The world returned in silence.
Kael and Selene found themselves standing once more inside the obsidian shrine—only now, something had changed. The walls were covered in faint markings that hadn't been there before, glowing softly like the memory of fire. The seed Kael had taken pulsed gently in his pocket, warm against his chest.
Neither of them spoke for a long time.
"That wasn't just a vision," Kael finally said. "It was… real. All of it."
Selene nodded. "Versions of you. Of us. Choices you didn't make. But could have."
Kael clenched his fist. "Then that means the path ahead isn't set in stone."
She gave a faint smile. "It never was."
They left the shrine behind, stepping once again into the ashen valley. The air had shifted—lighter, almost breathable. As if some of the land's curse had been lifted. But the sky above was darker, stained with veins of red lightning.
Kael looked down at the seed in his hand. It glowed faintly, like a heartbeat.
"What are you going to do with it?" Selene asked.
"I don't know. Not yet. But I think… it's more than a seed. It's a second chance. Something to grow into."
They walked in silence toward the hills. In the distance, something stirred. Not a beast, but a sound. A chime. Faint, distant, and clear.
A bell.
Selene froze. "You hear it too?"
Kael nodded. "The Bell of Dust. My father used to tell me stories about it."
"I thought it was just a legend."
"So did I."
But legends, Kael was learning, often had roots in forgotten truths. The bell only rang when a gate between realms was open—between the world of men and something much older.
The Thorn on Kael's chest pulsed, answering the bell.
Suddenly, the earth cracked open before them.
A staircase revealed itself, descending into crimson mist.
Selene looked at him. "You're not thinking of going down there, are you?"
Kael smiled faintly. "We've come this far."
She groaned. "I knew you'd say that."
Together, they descended into the unknown once more.
Behind them, the valley seemed to close, the ash swirling in slow circles. Ahead, the bell rang again—clearer now, and closer.
Whatever waited in the deep was calling him.