The air in the temple felt thicker now—not evil, but uncertain, as if even the light wasn't sure what to do.
The girl lowered her hand. Her eyes—still hollow—blinked slowly.
"They both want me.But no one asked what I want."
She walked toward the crown.Every step she took, the shadows pulled at her ankles like smoke.
Seren flinched.Kael reached for her.Vaelrix stepped forward—
But she stopped.
"If I touch it, I'll hear only the Veil.""If I run… I'll hear nothing."
Then she looked up—directly at Kael.
"What would you do, Star Voice?"
🌌 Kael's Moment
Kael said nothing at first.
He simply knelt beside her. Quiet. Gentle.
"There's another voice," he whispered."You just haven't heard it loud enough… yet."
And then… the memory returned.The moment beneath the Starthrone.
Elarion's voice, like velvet starlight:
"When the lost cry out…Speak not to their fear.Speak to their becoming."
Kael spoke a single word in Celestine—soft, sacred:
"Remember."
The child gasped.The crown cracked.
🕊️ The Light Within
Tears welled in the child's eyes—not from fear, but release.
"It's quieter now," she whispered."I can still hear it… but I'm not afraid."
The sigil of Elarion glowed faintly in Kael's palm.
The Veil had been weakened, not banished.But in this moment… the girl chose.
She turned her back on the crown… and walked to Kael.
👁️ Her Name Is Revealed
Kael asked softly, "What's your name?"
The girl blinked, looked around, and then said something no one expected:
"You already know it."
And in their minds, like a soft echo, they heard:
"Alari."
A name that means "Little Light" in the Celestine tongue.
📖 What Just Happened?
Alari is not an ordinary child.
She is not the Veil's creation—she is a sensitive soul born with divine resonance, caught in the war before she could understand it.
Her choice broke the influence—but only for now.
She is a beacon—wherever she walks, both Elarion and the Veil will watch.