Vaticinia Caelorum- The Prophecy That Destroyed The Heavens

Serenya burst out of the closet, her breath catching in her throat. She didn't stop. Not for the shattered gowns, not for the broken crystal floor, not even when her body screamed at her to slow down. Her mind was clear now—as sharp as lightning.

She knew exactly what she had to take with her.

Riven. Lyara.

The most dear to her.

She ran through the ruined chambers of the palace, calling her friend's name like a prayer.

"Lyara!"

Nothing.

"Lyara!"

She searched the court room first, stepping over broken banners and collapsed arches. The balcony was next, then the garden. Her voice echoed through the stone corridors like a song no one wanted to hear anymore. But there was no sign of Lyara. Only silence.

Her lungs burned.

Then she remembered.

The Swan Side of the lake. That's where they had told Riven to meet them.

Serenya clenched her fists and summoned the air. The wind responded like an old friend, lifting her swiftly off the ground. She soared over the destroyed eastern wing, her silver hair lashing behind her, her white tunic fluttering. Below, the marble pillars lay crumbled like chalk, and sections of the palace now smoked with ruin.

The sun was now fully risen. Two turns had passed. She had been gone longer than she thought.

And then she saw them.

By the water.

Riven and Lyara.

Waiting.

Lyara stood, scanning the skies, wringing her hands. Riven paced with a soldier's tension, his fists clenched. Their faces lit up when they saw her descending.

"Where have you been?" Riven said, striding toward her, voice caught somewhere between relief and frustration.

"We searched for you everywhere," Lyara added, her tone breathless.

"I need to tell you both something really necessary," Serenya started—but then it happened.

BOOM.

Another blast.

They all turned. Smoke rose from what remained of the central dome. A second explosion cracked the skies moments later. Thunder rippled across the clouds.

"Let's go somewhere safe first," Serenya said.

Riven held out his hands.

"To the Veiled Veins, then."

It was a bar hidden near the heart of the CityStar, tucked between old grain towers and broken aqueducts, known only to a few. With a sharp crackle of thunder and a flash of violet light, Riven transported all three of them.

The Veiled Veins was chaos.

People spilled out of their homes. Shopkeepers abandoned their stalls. Children clung to their parents, asking questions no one could answer. From where they stood, the wreckage of the palace loomed in the distance, visible even through the white plumes of smoke.

The air buzzed with panic.

"What will happen now?"

"Where is the Supreme Mother?"

"She just disappeared!"

"Is she dead?"

"No—no, she can't be."

All of Aetheria had been thrown into uncertainty. The once eternal calm had cracked like porcelain.

Riven, Serenya, and Lyara sat at a side bench near the edge of the bar, shoulders touching. No one recognized them. Not in these clothes. Not without the glowing tiara or the formal robes of the court. Serenya was just another girl now—and for once, she was grateful for it.

Riven ran a hand through his ash-black hair. "What is this?" he muttered. He wasn't speaking to anyone in particular.

Serenya felt the weight of his fear. Of Lyara's. And she realized, suddenly, that she had been too deep in her own shock to remember they, too, were afraid. For their families. Their homes.

She took their hands.

"I might know something."

They looked at her, eyes wide.

And so she told them. About the closet. The doorway. The memories. The strange vision. Her mother. The revelation. The prophecy she hadn't yet dared name.

They listened. Not once interrupting.

When she finished, Lyara was the first to speak.

"We need to go to Master Aelius."

Serenya nodded. "You're thinking the same as me."

Master Aelius was one of the oldest living scholars in Aetheria. He lived in a floating city far from the palace—a city named Virelya, two clouds away. Few had heard of him. Fewer had seen him. But he was the keeper of lost truths.

"Can you apparate that far, Riv? With both of us?" Serenya asked.

Riven hesitated. Then nodded.

"I think so. If I concentrate. We'll have to be touching, and I'll need time to recharge after."

"Then we leave as soon as you're ready," Serenya said. Determined.

And then, before they could speak again, the sky changed.

Lightning.

But not from any bearer.

It was ancient. Primordial. It cracked across the clouds like a blade, and every person in the CityStar paused. It wasn't just seen. It was felt.

In their skin.

In their bones.

Then a voice.

A man's voice. Cold. Distant. Powerful.

"The Heavens have fallen. Aetheria has fallen. Your Queen has fallen. You are free now."

Everyone heard it.

Not through their ears.

Through their very souls.

And silence fell.

The city—the world—held its breath.

Serenya gripped Riven and Lyara's hands tighter. Her heart beat like war drums. Her breath shallow.

The sky was no longer safe.

And the prophecy had begun.