"Fate isn't written in stars. It's carved into the scars we choose to bear."
— Ancient Saying of the Fallen Court
The rain followed them like a shadow.
By the time Aiden and Elias reached the empty subway station, both were drenched, their breath visible in the chill. The city above hummed with distant sirens and the restless pulse of night.
Elias slumped against a cold metal pillar, pressing a hand to his wound. The crimson on his palm hadn't stopped spreading. Aiden dropped beside him, rummaging through a torn first-aid kit he'd grabbed from the warehouse's storage before they escaped.
"Hold still," Aiden murmured. His voice trembled less than his hands did.
Elias let out a strained laugh. "I don't think holding still is an option right now."
Aiden shot him a glare. "Stop joking. You're losing too much blood."
"I've lost worse."
"That doesn't make it better."
He tore open a pack of gauze, pressing it against the gash on Elias's side. Elias hissed in pain but didn't pull away. His gaze lingered on Aiden instead—on the determined set of his jaw, the way his wet hair clung to his forehead, the faint shimmer of silver still glowing at the base of his throat where the magic hadn't fully faded.
"You shouldn't have used your power like that," Elias said quietly.
"I didn't exactly have a choice."
"You always have a choice."
Aiden looked up sharply. "Then what would you have done? Let him kill you again?"
The question hung heavy in the air. Elias looked away, his jaw tightening. The sound of dripping water filled the silence between them.
After a long pause, Aiden spoke again, softer this time. "You said his name before… the man who attacked us. Who is he?"
Elias exhaled slowly. "His name was Kael. Once, long ago, he was part of the royal guard of Eryndor. Sworn to protect you."
Aiden's eyes widened. "Protect me?"
Elias nodded. "Until the gods offered him something he wanted more than loyalty."
"What was it?"
Elias's expression darkened. "Immortality."
The word fell like a curse. Aiden's pulse quickened. "So he's… one of us? Someone reborn?"
"No," Elias said. "He never died. That's what makes him dangerous. He's been hunting the threads of fate for centuries, making sure you never return."
Aiden swallowed hard. "Why? Why go that far?"
Elias's gaze met his. "Because he believes your existence threatens the balance of the world."
Aiden almost laughed, but it came out hollow. "Balance? I'm just a guy who doesn't even know who he's supposed to be."
"You're more than that," Elias said quietly. "You've always been."
Something in the way he said it made Aiden's chest ache. He turned away, pretending to focus on tightening the bandage. "You talk like you've known me forever."
"I have." Elias's voice was barely above a whisper. "Long enough to know that you never listen when someone tells you to run."
Aiden froze, the gauze in his hands forgotten. He remembered those same words—spoken under a red sky, with smoke and screams all around them. He didn't need to ask how Elias remembered them too.
When he finally looked back up, Elias's gaze was softer, almost unreadable. "You're remembering more, aren't you?"
Aiden hesitated. "Flashes. Faces. Sometimes pain. Sometimes… you."
Elias smiled faintly. "Then your soul's waking faster than I thought."
"Is that good or bad?"
He didn't answer.
Aiden sighed, leaning against the pillar beside him. The exhaustion hit all at once, pulling at his bones. "So what now? We just keep running until he finds us again?"
Elias's eyes lifted to the ceiling where faint echoes of the city vibrated through the metal beams. "No. Running isn't survival anymore. It's postponement."
"Then what do we do?"
"We find the Mirror Gate."
Aiden frowned. "The what?"
"It's an artifact," Elias explained. "One of the last remnants of Eryndor's divine magic. It can show the truth of a soul—and maybe, if it still works, bridge what was lost."
"You mean… send me back?"
Elias looked at him sharply. "You want to go back?"
Aiden hesitated. "I don't know. But if finding it means understanding why this is happening, then yes."
Elias's gaze softened. "Then we'll find it."
The sound of thunder rolled above, deep and distant. Aiden tilted his head toward the ceiling. "It's still raining."
"Rain cleanses," Elias said absently. "But it also hides blood."
Aiden looked at him, half a smile tugging at his lips. "You always say things like that. Poetic, depressing, and vaguely threatening."
"I'm consistent."
"Consistently terrifying."
Elias chuckled under his breath. "And yet you stay."
Aiden's eyes met his. "Maybe that's my curse."
Elias leaned closer. "Or maybe it's your choice."
The air between them thickened. For a second, the noise of the city faded, leaving only the echo of their heartbeats. Aiden could see the faint reflection of light in Elias's eyes—warm, steady, unyielding.
He wanted to speak, but the words tangled in his throat. His pulse betrayed him.
And then the train tunnel trembled. A gust of wind swept through, carrying with it a faint, metallic scent. Elias stiffened.
"What is it?" Aiden asked.
"Someone's here."
A shadow flickered at the far end of the tunnel—too quick to see clearly, but enough to raise every instinct in Elias's body.
He grabbed Aiden's wrist. "Move."
They ran down the platform, water splashing under their feet. The shadow followed, silent but swift.
When they reached the maintenance door, Elias shoved it open and pulled Aiden inside. They stumbled into a narrow corridor lit by a single flickering bulb.
Aiden's breath came fast. "Who is it? Kael?"
"No." Elias's voice was tight. "Something worse."
The light above them buzzed, then went out.
---
The corridor was swallowed by darkness.
For a moment, neither of them moved—only the sound of dripping water echoed down the tunnel. Aiden could feel Elias's grip tighten around his wrist, steady and grounding, though his voice was barely a whisper.
"Stay behind me."
Aiden nodded even though Elias couldn't see it. The air itself felt heavy—thick with something ancient and wrong.
Then came the sound.
A low hum, like electricity crawling across metal, followed by a faint whisper that wasn't entirely human.
Aiden turned toward it instinctively, and something moved in the dark—something fluid, almost smoke-like, yet shaped like a figure. It didn't walk. It glided.
Elias raised his hand, summoning faint blue runes that flickered against the wall, casting trembling light. The glow revealed a figure cloaked in gray mist, with no face—only two faint rings of light where eyes should have been.
"Eryndor's shadow…" Elias breathed. "I thought they were gone."
The creature tilted its head, its voice echoing like a hundred whispers layered together.
"The thread has awakened. The cycle must not repeat."
Aiden's chest constricted. "It's talking about me."
Elias stepped forward, shielding him. "You shouldn't exist," the shadow hissed. "The Godsleep must remain unbroken."
"Then tell your gods they should've stayed asleep," Elias snapped, flinging his hand forward.
A surge of blue flame roared through the tunnel, cutting through the dark. The shadow screamed—a sound that made the walls tremble—and split apart like smoke in the wind.
But Aiden's relief was short-lived. The lights flickered again, and more whispers rose around them.
"There's more than one," he said.
"Run!" Elias ordered.
They sprinted through the corridor, the sound of pursuit swelling behind them. The air grew colder with every step, frost forming on the walls as if reality itself were freezing.
Aiden's lungs burned, but something strange pulsed within his chest—familiar and frightening. The same power that had flared in the warehouse was stirring again, alive under his skin.
They burst into a maintenance room filled with rusted pipes. Elias slammed the door shut and traced a glowing rune across it; it sealed with a hiss of blue light.
He turned to Aiden, breath ragged. "Whatever happens—don't lose control again."
"I'm not—"
Before he could finish, the door cracked. The runes flickered. The shadows seeped through the gaps like smoke under pressure.
Elias cursed under his breath. "They're not supposed to follow through wards."
Aiden stumbled backward. "Then what do we do?"
Elias's gaze darted around the room, landing on a cracked metal hatch in the ceiling. "There. Go."
"You first—"
"No time!"
Aiden climbed, fingers slipping on the wet metal, but before he could reach the hatch, a shadow tendril lashed out, wrapping around his ankle. He screamed as it burned cold through his skin.
Elias reacted instantly—his blade flashing into existence, cutting through the dark. The tendril recoiled, but not before leaving a black mark spiraling up Aiden's leg.
"Damn it," Elias muttered, catching him before he fell.
Aiden clung to his shoulder, shaking. "What was that?"
"A curse. It'll spread if we don't—"
The wall exploded inward. A rush of black mist filled the room, slamming Elias against the pipes. He groaned, barely keeping his grip on his weapon.
Aiden turned instinctively—and his pulse spiked. The shadows had formed into a shape, vaguely human but enormous, with countless tendrils flowing from its body. Its "eyes" locked onto him.
"You are the remnant of the lost king," it whispered. "The chain must break before the dawn."
"I don't understand!" Aiden shouted. "Why me?"
The thing reached out, claws of mist closing in.
And that was when the mark on his leg blazed white-hot.
The pain was blinding. Light erupted from within him—gold and violet, fracturing through the air like shattered glass. The shadows screamed and recoiled. The world trembled as his power, raw and unrestrained, tore through the corridor.
Elias forced himself upright, shielding his eyes. "Aiden—stop! You'll tear the veil apart!"
But Aiden couldn't hear him anymore. His heartbeat had become thunder; his vision filled with fragments—flashes of Eryndor, burning cities, the Mirror Gate shining beneath a black sun.
And through it all, a voice whispered—not from outside, but from deep within.
"Remember what you were… and what you must become."
Then, silence.
When the light finally faded, the shadows were gone. The room was half-collapsed, smoke and dust hanging in the air. Elias coughed, crawling toward Aiden's motionless form.
He was still breathing—but faintly. The curse mark had vanished, replaced by faint golden threads pulsing beneath his skin.
Elias brushed the hair from his face, whispering, "You're not supposed to awaken this soon…"
Somewhere above them, thunder rolled again—louder this time, almost like an answer.
Elias looked up at the broken ceiling.
His voice was quiet. "Then fate has already started moving."
Cliffhanger:
As the first light of dawn touched the city above, a figure stood at the edge of a rooftop—Kael, his cloak torn, his eyes reflecting the storm. In his hand, he held a fragment of black glass that pulsed in rhythm with Aiden's heartbeat.
"Found you," he murmured.
---