Beyond the Verdant Vale, where snow choked the trees and silence ruled the peaks, a figure moved swiftly. Cloaked in midnight, the stranger watched Kael through a shard of obsidian. His name was Morvain, a Shadowbound warden.
"The Flame has awakened," he murmured.
Behind him, hooded figures kneeled. "Shall we strike, my lord?"
Morvain shook his head. "Not yet. Let the past come to him. Let the truth bleed through his illusions. Then… we reclaim what is ours."
He crushed the shard in his hand. Ice didn't melt in his grip—it withered.