The ruined hall of Deltheris had fallen silent again, the Harmonized Wraith reduced to glowing ash that shimmered and faded with the wind.
Surya stood still, his breath heavy but steady, hands still tingling from the elemental clash. Across from him, Kaelen's gaze lingered on the place where Veyran had vanished, his jaw clenched tight.
"What did he mean?" Surya asked, voice low. "About the collapse being designed?"
Kaelen didn't answer right away. Instead, he walked toward the basin, its pulsing runes now dim. He placed a palm lightly on its rim, feeling for lingering traces.
"I've always suspected," he said finally, "that the Collapse wasn't just an accident. But hearing it from Veyran… confirms too much." His eyes narrowed. "He was once a truth-seeker like me, but he turned away. Gave himself to forbidden paths."
Surya's gaze followed a crack in the wall that split an old mural—once depicting harmony between the elements—now shattered.
"Why would anyone want to break the balance?" he murmured.
"Because balance doesn't favor ambition," Kaelen said bitterly. "Power in harmony is slow… measured. But power in chaos—now that's tempting for those willing to burn everything else."
Surya shivered despite the residual heat still humming inside him.
Kaelen turned back to him. "We need to move. This ruin's been disturbed. More Wraiths could appear. And Veyran… he won't stay away long."
They exited the hall under the shifting sky. A thin layer of mist had begun to roll over the broken courtyard, carrying a scent of scorched earth and old rain. Surya's steps were slower now, every part of him aching with unfamiliar exertion. Yet somewhere beneath it all, a fire burned stronger than before.
As they moved through the vine-choked remnants of a corridor, Kaelen paused. "There's a chamber below the west wing. A sealed archive. If anything survived Deltheris's fall, it's hidden there."
Surya nodded, but something felt off.
Then he heard it—footsteps. Multiple. Fast.
Kaelen reacted instantly, drawing a warding sigil mid-air. "Down!" he barked.
Arrows of condensed wind flew toward them from the archway ahead. Kaelen deflected two with a twist of flame; the third curved past his barrier.
Surya spun, his instincts surging. Flame leapt to his fingertips, and he fired a narrow jet, illuminating their attackers.
Three figures emerged from the haze—cloaked, masked, moving with the precision of trained warriors.
"They're not Wraiths," Surya said.
"No," Kaelen replied grimly. "They're worse. Scavengers."
One of the masked warriors raised a staff inscribed with glowing green glyphs. "Leave the ruins," he barked. "You've trespassed long enough."
Kaelen stepped forward. "We seek knowledge. Not conflict."
The staff-bearer's voice was cold. "Then turn back. Deltheris belongs to the Veiled Hand now."
Kaelen's expression darkened. "The Veiled Hand?" He turned slightly to Surya. "Mercenaries. Cultivators who loot ancient sites, harvesting corrupted essence to sell or worse—consume."
Surya's flame surged slightly higher. "We're not leaving."
The staff-bearer didn't argue.
He attacked.
Essence erupted from the staff—earth and wind entwined into a spiraling lance.
Kaelen deflected it with a shield of compressed heat. "Hold nothing back," he said, then vanished in a blur toward the leftmost attacker.
Surya braced himself as one of the warriors lunged with twin daggers coated in dark essence. He ducked the first swing, rolled under the second, and struck with a burst of fire directly at the man's chest.
The blow sent the attacker sprawling. Surya moved to press the advantage, but another enemy intercepted him, drawing a curved blade.
The clang of steel meeting flame echoed.
But this time, Surya didn't falter. He twisted his body, channeling the flame not just through his hands, but his entire frame. His strikes became faster, sharper, guided not just by instinct but something deeper.
A rhythm.
He parried, ducked, then unleashed a flame burst that knocked the enemy into a crumbling wall.
Kaelen was a blur of fire and precision, dancing between blades and sigils, his flame honed with terrifying control.
Surya paused, just for a breath, to watch him.
It wasn't just power.
It was mastery.
The gap between them became clear in that moment. Not just strength—but depth. Layers.
Eventually, the remaining enemies fled, dragging the unconscious one behind them, disappearing into the ruins' mist with growled curses.
Kaelen didn't pursue.
Surya wiped sweat from his brow. "They'll come back."
"Let them," Kaelen said. "They'll learn."
They continued deeper into the ruins, until they found the remnants of a spiral stair leading down into shadow. Kaelen invoked a light sigil, casting an amber glow around the stone descent.
"What now?" Surya asked.
Kaelen looked at him carefully. "Now, we go to the Archive. If we're lucky, we'll find what Deltheris tried to seal away. If we're not…"
He trailed off.
Surya finished it for him. "We'll wake something worse."
Kaelen didn't respond.
Together, they stepped into the depths.
And far beneath them, behind an ancient door sealed with runes that flickered once more to life, a low, hollow sound echoed—
Like breath.
But not human.