The Flamebearers left the Place of the Last Tear in silence.
The medallion of Lioren, the Pool of Memory, and the truth each of them carried weighed on their steps.
But something else had changed.
Elarion had gone quiet.
No dreams.No warmth.No guidance.
šÆļø Kael First Notices It
He tried to pray.
He sat alone, hands open, voice gentle:
"Are you still watching? Still listening?"
The wind answered with nothing.
And for the first time, the language of angels didn't respond.
š¹ Seren Feels the Distance
"The light feelsā¦ farther," she said as they walked."Like it's behind a wall."
Vaelrix was quiet.
Not because he disagreed.
But because he felt it too.
š§ Alari Tries to Reassure
She held the broken sigil close to her chest.
"Maybe he's quietā¦Because he wants us to find the answer ourselves."
"He didn't stop loving Lioren. Even when Lioren forgot his name."
"So maybeā¦ he trusts us not to forget ours."
That hope became their fire now.
Not warmth from aboveā¦ but warmth they carried together.
š©ļø But Not All Who Fell Grieved
That night, they reached a forest where no roots touched the ground.
The trees floated.The sky wept sideways.Time pulsed like a heartbeat.
And someone was waiting.
š„ The Next Antagonist Appears: Vaerion, the Bitter Spark
A tall figure stood at the center of the warped forest.
Clad in armor like cracked obsidian.Eyes like rusted gold.Wings of black metal, twitching like broken glass.
"I've heard your prayers," he said."I once spoke to stars too. Before I learnedā¦ they only echo back to themselves."
Kael stepped forward.
"You were one of the Nine."
Vaerion bowed mockingly.
"I was the Fifth SparkāPurpose Unbending."
"And I bent."
š Vaerion's Truth
"Lioren wept.I did not."
"You mourn the Veil as if it is a child lost.But I tell youāwhat was lost was not innocenceā¦ but use."
"Elarion was never the light.He was simply better at pretending he didn't cast shadows."
He looked directly at Alari.
"I know what name stirs in you.And I will not let him rewrite it with hope."
š„ Set-Up for the Next Arc
Vaerion doesn't strike.
He leaves them with a choice:
"Follow the silence.Or follow me.But know thisāThe longer Elarion stays quietā¦The more the truth begins to sound like me."
And then he vanishes, leaving only a burnt mark in the floating grass.