Then let's go take back my throne."
**To be continued...**