The air around them grew tense. Elara and Fael's faces radiated disappointment and anger, while Arka's gaze was filled with caution. Lira stood at the center, feeling the weight of destiny on her shoulders. The words of King Eldrin echoed in her mind—Malakor… The Key…—and now they felt more like a curse than a warning.
"I can't leave," Lira said again, her voice steadier now, though there was still a subtle tremble of emotion in it. She looked at Elara and Fael, her childhood friends. "You didn't see what I saw. Malakor is real. And this gate… it's a seal that's been broken. If I leave now, without understanding this, both the Heavens and Earth will be in grave danger."
Fael stepped forward, his hand gripping the hilt of the crystal dagger at his waist, though he didn't intend to strike. "Nonsense! The threat to the Heavens is you, siding with this human! This is betrayal!"
"Betrayal?" Lira retorted, her eyes glassy. "Betrayal is letting two worlds fall apart because you're blind to the truth! You're too bound by ancient laws, while the world has already changed!"
Elara, calmer than Fael, took a step forward. "Lira, we understand you're confused. But King Eldrin ordered us to bring you home. He knows how to deal with any threat. You're too young to grasp all of this."
"I'm not a child anymore!" Lira shouted. Her inner strength surged, and somehow, the air around them quivered slightly, as if Lira's energy was reacting to her emotion. "I've seen the past! Humans and fae fought side by side! You know nothing!"
Elara's eyes widened slightly. She could feel the surge of energy from Lira—raw and powerful—unlike the pure fae energy she was used to. And what Lira said about ancient humans allying with the fae… that was taboo, a story erased from the Heavens' history.
"Enough!" Fael yelled, unfazed by Lira's strange aura. "If you defy the King's command, we'll bring you back by force!" He began gathering energy in his hand, forming a small orb of silver light.
"Don't!" Arka suddenly stepped in front of Lira, even though his shoulder still ached. He had no magic, no wings, but his resolve was as strong as steel. "You won't lay a finger on her!"
Elara looked at Arka with a curious gaze. She felt Arka's energy. It wasn't fae magic, but neither was it ordinary earthly energy. It was something older, deeper.
"Human, move aside!" Fael hissed, the orb of light growing larger.
But before Fael could strike, Lira extended her hand between Arka and Fael. A spark of blue-golden energy burst from her palm—this time more stable and controlled than before. The spark didn't attack; instead, it formed a transparent wall that gently pulsed, blocking Fael's energy from hitting Arka.
Fael was stunned. Lira's power… it clearly wasn't normal fae magic. There was something foreign in it. Elara stared at the energy wall, her eyes filled with doubt. This was more than an emotional outburst. This was proof of Lira's new power.
"I won't go back," Lira said, her voice cold, as though she had just made an irreversible decision. Her eyes no longer held innocence, but a sharp determination. "At least not until I understand what's truly happening to the Heavens and Earth. And I won't leave Arka. He's the bridge for me to understand this world."
Elara let out a long sigh. She looked at Fael, then at Lira, and finally at Arka. The resolve in the human's eyes and the new power within Lira made her reconsider. This was no longer just a mission to retrieve a lost princess. Something greater was unfolding.
"Very well," Elara finally said, her voice surprising Fael. "We won't force you. But we also can't ignore the King's command. We'll return to the Heavens and report your choice." She looked at Lira with a warning gaze. "But know this, Lira. The path you've chosen is dangerous. Not just because of the threat you speak of, but because of the Heavens themselves."
Fael stared at Elara in disbelief. "Elara! You can't be serious!"
"King Eldrin must hear what Lira has discovered," Elara replied firmly. "And we also need to report the strange energy of this human, Arka. There's something different about him."
Elara and Fael finally spread their wings, lifting into the air through the mist, leaving Lira and Arka alone near the ancient gate. The sound of their wingbeats faded into the distance.
Silence returned, but now it carried the weight of the decision Lira had made. She had chosen—chosen Arka, chosen the truth she had uncovered—over the safety of the Heavens and her father's orders.
Arka looked at Lira, pride and worry mingling in his eyes. "You… you really did that for me?"
Lira turned to Arka, her face weary but filled with a new calm. "Not just for you, Arka. But for all of this." She waved her hand, gesturing to the gate, the withering forest around them, the earth beneath their feet. "Something is wrong here. And I have to find out what it is."
She then looked at Arka more deeply. "And you… Arka. I don't know why Elara said there's something strange about you. But I know you. And I trust you. We need to find out what Malakor is—and how to stop it." She paused, then added more softly, "Maybe… maybe your roots are here too."
Arka didn't fully understand Lira's last words, but he knew she had made a brave choice. He nodded. "Alright. So… what do we do now?"
Lira turned her gaze back to the ruined gate, to the darkness creeping from its cracks. "We need to learn more about this gate. And about Malakor. I'm sure there are other places that hold memories, or remnants of that ancient war. We have to find them, before he rises completely."
A faint whisper, this time not from Malakor or the wind, but from the depths of Lira's memory, drifted through her mind. A fragment of an old melody—a lullaby her father used to sing when she was a child. And within that melody, Lira recalled a faint lyric about the Well of Memories, a mystical place in the Heavens said to hold all forgotten histories. Could there be an equivalent on Earth?
Their journey was no longer about returning to the Heavens or fleeing danger. It had become a mission to uncover long-buried truths—and to save the two worlds now teetering on the brink.