The city lights bled into the horizon as Elira stepped out of her apartment. She wore a dark hoodie, her bag slung over one shoulder, and her heart pounding with each step she took toward the unknown. Her phone buzzed, but she ignored it. She wasn't ready to explain anything—not to her friends, not to herself, and especially not to Kael.
She wasn't sure if she could trust him anymore.
The dream had shaken her to her core. Her father's voice, the vision of the red sky, the burning pendant—all of it painted a terrifying picture of what lay ahead. And somewhere within it all was the truth: the Crystal Heart was inside her. Her entire existence was tied to something ancient and powerful.
And hunted.
The words echoed in her head as she walked briskly through the city streets toward the only place that might hold answers—the old hotel by the pier. The one she'd always heard about in rumors. The one people whispered about but no one ever stayed in for long.
The Red Sky Hotel.
It wasn't on maps. It didn't have an official website. But something inside her pulled her there like a magnet. As if the building itself was calling to the crystal within her.
---
From the rooftop across the street, Kael watched her leave her apartment. His expression was unreadable, his silhouette outlined by the moon's pale glow. He hadn't followed her for this long just to stop now.
But something was changing.
She was changing.
The Heart was awakening—and not even she could control it.
He heard the soft rustle of movement beside him.
"You're too close to her," the voice said.
Kael turned to see Zara, another magical enforcer from the realm, standing with her arms crossed and her dagger glowing faintly at her hip.
"I was assigned to her," Kael replied coolly.
Zara stepped closer, her silver eyes gleaming. "Assigned to observe. Not to protect. And definitely not to fall for her."
Kael said nothing. He couldn't. Because the truth was—he already had.
"She's a Heart-Bearer," Zara added, voice low. "You know what happens to people who get too close to that kind of power."
"I don't care," he muttered.
Zara's expression twisted. "Then you'll burn with her."
---
Meanwhile, Elira reached the edge of the pier, where the ruins of an old building stood behind rusted gates and thick vines. It wasn't marked, but somehow she knew this was it.
The Red Sky Hotel.
She pushed the gate open with effort. The metal screamed in protest. Her steps echoed on the cracked stone as she entered what once must have been a grand lobby. Dust and decay clung to every surface, but the bones of elegance still lingered—broken chandeliers, faded red carpets, and the haunting scent of something that was once beautiful.
The pendant around her neck began to glow faintly.
She stopped in her tracks.
"What the…?" she whispered.
The pendant pulsed. Once. Twice.
Then the wall in front of her shimmered like heat rising from pavement.
A door appeared.
It wasn't an ordinary door—it was etched with ancient runes and pulsing veins of light. Her breath caught. Her fingers reached for it instinctively.
But before she could touch it, a voice snapped through the air behind her.
"Don't!"
She turned.
Kael stood there, breathing hard, eyes wide with something between fear and fury.
"What are you doing here?" she demanded.
"I could ask you the same thing," he shot back.
"You followed me."
"I had to. You have no idea what that door is."
"Then tell me!" she yelled. "Because nobody else will! What is this place, Kael? What's happening to me?"
Kael stepped forward slowly. "That door is a bridge between your world and mine. The place your father escaped from. The place that wants you back."
Elira's heart raced. "Why?"
He looked at her for a long moment, then said, "Because you're the last bloodline of the man who stole the Crystal Heart. You don't just carry the Heart, Elira. You are the Heart."
Her knees went weak. She stumbled back a step.
"That's not possible."
"It is. The Crystal Heart is not a gem or an artifact anymore. Your father fused it into you when you were still inside your mother's womb. He knew they would never stop hunting it. So he gave it to someone no one would suspect. His unborn child."
Elira shook her head. "So I'm... what? A vessel?"
"You're more than that," he said quietly. "You're the only one who can control it. Or destroy it."
"But I don't know how to do either," she said in a broken voice.
Kael's eyes softened. "Then I'll teach you."
A long pause passed between them.
"Why are you helping me?" she asked.
"Because I was sent to capture you," he admitted. "But now… I don't think I can."
She looked at him, really looked at him. There was pain in his eyes. Guilt. But also something else.
Something real.
"Do you really believe I can control it?" she asked.
"I believe in you," he said simply.
---
But as they stood there, unseen eyes watched from the shadows.
Zara stepped closer to the edge of the ruined staircase, her eyes locked on the glowing pendant around Elira's neck.
She pulled a mirror shard from her pocket and whispered into it, "Target has activated the threshold. The Heart is reacting. She's stronger than expected. Proceeding with plan B."
The mirror shimmered, and the voice of the Grand Marshal echoed back, "Extract her. At any cost."
Zara smirked. "With pleasure."