The Oracle's tower vanished behind them like a mirage, swallowed by the winds of the Veiled Steppe. Kairo didn't speak for a long time. The vision she'd shown him clung to his mind like smoke—gods descending, cities in ruin, a broken sky bleeding fire.
And he was at the center of it all.
> "You alright?" Zevrin finally asked, his boots crunching against the dead grass.
> "No," Kairo muttered. "But I know where we need to go."
> "The Forgotten Vale?"
Kairo nodded.
> "You really think the Fourth Fragment is there?"
> "I don't think. I know. The Oracle showed me. It's buried beneath something ancient. Something alive."
Zevrin frowned.
> "I hate ancient and alive. Never a good combo."
---
It took them three days to reach the edges of the Forgotten Vale.
What they found wasn't a valley—it was a wound carved into the earth. Mountains surrounded it like sentinels, jagged and sharp, their peaks covered in black snow. A perpetual mist rose from the pit, and no light touched the floor below.
Even from a distance, Kairo felt it.
A presence.
Watching.
Waiting.
> "We go down," he said.
Zevrin rolled his eyes. "Of course we do."
---
They descended via a natural rock path, narrow and crumbling at every step. Shadows moved within the mist. At one point, Zevrin nearly slipped, and Kairo caught him just in time.
> "If I die in a hole before getting paid," Zevrin grumbled, "I'm haunting you forever."
> "Noted."
At the bottom of the Vale, everything changed.
The temperature dropped sharply. The mist thickened, but it wasn't fog—it was ash. And the air tasted metallic, like old blood.
There were ruins here. Remnants of an ancient civilization. Black stone structures, shattered statues with blank faces, and bones. Too many bones.
> "What happened here?" Zevrin whispered.
> "A war," Kairo replied. "Before history. The Oracle called it the First Breaking."
As they pushed deeper into the ruins, Kairo's hand hovered near the hilt of his blade. His Fragment was pulsing again—stronger now, more focused. It was pulling him in a specific direction.
Toward a massive obsidian gate half-buried in the earth.
---
Symbols lined the gate, glowing faintly red. As Kairo approached, the symbols reacted—lighting up with each step he took.
> "Don't open it," Zevrin warned. "This place is wrong."
> "I have to."
Kairo placed his palm against the gate.
The moment he did, a voice rang out—not from the air, but from within him.
> "Another one dares awaken me…"
The ground trembled. The gate cracked open, revealing a dark corridor lit by floating crystals.
> "Kairo…" Zevrin started, but Kairo was already stepping inside.
The tunnel was lined with carvings. Scenes of gods fighting titans. Mortals building cities from the bones of monsters. A king on a throne made of Fragments.
Kairo stopped in front of one particular carving.
A figure—himself—was depicted holding five Fragments, his eyes turned to flame. Behind him, everything burned.
> "What… is this?" he whispered.
> "Prophecy," a voice answered behind him.
He spun.
A figure stood there.
Not human. Not monster.
A Guardian.
---
It was tall—nearly eight feet. Its skin was covered in stone plates etched with golden script. A single eye glowed in the center of its face. Its arms ended in clawed hands, and from its back grew wings made of shattered light.
> "You have entered the Vault of Ar'Keth," it said. "I am Eromos. Keeper of the Fourth Fragment. Leave now, or die."
Kairo stepped forward, unsheathing his blade.
> "I can't turn back. Not now."
> "Then you are a fool."
Eromos raised its hand—and the chamber exploded with force.
---
The fight was instant.
Kairo barely dodged the first blast. His boots skidded against the floor as Eromos rushed him like a landslide. Kairo's blade clashed against the Guardian's claws, sending sparks into the air.
Zevrin fired a shot from behind, but it ricocheted off the stone plates harmlessly.
> "Nothing gets through its armor!" Zevrin yelled.
> "Then we break the armor!" Kairo shouted.
He called on the Third Fragment.
Power surged through his veins. His sword glowed crimson. The next strike cracked Eromos's arm guard—but the Guardian retaliated, slamming him into a pillar.
Pain exploded in his ribs.
He spat blood.
> "You are not ready," Eromos growled. "You will die here, like the others."
Kairo stood, eyes glowing.
> "I've heard that before. And I'm still here."
---
The battle raged, shaking the entire chamber. At the height of the fight, Kairo managed to leap above Eromos and plunge his Fragment-charged blade into the exposed back of its neck.
A scream erupted.
Light burst from the cracks in Eromos's armor.
And then—silence.
The Guardian collapsed.
And at its center… hovered the Fourth Fragment.
Smaller than expected. Brilliant. Alive.
Kairo reached out—and the moment his fingers brushed it, his vision shattered.
---
> "Kairo Velen," a thousand voices echoed. "You are now the Bearer of Four. The gods see you. The hunt begins."