The undercity of Solis was nothing like the radiant capital above.
Beneath the marble streets lay a labyrinth of tunnels — ruins of an older empire buried and forgotten, where the air shimmered faintly with trapped magic and echoes of the past.
Elior's boots splashed through shallow water as he ran beside Cael, heart still pounding from the escape.
Every breath burned. The lingering resonance still flickered around them, dim threads of light that refused to fade.
Behind them, distant voices shouted — soldiers of the Order, closing in fast.
"This way," Cael said, pulling him into a narrower passage. The corridor twisted, the stones glowing faintly under his touch. Even in the dark, Cael's movements were steady — too steady, as if he had walked these paths before.
Elior glanced at him. "How do you know where to go?"
Cael didn't answer right away. His gaze was fixed ahead, but his voice softened. "Because I've been here. Not in this life — but before."
The words froze Elior midstep. "You mean—"
"Yes," Cael said. "Fragments are returning. The war, the sky falling, your hand reaching for mine…"
He looked back over his shoulder, eyes glinting faint blue in the dim light. "Erian."
The sound of that name — his true name — made Elior's knees weak.
For a moment, everything blurred. The tunnel became the ruins of a starlit battlefield; Cael's armor shimmered silver and gold, his sword reflecting constellations.
Then it vanished, leaving only the echo of who they once were.
Elior pressed a hand to his chest, trying to breathe. "If we remember… does that mean the seal is breaking?"
Cael nodded. "And that's exactly why they're hunting us."
A sudden rumble shook the tunnel. Dust fell from the ceiling.
From behind, golden light flared — pursuers had found them.
"Keep moving," Cael ordered. He drew his blade, tracing a rune along the wall. The stone rippled, revealing a hidden archway. "Through here."
They darted inside just as a bolt of searing magic scorched the entrance. The blast collapsed the tunnel behind them, sealing the way.
The air inside the new chamber was colder — ancient, untouched. Symbols glowed faintly on the walls, forming constellations. At the center stood a crystal monolith, cracked but still pulsing faintly with life.
Elior approached it slowly. "This… isn't part of the undercity."
Cael sheathed his sword. "No. This is older. The First Sanctum — built by those who first bore the Starbond."
Elior placed his hand on the crystal surface. It felt warm, like skin. Energy pulsed beneath his fingers — the same rhythm as the light in his wrist. "It's reacting."
The monolith responded instantly. Light spiraled upward, filling the chamber with cascading stars. Voices — faint, overlapping — whispered through the glow.
Cael reached for him. "Elior—"
Before he could speak, the light enveloped them both.
Images flooded their minds — two figures under the same stars, bound by oath and sacrifice. Erian and Aster, standing before a dying world, choosing rebirth instead of surrender.
Then the vision broke.
They collapsed to the floor, panting, trembling.
Elior stared at his hands. "We sealed ourselves… didn't we?"
Cael's expression hardened. "To stop the collapse of the constellations. But the seal is failing — and now the Empire is trying to use what's left of it."
Before they could say more, footsteps echoed again — closer, heavier. The Order had breached the tunnel.
Cael rose, sword drawn, eyes burning like twin fragments of starlight. "Get behind me."
Elior stood too. "No. We face them together."
The first blast of golden fire tore through the chamber doors — and the two stepped forward into the storm, their light merging once more, defying the fate that had chained them for centuries.
And far above the surface, in the highest tower of Solis, the High Cardinal watched the stars realign once again — their light bending, as if two souls were rewriting destiny itself.