"Even the sky remembers the battles that were never meant to be won."
They emerged from the tunnels beneath Valenreach at dawn. The city above was wrapped in mist, its towers nothing but dark silhouettes against the rising sun. Smoke curled from distant ruins, but the morning air carried the faint scent of rain instead of ash.
Kael exhaled, stretching his arms. "I never thought I'd miss the surface. Underground smells like mold and ghosts."
Lior adjusted the cloak around his shoulders and glanced toward the north. The horizon burned faintly orange, and beyond it rose a mountain range split by lightning. "That storm has not moved since last night. It's gathering over Ardelin."
Kael frowned. "And you think the next fragment lies there?"
"I do not think," Lior said quietly. "I know."
They followed the old trade road that wound through the valley. As they walked, the air grew colder, and the clouds thickened until the light dimmed to twilight. The grass whispered under their boots, bending toward the wind that carried a faint hum, like a distant song sung by the earth itself.
By noon, they reached a ridge overlooking a vast plain. In the distance stood the fortress city of Ardelin, half-buried in fog. Its black walls gleamed with rain, and flashes of lightning revealed towers that had long since crumbled.
Kael gave a low whistle. "So that's Ardelin. I heard stories about it. Said it was built by kings who tried to catch thunder in their hands."
Lior's eyes lingered on the shattered spires. "And they failed."
They descended into the valley as rain began to fall. It started as a drizzle but quickly turned into a downpour. The road became a stream, and the wind howled like a living thing. Lior pulled his hood low, his mind racing with the fragments of memory that had returned since the labyrinth.
In another life, he had come here too. He remembered fire, screams, and a sword that blazed brighter than the sun. He remembered standing alone on these very plains, defying something vast and terrible that had fallen from the sky.
Kael shouted above the wind. "We need shelter!"
They ran until they found the remnants of an old watchtower leaning against a hill. Inside, the stones were cracked, but the ceiling still held. They lit a small fire and sat near it, dripping and exhausted.
Kael stared at the flames. "You keep looking north. What is it you see out there?"
Lior hesitated before answering. "A storm that remembers me."
Kael raised an eyebrow. "You mean that literally, don't you?"
"Yes."
Thunder rolled in the distance. The sound seemed to carry a rhythm, like a heartbeat answering his own. The wind outside shifted, bending the flames toward the door.
Kael stood quickly. "That's not natural."
Lior's voice was calm. "It never is."
A flash of lightning split the sky, and for an instant, a figure appeared in the doorway. It was a woman draped in white and gold, her hair whipping in the wind, her eyes glowing with pale light. When she spoke, her voice carried the weight of the storm.
"Child of flame, the heavens call you to account."
Kael's hand went to his weapon, but Lior stepped forward. "Who are you?"
"I am Serathiel, Keeper of the Tempest. You once stood against me when you burned Ardelin to the ground."
Lior's breath caught. The memory surged back unbidden, the city aflame, Serathiel standing before him with wings of lightning, her tears falling as the world burned around them.
He took a slow breath. "I did not mean to destroy it."
Serathiel's eyes softened with sorrow. "Intent does not undo consequence. You broke the sky, Lior. And now the fragments fall again."
The air trembled. Bolts of lightning struck the plains outside, carving molten lines into the earth. Kael swore under his breath. "So she's not a memory. She's real."
Serathiel raised her hand, and a spear of light formed in her grasp. "The flame cannot rise while the storm still remembers its fall. You must face what you were."
Lior closed his eyes. The fire within him stirred, answering the storm. The fragment he carried pulsed against his chest. When he opened his eyes again, they burned faintly gold.
"I will not run from what I was," he said. "But I will not be bound by it either."
Serathiel hesitated. The storm outside faltered for a heartbeat, then raged louder. "Then prove it."
The tower exploded into light.
When the glare faded, Lior stood on the plains once more. Lightning spiraled down from the clouds, striking around him in a circle. Serathiel hovered above the ground, wings spread wide, her face both sorrowful and resolute.
Kael stood at the edge of the storm barrier, unable to cross. He shouted something, but his voice was lost to the thunder.
Lior lifted his sword, its blade igniting with golden fire. "If you would test me, then let this storm bear witness."
Serathiel descended like a falling star, her spear meeting his blade in a burst of light. The shockwave flattened the grass and sent thunder rolling across the valley. The storm howled, not in rage but in grief.
Every strike carried the weight of the past. Lior fought not to win, but to understand. The echoes of his former life moved within him, memories of fire and ruin clashing against the man he had become.
Finally, their weapons locked, and Serathiel's eyes shimmered with tears. "You have changed."
"So have you."
The lightning faded, and the storm began to break. Rain softened into mist. Serathiel lowered her spear. "The crown's second fragment lies within the heart of this storm. You have earned it."
Lior nodded slowly. "Will you stand against me again?"
Her voice was barely a whisper. "Not unless you forget what mercy feels like."
She raised her hand, and a small crystal fragment appeared, glowing pale blue. Lior caught it as it floated toward him. The moment his fingers touched it, the storm finally stilled.
Kael rushed forward as the clouds broke apart, sunlight spilling through. "I leave you alone for one minute and you fight the weather itself."
Lior smiled faintly. "It was a conversation, not a fight."
Kael stared at the scorched ground. "You've got a strange way of talking."
They both looked toward the mountains where sunlight touched the peaks. For the first time in days, the world was quiet.
Lior turned the fragment in his hand. "Two found. Five remain."
Kael groaned. "I hate math when it involves almost dying."
Lior laughed softly. "Then you will hate the next journey even more."
The wind carried the faint scent of ash again. Somewhere far to the east, the sky darkened once more.