Rain still clung to the air when they reached the cave behind the lake. The storm had passed, but thunder rolled faintly somewhere far away, like a warning that refused to fade.
Leira followed Kael inside. The cave was cool and wide, its walls smooth as if the water had carved them by hand. Pale light from the lake spilled through the opening, glinting off wet stone.
For the first time since the fight, silence felt almost gentle.
Kael laid his sword beside a flat rock and checked the edges out of habit. "We'll rest here for a while," he said.
Leira nodded and sank down near the water. The air smelled faintly of moss and rain. "This place feels alive," she whispered. "Like it remembers something I can't reach.
He looked at her, his voice soft. "You will, Leira. With time."
She didn't ask how. Her chest already ached with things she didn't understand.
After a while she spoke again, almost to herself. "That shadow we fought… the one that sounded like Ari, will there be more like that?
"I can't say for sure," Kael said quietly. "The Veil uses what hurts you most to test your will. It's how it breaks you."
Leira stared at her reflection in the water, her voice trembling. "It worked for a moment."
Kael stepped closer. "But you fought it. You won."
"Still doesn't feel like it..."
He crouched beside her and interrupted, his tone steady. "But you're still here, Leira. Sometimes that's all the victory you need."
The cave settled into quiet again. The torchlight flickered against the stone, throwing golden patterns that moved like ripples across their faces.
Leira drew her knees close. "Kael… what happens now?"
He hesitated, as if weighing how much truth she could handle. Then he said, "There's a way to reclaim what you've lost. But it won't be easy."
She looked up at him. "Tell me."
Kael sat beside her. "When the Veil broke, your light scattered across the realms," Kael said. "Each piece hid itself behind a trial. Seven in all. We call them the Seven Echoes."
Her pulse quickened. "Echoes?"
He nodded. "Each one guards a memory bound to your name. When you complete an echo, a fragment returns to you. Only when all seven are restored will you remember who you are completely, and begin mending the broken veil."
Leira frowned. "And if I fail these… echoes?"
Kael's gaze held hers. "Then the shadows will finish what they started. They will come for you."
The weight of his words settled heavily between them.
After a long pause, Leira said, "Where do we start?"
He pulled a small stone from his cloak, smooth and dark with faint lines of silver running through it. "The first is close. The Whispering Grove, east of here. The trees there hold echoes of the past. They test your mind more than your strength."
She reached out and touched the stone. It pulsed faintly, warm beneath her fingertips. "And the others?"
"There's the Trial of Embers, guarded by fire that only yields to truth. The Mirror of Souls, where you must face the version of yourself that still hates you. The Citadel Below, where the Keepers of Shadow wait. The Endless Crossing. The Hollow Star. And the last…" He paused, his voice dropping. "The final one is the Heart of the Veil itself. No one has ever reached it."
Leira studied his face. "But you think I can."
"I know you can," he said simply.
She smiled faintly, though her eyes were wet. "You always sound so sure of me," she said softly.
"Someone has to," he replied.
For a while, neither of them spoke. The sound of dripping water filled the quiet. Leira's thoughts spun like leaves caught in a current. Seven echoes. Seven chances to put things right.
Her hand drifted toward her wrist, where faint light glowed beneath the skin. The mark she'd seen before had grown clearer overnight, a crescent surrounded by lines of light. It pulsed softly, matching her heartbeat.
Kael noticed. "It's the seal of the Veil. Each echo you complete will awaken another ring around it. When it's whole again, your name will return."
Leira traced the mark with her fingertip. "That feels… terrifying."
"Honestly, it can be," Kael said. "It's both a promise and a warning."
She looked up at him. "You know so much. Always seem to have an answer."
He met her gaze, something unreadable in his eyes. "That was one of my punishments. They let me keep my memories so they'd torment me. But instead of breaking me, they made me stronger. I held on… and waited." he corrected softly.
"Waiting for me."
"Yes."
The word hung in the air, raw and unguarded. She looked away before he could see the tears threatening her eyes.
He reached out, his palm cupping her cheek. "You don't have to do this alone, Leira. I'll walk every step with you."
"Until the end?" she asked quietly.
"Even after."
Something warm bloomed in her chest, quiet and dangerous. She didn't trust it, but she didn't want it to fade either.
After a moment, she took a breath and stood. "Then we start with the first one."
Kael rose beside her, fastening his cloak. "At dawn."
Leira nodded, then hesitated. "Kael?"
He turned toward her.
"If each quest gives me back a piece of myself… will I still be me when it's done?"
Kael's eyes softened. "You'll be whole. That's what you've always been fighting for."
She let his words settle, unsure whether they comforted or frightened her.
The fire crackled low, throwing soft light across the cave. Outside, the night deepened, the stars shimmering over the still lake.
Leira moved closer to him, drawn by something she couldn't name. "Thank you," she said quietly.
"For what?"
"For not giving up on me."
Kael smiled faintly, almost sad. "That was never an option."
Their eyes met, the space between them filled with all the things they hadn't said. His hand brushed hers, just a light touch, but it lingered.
"Do you mind staying with me while I fall asleep?" Leira asked.
Kael hesitated, fighting the longing in his heart, then nodded once.
She took him by his hand and led him to where she wanted to rest. They lay down together. He settled behind her, his arm draping gently around her. His hands were a perfect fit. In that very moment, everything stood still. Leira felt safe.
The mark on her wrist pulsed once more, brighter this time.
"I believe in you, Leira," Kael said, his voice low. "There is nothing you can't do."
Leira nodded, her heartbeat quickening. "At sunrise then?"
Kael gave a single, firm nod.
Outside, the storm clouds finally broke apart, moonlight spilling through the cave mouth, brushing the water and the two figures lying side by side.
Far beyond the lake, deep within the forest, the Whispering Grove stirred awake, as if it already knew who was coming.
The first echo had begun.