The Sanctuary did not sleep that night.
Wards burned along the walls like watchful eyes. Bells chimed every hour—not for timekeeping, but to steady the ancient runes that trembled beneath the Devourer's lingering presence.
Elara lay awake in the inner chambers, staring at the vaulted ceiling.
She could still hear the voice.
Found you.
I already have.
Her fingers curled into the sheets.
Kael sat beside her bed, unmoving, like a statue carved from shadow and fire. He hadn't slept. Hadn't blinked much either. One hand rested lightly over hers, as if afraid she might disappear if he let go.
Aren leaned against the far wall, pale and silent, watching the runes pulse faintly in response to Elara's breathing.
None of them spoke.
Finally, Elara broke the silence.
"It wasn't lying," she whispered.
Kael's jaw tightened. "Don't say that."
"It wasn't," she insisted gently. "I felt it. When it spoke about the Mirror… about rewriting collapse. It knew."
Aren nodded slowly. "I felt it too. Like… recognition."
Kael rose abruptly, pacing. Shadows dragged behind him like torn cloaks.
"Then we destroy it before it can do anything else."
Elara sat up, wincing as the Mirror stirred painfully.
"You can't," she said. "Not yet."
He turned on her, eyes blazing. "You expect me to wait while that thing crawls inside your soul?"
She met his gaze, steady despite the fear clawing at her chest.
"I expect you to trust me."
That stopped him.
Aren pushed himself upright. "Elara's right. The Devourer didn't fully manifest because it can't—not while the Mirror is incomplete."
Kael looked between them. "Incomplete how?"
Elara swallowed. "It needs consent."
The words fell heavy.
Aren inhaled sharply. "What?"
"The Mirror," Elara continued softly, "was built to respond to choice. My father said the prophecy was about choices. The Devourer can't take control unless I open myself to it."
Kael's voice dropped to a dangerous whisper. "And would you?"
Her breath hitched.
"No," she said immediately. "Never. But… it's trying to corner me. To make the world so desperate that choosing it feels like the only way."
Aren clenched his fists. "Then we don't let it do that."
A knock echoed sharply at the chamber door.
Before Kael could answer, Elder Valryn entered with two guards and a woman Elara had never seen before—tall, dark-skinned, her eyes glowing faintly silver.
"This is Scholar Nyx," Valryn said. "She studies pre-Seal cosmology."
Nyx inclined her head to Elara. "You carry an old echo."
Elara stiffened. "So I've been told."
Valryn did not waste time. "The Council has reached a conclusion."
Kael stepped forward instantly. "If this is about confining her—"
"It is about survival," Valryn snapped. "Yours included."
She turned to Elara.
"The Devourer has marked you. That means two things. First—it cannot act directly without risking you. Second—every cult, Hollowborn sect, and shadow-aligned faction will now seek you."
Elara's chest tightened.
Valryn continued. "We propose a countermeasure."
Aren frowned. "What kind?"
Nyx stepped forward. "A veil ritual. One that hides Elara's anchor signature across realms."
Kael's eyes narrowed. "At what cost?"
Nyx met Elara's gaze, not Kael's.
"It would sever your awareness of the Mirror temporarily," she said. "You would still be an anchor—but blind."
Elara's heart dropped.
"You want me disconnected," she whispered.
"Only partially," Nyx said. "You would still feel Kael and Aren—but the Mirror's higher functions would be dormant."
Aren shook his head. "That would destabilize us. The triangle needs all three conscious."
Valryn's voice hardened. "Or it buys us time to prepare while the Devourer searches for a ghost."
Kael looked at Elara, terror barely masked.
"No," he said. "Absolutely not."
Elara closed her eyes.
Part of her screamed in relief.
Another part—older, quieter—knew this wouldn't be that simple.
"Let me think," she said.
Valryn nodded curtly. "We move at dawn."
When the Elders left, the room felt smaller.
Aren spoke first. "If you do this… I won't feel you the same way."
Elara reached for him. "You'll still be there. I promise."
Kael knelt in front of her again, gripping her hands.
"Elara," he whispered. "That thing told you the first soul the Mirror consumes will be your own."
She nodded.
"And you still think hiding yourself is wise?"
"I think," she said carefully, "that the Devourer wants me reactive. Fearful. Cornered."
"And you won't be?"
She smiled sadly. "I already am."
Kael pulled her into his arms, holding her tightly, forehead pressed to her hair.
"I will not lose you," he said fiercely. "I will not."
She clung to him, voice trembling. "Then help me choose the path that keeps others alive too."
Aren turned away, swallowing hard.
The Veil of Silence
Dawn broke pale and uncertain.
The ritual circle was prepared in the Sanctuary's lowest chamber—older than the fortress itself. Symbols carved into the stone floor pulsed softly.
Elara stood at the center.
Kael and Aren stood on opposite sides of the circle, both pale, both afraid.
Nyx raised her hands. "Once the Veil is placed, Elara will lose access to the Mirror's deeper sight. The Devourer will feel… absence."
Kael stepped forward. "And if it retaliates?"
Valryn answered, "Then we fight."
Elara took a breath.
"I'm ready."
Kael grabbed her hand. "You don't have to do this."
She squeezed his fingers. "I do. Because I'm chosen. But I still get to choose how."
Nyx began to chant.
The air thickened.
Elara felt the Mirror stir, confused—like a living thing sensing a blindfold descending.
"No," she whispered instinctively. "It's okay. Just… rest."
Light dimmed.
Her connection to the wider weave began to fade—not vanish, but retreat, like sight narrowing into a tunnel.
She could still feel Kael—strong, burning, terrified.
She could still feel Aren—fragile, steady, hopeful.
Then—
Something pushed back.
Hard.
The circle shook violently.
Nyx gasped. "It's resisting!"
A cold presence surged at the edges of Elara's mind.
"Running already?"
Her breath caught.
Kael shouted, "STOP THE RITUAL!"
But it was too late.
The Veil slammed down—
And at the same time—
The Devourer laughed.
The lights went out.
The chamber plunged into darkness.
Elara screamed—not in pain, but in loss.
Something essential had gone quiet.
When the light returned—
She collapsed into Kael's arms.
Her eyes were open.
But they were no longer glowing.
Nyx whispered, shaken, "The Veil… it worked."
Aren knelt beside her, voice breaking. "Elara… can you feel the Mirror?"
Elara swallowed.
"I… can feel you," she said slowly.
She looked at Kael.
"And you."
Kael exhaled in relief—then froze.
"Is that all?"
She hesitated.
"There's something else," she whispered.
Nyx's face went pale. "What?"
Elara's voice trembled.
"It didn't disappear."
The room held its breath.
"It went quiet," she said. "Like it's waiting."
Far beneath the Sanctuary—
Something old and patient smiled.