Princess: Blades of Time and Starlight

Kai reached me just as the last flickers of Anaria's illusion faded from the air. His eyes locked on the blade in my hand—its surface glowing faintly with runes that pulsed like a heartbeat, as though they recognized me too.

"Anna..." he said, almost breathless. "You did it."

I nodded, still trying to steady my breath. The weight of the blade in my grip felt strange—not heavy, but familiar. Like I'd been carrying it all along, just waiting for the right moment to remember.

But before I could answer, the cave itself shifted.

The ground beneath us trembled. Not violently—but like something ancient had stirred. The walls, once solid and cold, began to hum with energy. Vines retracted from the stone like veins pulling away from exposed skin, and the torches—long extinguished—ignited one by one in a ring of pale blue flame.

A sound like stone breathing filled the air. Then, from behind the throne-shaped stone that had once held Anaria's image, a crack formed—subtle at first, then splitting wide with a sharp, echoing crack.

Kai stepped in front of me instinctively, but I touched his arm and stepped forward instead, drawn toward the stone.

From the broken wall emerged a hidden passage, narrow and dark, but thrumming with a pull that struck me straight in the chest. Not malevolent. Not even dangerous. But waiting.

Kai glanced between me and the passage. "This wasn't here before, I swear."

"It was," I said softly. "It just didn't open... until now."

The air grew cooler as we stood at its threshold. From somewhere deep within, a faint hum echoed—like a forgotten lullaby sung in a language I almost remembered.

On the walls, symbols lit up one by one—matching the ones now etched into the blade in my hand.

Kai looked at me with a mix of awe and concern. "What do you think is down there?"

I tightened my grip on the blade. "The truth. About her. About me. Maybe even about what's coming."

I turned to him, my voice steadier than I expected.

"But whatever it is... we're going in together."

We stepped through the narrow stone passage, the silence deepening with every step. The glow from my blade provided just enough light to guide us, casting shadows that danced along the rune-etched walls.

As we walked, the air grew heavier—not with danger, but with memory. It felt sacred here. Like every inch of this hidden corridor remembered something long forgotten by the world above.

At the end, the tunnel opened into a small chamber—circular, with a domed ceiling so high it vanished into darkness. The walls were covered in carvings, swirling with ancient script and scenes frozen in time: battles, broken crowns, winged figures with blades made of starlight.

At the center stood a pedestal.

Carved from obsidian and shaped like an open book, it pulsed faintly as we approached. The moment I stepped within a few feet, the runes around the room flared to life, glowing in the same pale light as the blade in my hand.

Kai moved beside me, eyes wide."This... this is old magic. Not just sealed—but protected. Buried beneath layers of time."

I took another step forward—and the moment my foot touched the etched circle around the pedestal, the chamber changed.

Time folded inward.

The air shimmered.

The blade in my hand burned with light—

—and then the room fell away.

I stood in another world, another time.

Not a vision.

A memory.

The sky above me was cracked and bleeding with stars. All around, fires burned. People ran through a ruined city carved into the cliffs. In the distance, a colossal beast moved like smoke given form, consuming everything in its path.

And on the edge of a shattered balcony stood Anaria—but not as I'd seen her before.

She was younger. Desperate. Blood on her cheek. The blade—this blade—in her hand, glowing brighter than the sun.

And kneeling before her, bound in chains of light, was a man with eyes like mine.

"Please," he whispered. "There's still time. Don't let it happen again."

Anaria's voice trembled. "If I don't make this sacrifice, the cycle won't end."

Then she looked up—her eyes meeting mine, as if across time.

"You'll remember this, Anna. When the world begins to break again. When the same choice is laid before you. The blade can seal the darkness—or become it."

The memory shattered like glass.

I gasped as I fell to my knees in the chamber, the pedestal before me now glowing with a single line of script:

"She who reclaims the blade must choose: to rewrite the fate that broke the world... or to repeat it."

Kai rushed to my side. "What did you see?"

I looked at him, hand trembling over the rune-lit stone."The truth." My voice was hoarse. "This wasn't just about power. It was a warning. The same darkness is coming again… and I might be the only one who can stop it. Or unleash it."

The runes on the pedestal flared once more, then slowly faded… all except one.

A single symbol remained, glowing a deep gold—the shape of a circle split by a blade.

Kai helped me to my feet, but before we could speak, the ground beneath us trembled again. This time, it wasn't gentle. It felt like the chamber itself had drawn a breath.

From the far end of the room, a great slab of stone split open with a crack of thunder. Dust and light poured through as a figure emerged—towering, cloaked in ancient armor veined with glowing runes.

The guardian.

Its face was hidden beneath a smooth, expressionless mask. Its voice, when it spoke, came not from its mouth—but from everywhere at once. Deep. Resonant. Elemental.

"Daughter of the blade. Bearer of the broken cycle. You seek to wield what once unmade the world. Then you must be tested."

I stepped forward, still gripping the hilt of my blade."Tested how?" I asked, steadying my voice.

"Not in strength of sword," the guardian said, its mask tilting slightly. "But in strength of soul. The blade remembers. Do you?"

Suddenly, the chamber went dark.

And in the darkness, memories returned—not mine, but fragments I had carried without knowing. The test had begun.

I stood in a clearing lit by moonlight, my blade raised—Anaria's hands my own. Before me knelt the same man in chains, the one from the vision.

"He betrayed us," a voice whispered behind me. "He let the gate open. He deserves death."

But he looked up at me with eyes filled with sorrow, not malice.

"You know the truth, don't you?" he whispered. "You saw what they made me do."

In this test, I was her. I had her choice in my hands once again.

My grip on the blade trembled.

"Choose," the guardian's voice echoed through the illusion. "Justice or mercy. Vengeance or forgiveness. The blade will carry your answer forward."

I closed my eyes, heart racing. I could feel the weight of both women pressing down on me—Anaria's pain, my fear, the prophecy like a noose around my fate.

But I opened my hand.

And I lowered the blade.

"I choose mercy."

The chains dissolved. The man wept. The stars above brightened.

The vision shattered.

I stood once more in the chamber, the guardian looming silently before me. The golden rune on its chest dimmed, and for a long moment, nothing happened.

Then it stepped back... and bowed.

"You remember. And you have chosen."

A door behind the pedestal opened—this one smaller, carved in the shape of a rising sun.

Kai exhaled beside me. "What now?"

I looked at the blade in my hand. It pulsed gently, no longer with fire—but with clarity.

"Now I carry the prophecy forward. On my terms."

Kai looked at me with concern etched across his face."What do you mean by prophecy?" he asked, his voice low and careful.

I opened my mouth to answer, the truth burning just beneath my tongue—but before I could speak, a sharp voice cut through the air like a dagger.

Selene stepped into the chamber, her presence sudden and cold.

"What she means," she said with a cruel smile, "is that she's meant to return to her own time and leave you behind… again. You were never the priority, Kai. It was always the sword."

Her words hit like a slap, but this time, I didn't flinch.

The runes along the chamber walls flickered.

My grip tightened around the hilt of the blade—not from anger, but from something deeper. Truth. It stirred in my chest like a long-held breath finally released.

I stepped forward, facing both of them.

"You're wrong, Selene."

My voice was steady. Firmer than even I expected.

"This prophecy isn't about the blade. It's about what I do with it. And Kai..." I turned to him, meeting his eyes, voice trembling just slightly. "You were never second to anything. Not even fate. I chose you—long before I even knew what that meant."

Magic surged around me in response—light rippling outward in gentle waves, illuminating the entire chamber with a soft glow. The blade in my hand hummed—not with rage, but with resonance.

"Yes, I come from another time. Yes, I carry a past that's not entirely mine. But I won't let that past decide who I am now." My voice cracked slightly, emotion spilling through.

Selene's smirk faltered.

"I'm not leaving him behind. Not this time. Not ever."

The cave responded—the very stones seemed to pulse as if awakened by my words. The blade glowed brighter, runes aligning across the floor beneath my feet like a seal unlocking.

Kai stepped beside me, his hand reaching for mine—not to pull me back, but to stand with me.

And the magic accepted it.

A wind swept through the chamber, as if the prophecy had listened… and was shifting.

Selene's smirk vanished. Her eyes narrowed, flicking from me to Kai, then to the glowing blade between us. The chamber's light reflected off her face, exposing the crack in her composure—a flash of something sharp and bitter beneath her calm.

"No," she said, her voice low and shaking. "That's not how it's supposed to go."

She took a step forward, and for a moment, I saw the mask fall. Not jealousy. Not even heartbreak.

But fear.

"You weren't supposed to remember this much yet. The blade was meant to bind you to the path, not free you from it!"

Kai moved closer to me, his hand still in mine, protective now, but confused."What are you talking about, Selene?"

She turned her eyes on him, frustration boiling to the surface."You think this is just about fate and love? You think she just happened to stumble back into this time with a broken memory and a cursed blade?"

She pointed at me, voice rising with magic crackling at her fingertips.

"She was sent back for a reason. Not by chance. Not by accident. I saw the vision, Kai—I saw her fall through time. I was there when the Seers spoke of the girl who would rewrite the ending. I've kept it hidden because if she remembers everything, she doesn't just save the world—she reshapes it. And not everyone survives that version."

The chamber seemed to tense with her words, the runes dimming slightly, responding to the conflict now bleeding through the air.

I stepped forward, breath shallow."You knew? All this time—you knew who I really was?"

Selene's expression twisted. For a heartbeat, I thought I saw regret.

"I knew enough to fear you." Her voice dropped, no longer cruel—just raw. "Because the last time you carried that blade, Anna... you didn't choose mercy. You let the world burn."

A long silence followed. The memory of Anaria's vision pulsed behind my eyes.

And in that silence, the blade grew warm again in my grip—not in warning, but in reassurance.

That was then. This is now.

I looked Selene in the eye."I'm not that girl anymore. And this time… I'll make the right choice."

The chamber began to shift again. The sealed door behind the pedestal creaked wider—as if my decision had opened the path forward.

But Selene didn't follow. Her hands lowered, her magic fizzling out. Her expression was unreadable—part fury, part sorrow, and something that might have once been hope.

"Then I pray you're right," she whispered.

And with that, she turned and vanished into the shadows.