The next morning came with a chill. A strange fog had settled over Eldwyre, as if the city itself was holding its breath.
Liam sat on the edge of the rooftop, wrapped in silence. The night had left him shaken. He hadn't spoken much after the vision. The image of the woman—the mother he had long forgotten—kept replaying in his head.
Mira joined him, her footsteps barely audible. She offered him a thermos of warm tea without a word. He took it, nodding silently.
"You saw Valen," she finally said.
Liam blinked. "So you knew who he was."
Mira didn't answer directly. "Valen was once a Seer like me. But he wanted more. He tampered with Echoes that were forbidden. Tore open the Veil and saw things that shouldn't exist."
"And now he's after me?" Liam asked, voice bitter.
"No. Not just you. He's after the Seal itself."
Seraphina appeared behind them, arms crossed. "He thinks you're the final Keeper. The last piece."
Liam turned to them. "And what exactly is this Seal? You keep talking in riddles. What did you mean last night—about my father?"
Mira's lips pressed into a thin line. "Your father… was the Guardian of the Thirteenth Throne. He was the last to fall during the Collapse."
"And my mother?"
"She was the one who made the trade," Mira replied softly. "To protect you."
A silence followed, heavy and raw.
"I want to see it," Liam said suddenly. "The place where it all happened. The Tower."
Mira and Seraphina exchanged glances.
"You don't just see the Tower," Seraphina muttered. "It finds you."
"I don't care. I'll find it myself, then."
Mira sighed. "The Tower lies beyond Arkan Hollow. A city buried under centuries of dust and silence. It's where the Circle lost control. Where the first rupture began."
Liam stood. "Then take me there."
Just then, a piercing screech echoed in the distance.
The three of them rushed to the balcony, eyes scanning the horizon.
Above the distant skyline, a dark silhouette twisted through the clouds. A creature—part bird, part shadow—with glowing eyes.
"A Wraithwing," Mira whispered. "They're scouts."
"Scouts for who?" Liam asked, though he already knew.
"Valen," Seraphina growled.
The Wraithwing shrieked again, and this time, it wasn't alone. Several smaller shadows followed behind it, forming a spiral in the sky like a storm preparing to strike.
"We have to move," Mira said. "They've found us."
Liam's eyes burned with sudden determination. "Then let them come."
But inside him, something deeper stirred.
A voice—cold and ancient—rose from within the ring on his hand.
"Awaken me… and claim what is yours."
The sky darkened.
The chase had begun.