The air grew colder with each step forward.
Gone were the golden sunrays and soft winds of the Seer's realm. As Elira, Kael, and Lysena ventured deeper into the wilderness, the earth turned black, the trees skeletal, and the sky—smudged with a strange gray light—hung over them like a ghostly ceiling. This was the Ash Road.
No map could guide them here. The land shifted its shape to confuse even the most experienced traveler. Rumor had it the Ash Road was once a vibrant land filled with life—until a war between two High Magi turned everything into cinders.
Elira clutched the magical compass Mareia had given her. Its faint blue glow flickered, never pointing north or south, but always toward something she couldn't see.
"What if this compass fails?" she asked softly.
Kael, walking beside her, glanced over. "Then we'll rely on something stronger."
She looked at him questioningly.
He touched her heart. "You."
---
By noon, the wind had turned sharp, laced with black ash that scratched their skin. Lysena wrapped her scarf tighter around her neck and motioned for them to stop beside a half-buried statue of a weeping angel.
"This place… isn't just cursed," she whispered. "It remembers."
Kael crouched beside the base of the statue. "There's blood on the stone. Fresh."
Lysena cursed under her breath. "Someone passed through here recently. Could be a tracker."
Elira knelt beside them. "A Reaper?"
"No," Lysena replied. "Worse. A Shadow Seeker. They're born from cursed flesh, bred only to hunt crystal-bearers."
Kael stiffened. "They'll smell the magic on her. We have to keep moving."
---
Hours passed. The sun never rose, never set. The Ash Road held no concept of time.
Elira's feet ached, and her thoughts felt like heavy smoke in her mind. Each step echoed with voices only she could hear.
"Thief's daughter…"
"Heart stealer…"
"Monster…"
She stopped and pressed her palms to her ears.
"Elira?" Kael grabbed her shoulders. "What is it?"
"The whispers…" Her eyes widened. "They're inside my head."
"It's the magic of the Ash Road," Lysena said quickly. "It feeds on doubt. Fight it."
"But what if they're right?" Elira trembled. "What if I am a thief's daughter? What if the Crystal Heart inside me turns me into something I can't control?"
Kael took her face in his hands. "You are not your father's mistakes. You're more than your blood. You're you."
Something in his voice cut through the fog. The whispers shrank back.
Elira swallowed hard and nodded. "Okay. Let's go."
---
They reached the edge of a ruined village by nightfall.
Or what passed for night in this place.
Broken homes stood half-swallowed by ash. Doors hung off rusted hinges. Everything was still. Silent.
Too silent.
"Let's camp inside the church," Lysena said. "It'll offer some magical protection."
The old chapel looked like it had been built from bones and sorrow. Vines of burnt ivy crawled over its walls, and the stained glass had melted into grotesque shapes.
Still, they made a fire in the center. Lysena drew protective runes in a circle around them. Kael checked the perimeter.
Elira sat staring into the flames, feeling the strange throb in her chest again.
The crystal.
It was stirring.
And with it… something else.
A presence.
A memory.
---
That night, Elira dreamed.
She stood in a golden temple. Light poured in from every direction. In the center stood a figure cloaked in white. They turned slowly—revealing a face she'd never seen, but somehow recognized.
"You hold the heart," the figure said, voice echoing like a thousand bells. "But do you hold the soul?"
"What do you mean?" she asked.
"The heart alone cannot save the world. It must choose. And you must choose with it."
The figure extended their hand.
"I can show you its true power… but first, you must sacrifice something."
Elira's lips trembled. "What?"
The figure's face cracked like glass, splitting into darkness.
"Your love."
---
She woke with a scream.
Kael was beside her in seconds. "Elira!"
Her breath came in sharp, rapid gasps. "The crystal. It wants… something. A choice. It—it wants to take you."
Kael froze. Then, gently, "What do you mean?"
"It said I have to give up something I love to unlock its full power."
He reached for her trembling hands. "Then don't. We'll find another way."
"But what if there is no other way?" she whispered. "What if saving the world means losing you?"
His voice was quiet, but steady. "Then I'll still choose you. Every time."
Tears fell silently down her cheeks. And in that moment, the crystal inside her pulsed with heat and warmth… as if it, too, was weeping.
Outside the church, the ash stirred.
And something unseen slithered across the ruins.
Watching.
Listening.
Waiting.