Lira Valenti's world spun as the sixth-nation shrine collapsed, Sarn's desert sand choking her lungs. Glowing runes flickered on the crumbling walls, their silver light fading under a sky torn by violet lightning. Three beasts roared outside, their scales shimmering, claws raking the ruins.
The spectral army's chant—"Blood seals the Accord"—echoed, their blades flashing like stars. Veyra's third crystal blazed in her trembling hands, her betrayal raw: "I had to." Kael's possessed figure loomed on the Silent Council's ship, his second crystal pulsing with Lira's stolen runes.
Elias clung to her, his sea-glass eyes fierce, digging through rubble to free her pinned legs. "You're not gone yet," he growled, his warmth anchoring her, his Veyran pendant glowing faintly.
But the specter—Lira's voice, alive, cold—loomed, its blade etched with her runes. "You're my vessel," it said, her own voice twisting her heart. Mira, her twin, fought a beast at the shrine's edge, her crimson cloak torn, her energy flaring. "Lira, I'm with you!" she screamed, her voice breaking. Redemption, or a lie?
Lira's arm burned, her runes dim, the parchment in her pocket cold. Her Echowriting, her rune-magic voice, faltered under the Council's blood-pact curse.
Koren, the sixth-nation survivor, swung his star-etched staff, silver light slicing a spectral warrior. "I betrayed them," he confessed, voice heavy. "I hid the Accord's truth to save the sixth nation. I failed." Lira's heart sank. Koren, part of the lie?
The Accord, binding Solara's tides, Sarn's warriors, Veyra's scholars, Thryme's smiths, and Kyris's riders, was a curse forged in her blood—her silence.
Her runes sparked, defiance surging. She scratched a star-circle into the altar, her nails bloody, silver light blazing. The rubble shattered, freeing her.
Elias pulled her close, his arms strong, his breath ragged. "I love you," he whispered, his lips meeting hers—a kiss, desperate, fleeting, stolen by the specter's scream.
"You're mine!" Its blade slashed, grazing Lira's arm. Her runes flared, shoving it back, but pain seared her, a voice whispering: "Your voice is ours."
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Mira's POV
Mira gripped her dagger, the beast's claws inches away, the Council's crystal burning her palm. Lira's face—her twin's—flashed, nine years old, trusting before the ritual stole her voice.
Mira had chosen herself, a child's fear sealing Lira's curse. Now Lira's Echowriting burned, unraveling the lie Mira lived.
"I won't lose you again," she vowed, tears falling. Her energy surged, blasting the beast, defiance breaking the Council's whispers—"Kill her." She'd save Lira, or die trying, her heart torn between guilt and hope.
The first beast crashed through the shrine, its jaws snapping. Koren's staff dimmed, his face pale.
"The Accord cursed Voicekeepers," he said. "I hid the artifact to protect them, but it doomed us all. Your blood, Lira, can break it."
Lira's breath caught. Break it? She scratched a jagged star into the floor, light exploding, shattering a dozen spectral warriors.
The second beast roared, claws aimed at Elias. "No!" Lira lunged, her light shoving it back, but her vision blurred, the curse choking her.
Elias tackled the specter, his dagger flashing. "Stay away from her!" His pendant glowed, Veyran silver catching the starlight.
"Mira was my sister in arms," he confessed, voice raw. "We fought for the Accord, but she turned to the Council. I didn't know about you, Lira. I swear it." His eyes locked on hers, a vow, and he kissed her again, brief but fierce, her heart ablaze.
The specter screamed, "You can't save her!" Lira's trust wavered, Koren's confession echoing.
Veyra knelt, her crystal pulsing red. "My brother's life," she sobbed, raising it. "I had no choice."
Lira's heart twisted—another betrayal. Koren grabbed them, pulling them to a hidden chamber where a second artifact—a rune-etched orb—glowed. "It holds the Voicekeeper's curse," he said, eyes flicking away.
Lira touched it, and a vision hit—sand under a crimson sky, a Voicekeeper bleeding, Kael's young face betraying her. "Your blood curses us all," she whispered.
Lira woke, gasping, the orb's words burning: "The Voicekeeper's blood ends the Accord."
End of POV
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Mira's POV
Mira fought the third beast, her energy faltering, the Council's whispers deafening: "End her."
Lira's light burned in the shrine, her twin's strength a mirror of Mira's loss. She saw their childhood, Lira's laughter before the silence, her own tears as she betrayed her.
"I'll make this right," she vowed, her energy surging. But the crystal pulsed, binding her to the Council. She ran toward Lira, dagger lowered, torn between sisterhood and duty.
The third beast chanted Lira's name, its claws raking the shrine. Veyra's crystal flared, summoning it, and Kael's voice boomed: "The Accord is ours."
The specter merged with Kael's crystal, growing taller, its face Lira's. "I am your voice," it said, "your vessel."
Lira scratched a final star-circle into the orb, light blazing, but the specter possessed her, her eyes glowing silver. She turned, runes flaring, attacking Elias.
"No!" she screamed inside, trapped. Mira lunged, her energy shoving the specter back, tears streaming. "Lira, fight it!"
Koren's staff faltered, and he whispered, "I hid the orb to save myself." His betrayal confirmed, he raised a hidden blade.
The orb pulsed, and a sixth-nation guardian rose—massive, cloaked, chanting Lira's name.
Veyra's crystal shattered, her scream echoing: "I didn't know!"
The shrine collapsed, sand swallowing them, and the guardian loomed, its voice Lira's: "Your blood, my Accord."
End of POV