A Symphony of Blades and Broken Stars

The Vale of Echoes faded behind them, but its weight stayed on Elion's shoulders.

He walked quietly as they crossed a narrow path between cliffs. The sky was beginning to darken again. Storm clouds gathered over the peaks, and thunder rumbled far away.

They followed a trail that Kaela said would lead to an old ruin.

"It was once called the Forgotten Gate," she said. "A bridge between this world and something else. No one knows what it truly opened."

Lys frowned. "That sounds exactly like the kind of place we should avoid."

Kaela smiled. "Which means it is exactly where we must go."

The path curved along the mountainside. Far below, they could see broken buildings covered in moss. Statues without faces. Walls carved with strange circles.

When they reached the ruins, Elion felt it right away. Something was waiting here. Not a creature, not a person, but a memory.

Or a warning.

The structure ahead looked like a giant archway made of stone and black crystal. It was cracked in the middle, but it still hummed softly with a pulse of energy.

Lys stepped closer. "This is old magic. Really old."

Kaela placed her palm on the stone. "It is tied to the oaths you made, Elion. To the powers you once called your own."

Elion moved toward the arch. As he approached, the mark on his chest lit up. Not with heat. Not with pain. But with recognition.

He touched the stone.

And the world changed.

Everything went silent.

The air around him stopped. Time itself felt like it paused.

He opened his eyes and found himself alone.

The ruins were gone.

He stood in a place made of light and shadow. Floating islands drifted above him. Rivers of golden fire moved through the sky. Everything looked like a dream drawn by a god and left unfinished.

A voice echoed all around.

"You opened the Gate again."

Elion turned, but saw no one.

"You swore never to return. And yet here you are."

The voice felt familiar. Like hearing his own thoughts spoken aloud.

"I do not remember you," Elion said.

"You will."

A figure appeared. A reflection of Elion himself. Same face. Same eyes. But different. His reflection wore a crown made of blades and a cloak of night stars.

"You were me," the reflection said, "and I was you. You left me here."

Elion stepped back. "What is this place?"

"A piece of the truth. A place between memory and fate. You came here once to seal away your power. Now, the seal is breaking."

Elion reached out, but the vision shattered.

He fell backward into his own body.

Kaela caught him.

"You touched the stone," she said. "What did you see?"

Elion looked up at the broken arch.

"I saw myself," he said. "And I was afraid."