The silence after the light wasn't empty. It was waiting.
Leira steadied herself against the cold stone wall. Her pulse hammered in her throat, the air thick and humming with something that didn't belong to this world. Kael stood beside her, blade lowered but eyes sharp, scanning the shadows as if the walls themselves could breathe.
A low hum rippled through the chamber, soft at first, then deeper, like the sound of something ancient stirring.
Then came the whisper.
Soft. Fragile. Familiar.
"Sis…"
Leira froze. "Did you hear that?"
Kael frowned. "No. And you didn't either."
But the whisper came again, trembling through the air like a memory that refused to die.
"Sissy…"
Her breath caught. The sound wrapped around her chest, pulling something from deep inside. She didn't know why it hurt so much, only that it did.
"I know that voice," she whispered. "Why do I know that voice?"
Kael's gaze darkened. "Because the veil remembers the events that broke you."
Before she could ask what he meant, the air shimmered. Light bled through the cracks in the wall, gathering into the outline of a small figure, barefoot, trembling, her form half-shadow, half-memory.
The girl raised her head. Her eyes, wide and soft, met Leira's with an expression that twisted her heart.
Kael caught her wrist. "You can't. The veil is showing you what it wants, not what's real."
Leira shook her head, unable to look away. "She feels real."
Kael's voice dropped. "That's because she was."
The girl's mouth moved. Her voice quivered. "You said you'd find me."
Leira's knees weakened. "Kael… who is she?"
He didn't answer. "You already know."
The world tilted. The light thickened, pressing around her like water. Before she could breathe, memory dragged her under.
Rain mixed with ash that night, turning the ground black and slick.
Leira ran barefoot through the cliffs, her robes torn, her lungs burning. Far ahead, torches burned in a ring, and the sound of chanting rose and fell like waves against stone.
Kael caught up to her, panting, his armor dented and streaked with soot. "You can't go in there. They'll sense you."
"They took her," Leira said, her voice shaking. "They're going to sacrifice her."
"You interfere and it could affect the world in ways we don't know," Kael warned. "Please, listen to me."
"That is my sister," she said quietly, the words trembling with both fear and fire.
Kael hesitated, then cursed under his breath. "Fine. I'll get her out. You hold them off."
Before she could answer, he was already moving, blade drawn, eyes locked on the ring of torches.
In the clearing, shadows moved. Dark Keepers circled a stone altar carved with runes that glowed faintly red. A small girl knelt at its center, her hands bound, hair tangled, eyes wide with terror.
"Sissy?" she whispered, barely audible over the chanting.
Leira stepped out from the trees. "I'm here."
The Dark Keepers turned, their cloaks rippling like smoke. One of them laughed, a sound colder than the wind. "A Keeper breaks her Oath for mortal blood. How touching."
"Let her go," Leira said, her voice trembling but firm.
"You know what she is," the Keeper said. "She is chosen. She is the sacrifice."
"I don't care what she's chosen for," Leira snapped. "She's my sister."
Kael reached the girl, cutting her bindings with a sweep of his blade. "Run!"
The Dark Keepers lunged. Leira raised her hand, light bursting from her palm. It swept across the clearing like a storm, sending half the Keepers flying backward. The ground cracked beneath their feet. The rest stumbled, their dark auras flickering.
"Leira!" Kael shouted.
She turned just in time to see a flare of black light. A Keeper struck Kael across the chest, knocking him to the ground. His sword clattered away, his body motionless.
"No!" she screamed, running forward.
The head Keeper seized the girl, dragging her close and pressing a silver blade to her throat.
"Stop!" Leira's voice broke. She could barely breathe. "Please, don't hurt her."
The Keeper smiled faintly. "The sacrifice is already written."
A drop of blood slid down her sister's neck. The girl whimpered, trembling, tears spilling down her cheeks. "Sissy, I'm scared."
"Don't look at him," Leira said, her voice shaking. "Look at me. It's going to be alright."
But her hands wouldn't stop trembling. The smell of blood hit the air, sharp, metallic and something deep within her broke loose.
Her scream tore through the clearing. It wasn't human.
It was a sound of raw agony and power colliding.
Light exploded from her chest, rippling across the ground like a living wave.
The air turned to fire. The trees disintegrated.
The Dark Keepers turned to dust before they could even cry out.
The silence that followed was unbearable.
Kael stirred, pushing himself upright, face pale and burned at the edges.
The girl lay on the ground, breathing weakly, her small hand reaching for Leira.
Leira crawled to her, gathering her in trembling arms. "You're safe now," she whispered.
Her sister's voice was faint. "It hurts, Sissy."
"You'll be okay," Leira promised, brushing her hair back. "I'll fix this. I promise."
Kael's voice came from behind, soft but unsteady. "Leira… her blood is poisoned. Soul poison. There's no cure."
Leira turned on him, desperate. "There's always a way."
Kael shook his head. "Not this time. If you don't let her go, she'll suffer."
Her tears fell freely now. "You want me to watch her die?"
"I want to save her from pain." Kael said quietly.
The girl's fingers tightened weakly around Leira's hand. "It's hurts."
Leira's breath trembled. "Please. Don't leave me."
Kael moved closer. "Let me…"
She shook her head, voice breaking. "No. She's my sister."
He closed his eyes. "Leira, if you take her life, the veil will…"
She didn't let him finish. "Wherever you go, no matter what happens, I will find you. I'll always find you."
Her sister smiled faintly through her tears. "Promise?"
"I promise."
Leira placed her hand on her sister's chest. The light began softly, warm, golden, almost gentle. Then it deepened, flaring bright until it filled the clearing.
Her sister's breathing slowed, then stopped.
The light faded. The world fell silent.
Then the veil screamed.
It was the sound of every realm crying out at once, glass shattering, stars cracking, the sky splitting apart. Lines of light carved through the mountains, through the air, through the earth itself.
Kael shielded his face, shouting over the noise. "You cracked what holds the realms apart!"
She looked up at him, tears streaming. "It is done."
The light spread one last time, pulsing like a heartbeat. Then the cracks dimmed, fading into stillness. The wind fell quiet. The night was whole again, but nothing would ever be the same.
Leira gasped as the memory released her.
She fell to her knees in the temple's cold stone, chest heaving, eyes wide.
Kael stood near, his face pale, his silence heavy. "You remember now."
She looked at her shaking hands. "She was my sister… and I killed her."
He knelt beside her. "You showed mercy."
"I took the soul of my sister," she whispered. "That's why the Veil fractured."
Kael's eyes softened. "That was the first fracture."
Leira looked up sharply. "There's more?"
He didn't answer.
The shadows around them stirred, whispering again.
"Sissy…"
Leira froze. The voice was faint but real, threading through the air like a ghost.
Kael's hand went to his sword. "It's not her."
Leira's pulse quickened. "Then who…"
The whisper grew louder, shifting, deeper now, colder.
The air around them pulsed once, like a heartbeat.
Then a voice; dark, familiar, impossible, spoke her name.
Not Sissy. Not the child.
"Leira."
Kael went still. His blade glinted in the dim light.
Leira's blood ran cold.
Because that voice didn't belong to her innocent, little sister.
It belonged to something else.
Something twisted. Diabolical.
And it came from someone she never thought she'd see again.
The resemblance was uncanny…