A Symphony of Blades and Broken Stars

Chapter 14: The Storm Below



Rain began falling before dawn.

It was not gentle. It poured from the sky in waves, turning the paths into rivers of mud and stone. The forest below the cliff shivered under the weight of it. Even the wind howled, as if warning them to turn back.

But Elion kept walking.

Kaela stayed close to his side, her cloak soaked through. Lys grumbled, but followed, shielding the fire crystal that lit their way.

They had left the Forgotten Gate behind. Its power lingered, like a shadow just outside their vision. But now they were heading toward something even older.

A ruin hidden deep beneath the cliffs. One only Kaela had seen in her dreams.

"I saw it long ago," she said. "In the days after you vanished, Elion. I had visions. A place beneath the roots of the world, where the truth sleeps."

Elion's voice was quiet. "Do you think it holds the rest of my memory?"

Kaela looked at him. "No. I think it holds the reason you chose to forget."

As the storm worsened, they found the entrance. It was a narrow crack in the cliff, hidden behind hanging vines and stone. Lightning flashed, and for a brief second, they saw steps leading downward into the dark.

Inside, the air was thick and damp. Every breath tasted like old dust and wet stone.

They lit a torch. The flame flickered wildly.

The walls were carved with ancient symbols. Not words, but stories told in shape and form. A circle split in two. A sword plunged into stars. A man standing between two mirrors.

Elion paused at one of the carvings. "This one is me."

Lys touched the wall. "Why are you shown breaking the sword?"

Kaela answered, "Because he did."

The stairway led into a wide hall with a sunken floor. At the center was a pool of still water, black as ink.

Elion stepped to the edge. The water reflected not his face, but something else.

A battlefield.

A tower burning.

A figure kneeling in chains.

He fell back, eyes wide.

Lys caught him. "What did you see?"

"Another life," he whispered. "One I have never lived, but somehow remember."

Kaela knelt by the water. "This is a mirror pool. It shows what was taken. What was buried."

The ground shook.

The water stirred.

Something was waking up.

A voice rose from the pool. Not a scream. Not a whisper.

A song.

Soft. Cold. Familiar.

Elion stepped forward again. The mark on his chest glowed red.

The pool began to shine, and from its center, a shape began to rise.

A sword.

Broken in the middle.

The voice spoke at last.

"You left me here."


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