Aeris stumbled as the world righted itself. They were no longer in the city streets. Instead, she found herself inside a dimly lit cavern, surrounded by ancient bookshelves carved into stone walls.
Her pulse still pounded in her ears. "What just—"
"Teleportation seal," Kieran answered, dusting himself off. "Useful, but disorienting. You'll get used to it."
Aeris took in their surroundings. Shelves stretched impossibly high, filled with scrolls and tomes that radiated an eerie power.
"The Forbidden Archives," Kieran said, his voice tinged with reverence. "The empire erases history, but some of us still preserve it."
She frowned. "You said you know what I am. What did I do back there?"
Kieran turned to her, his smirk replaced by something more serious. "You shattered an Oath, Aeris. That should be impossible."
Her stomach twisted. She already knew that. Everyone knew that.
"Oaths bind our world," he continued. "They dictate fate itself. If you can break them…"
He trailed off. But she understood.
It meant the empire's greatest law could be undone.
Aeris's fingers curled into fists. "Then the Oaths aren't absolute."
Kieran nodded. "And if they aren't absolute… what else has the empire been lying about?"
Before Aeris could answer, the cavern shook.
A distant boom echoed from above.
Kieran's eyes darkened. "We've been found."
Aeris grabbed a sword from a nearby table, heart pounding. "Then we fight."
And as the ceiling cracked open with a roar of fire and steel, she prepared to do just that.