The ground beneath Elarin split open.

A deafening roar rolled through the village as stone houses shook and ancient trees bent beneath an invisible force.

People ran through the streets screaming.

Windows shattered.

Roof tiles crashed onto the roads.

The old observatory tower leaned dangerously to one side.

And beneath everything came that sound.

THUM.

A heartbeat.

THUM.

Another.

THUM.

Liora stood frozen in the middle of the street.

Kael stood beside her.

Neither of them spoke.

The sound wasn’t coming from the village.

It was coming from somewhere far below.

Something enormous was waking beneath the earth.

Lord Veyron watched from his black airship.

His smile had disappeared.

For the first time, fear appeared in his crimson eyes.

“No…”

One of his soldiers approached.

“My lord?”

Veyron slowly stepped backward.

“The seal.”

“What about it?”

“It shouldn’t be breaking yet.”

Another tremor shook the village.

Veyron looked toward Kael.

Then toward Liora.

His expression hardened.

“Their awakening triggered it.”

Kael heard him.

“What seal?”

Veyron didn’t answer.

Instead, he raised his hand.

“Capture them.”

The Eclipse soldiers jumped from the airship.

Liora grabbed Kael’s wrist.

“Run!”

They sprinted through the collapsing village.

A soldier landed in front of them.

Kael raised his hand.

Blue energy exploded outward.

The soldier was thrown into a wall.

Another appeared behind them.

Liora spun around.

Silver light surrounded her hand.

She struck the ground.

A wave of silver energy pushed the soldier away.

Kael stared at her.

“You’re getting stronger.”

“I don’t know how I’m doing it!”

“Neither do I!”

“Great!”

They ran toward the forest.

Behind them, the village disappeared beneath clouds of dust.

---

They didn’t stop until they reached the northern mountain path.

Liora leaned against a tree, breathing heavily.

Kael looked back.

Elarin was barely visible through the smoke.

“We can’t go back.”

Liora looked at him.

“My home…”

Kael’s expression softened.

“I’m sorry.”

She wiped her eyes.

“Don’t.”

“Don’t what?”

“Don’t look at me like I’m weak.”

“I wasn’t.”

“You were.”

Kael smiled slightly.

“You’re impossible.”

“So I’ve been told.”

A deep rumble came from the mountains.

Kael looked toward the northern horizon.

“Where do we go?”

Liora took a small map from her pocket.

“There is an abandoned city beyond the mountains.”

“An abandoned city?”

“The Forbidden City of Noctis.”

Kael frowned.

“Why is it forbidden?”

“Because nobody who enters ever comes back.”

Kael stared at her.

“And that’s where we’re going?”

Liora folded the map.

“Unless you have a better idea.”

Kael looked at the army approaching from behind.

“No.”

He sighed.

“No better ideas.”

They continued north.

---

By sunset, the forest had changed.

The trees became twisted and colorless.

No birds sang.

No insects moved.

Even the wind seemed afraid to enter the place.

Liora walked ahead.

Kael followed.

After several hours, they reached a massive stone gate.

Two statues stood on either side.

Both were warriors wearing ancient armor.

Their faces had been scratched away.

Above the gate were three words:

NOCTIS NEVER SLEEPS.

Kael stared at the inscription.

“I don’t like that.”

Liora smiled.

“Neither do I.”

They stepped through.

The moment they entered the city, the gate slammed shut behind them.

BOOM!

Kael turned.

“Did you do that?”

“No.”

“Good.”

“That isn’t good.”

The city stretched endlessly before them.

Tall black towers reached toward the clouds.

Bridges connected buildings hundreds of feet above the streets.

Blue lanterns floated through the air without chains.

And strange shadows moved behind the windows.

Liora whispered:

“Noctis.”

Kael looked around.

“This place isn’t abandoned.”

A shadow crossed the street.

Then another.

Kael reached for Liora’s hand.

“Stay close.”

She looked at him.

“Are you worried about me?”

“Yes.”

Liora smiled.

“That’s new.”

Kael frowned.

“Why?”

“You barely knew me yesterday.”

He looked at her.

“Maybe I’ve known you longer than I remember.”

Her smile disappeared.

Neither spoke.

They continued deeper into the city.

---

They found shelter inside an old library.

Dust covered the shelves.

Hundreds of books filled the walls.

Most were written in languages neither of them recognized.

Liora lit a small lantern.

Kael sat beside a broken window.

His wrist still glowed faintly.

Liora noticed.

“Does it hurt?”

“No.”

“Then why is it glowing?”

“I don’t know.”

She sat beside him.

For a while, they simply listened to the silence.

Then Kael spoke.

“Tell me about your parents.”

Liora looked down.

“My father was a guardian.”

“And your mother?”

“She was a historian.”

“Of what?”

“Ancient stars.”

Kael looked at her.

“Stars?”

Liora nodded.

“They believed the stars weren’t just lights in the sky.”

“What did they think?”

“They believed they were watching us.”

Kael stared through the window.

The night sky above Noctis was completely black.

There were no stars.

“Why are there no stars here?”

Liora looked upward.

“That’s the strangest thing about Noctis.”

“What?”

“The stars disappear whenever you enter the city.”

Kael looked at her.

“Why?”

She shook her head.

“I don’t know.”

A book suddenly fell from a shelf.

THUD.

Both jumped.

Liora picked it up.

The cover was black.

A silver crescent was engraved in the center.

Kael touched it.

The book opened by itself.

Pages began turning rapidly.

Then stopped.

A picture appeared.

Two children.

A boy with golden eyes.

A girl with silver eyes.

Kael stopped breathing.

Liora stared.

The children stood before an enormous throne.

Above them floated seven stars.

At the bottom of the page was a sentence.

THE STARBORN AND THE SILVER GUARDIAN SHALL RETURN WHEN THE KING OF SHADOWS AWAKENS.

Liora’s hands trembled.

“That’s us.”

Kael turned the page.

Another picture.

A burning palace.

A woman holding a baby.

The woman had silver eyes.

Liora’s eyes widened.

“My mother…”

Kael looked closer.

The baby was surrounded by blue light.

His golden eyes were open.

Kael whispered:

“That baby is me.”

The room became silent.

Then another page turned.

This one showed the same woman standing before a portal.

She was crying.

Behind her stood a man wearing a crown.

His face was hidden by darkness.

Below the image:

THE QUEEN SENT HER SON INTO THE FUTURE TO ESCAPE THE KING.

Kael stepped backward.

“Queen?”

Liora looked at him.

“You’re royalty.”

Kael shook his head.

“No.”

“You just saw the evidence.”

“I don’t remember being a prince.”

“Memory doesn’t change history.”

Kael stared at the page.

Then something moved behind them.

A whisper.

“Kael…”

He turned.

“Who said that?”

Liora stood.

“I didn’t.”

The library doors slowly opened.

Darkness filled the doorway.

A little girl stood there.

She looked about eight years old.

Her white dress was covered in dust.

Her eyes were completely black.

Liora stepped backward.

“Who are you?”

The girl smiled.

“My name is Mira.”

Kael felt a strange chill.

“Where are your parents?”

Mira pointed deeper into the library.

“They are waiting.”

“Who?”

“The dead ones.”

The lights went out.

Liora grabbed Kael.

A hundred whispers filled the darkness.

Kael…

Kael…

Kael…

Then the lights returned.

Mira was gone.

In her place stood dozens of shadow creatures.

Tall.

Thin.

Their bodies looked like smoke trapped inside human shapes.

Kael raised his hand.

“Liora…”

“I know.”

The creatures attacked.

---

Kael’s blue energy exploded across the library.

Liora’s silver power answered.

Together, their attacks created a massive circle of light.

The shadows screamed.

But more appeared.

Hundreds.

Kael looked around.

“We can’t fight all of them!”

Liora noticed something.

“Wait.”

“What?”

“They aren’t attacking the books.”

Kael looked toward the shelves.

The creatures avoided one particular section.

Liora ran toward it.

“Help me!”

They pushed aside several old books.

Behind them was a stone door.

A crescent symbol was carved into it.

Kael touched the symbol.

The door opened.

A staircase descended into darkness.

They ran inside.

The door slammed shut behind them.

The shadow creatures struck it from the other side.

Liora looked down the staircase.

“How deep does this go?”

Kael looked at the darkness.

“I don’t think it goes down.”

“What do you mean?”

He pointed.

The staircase was glowing blue.

And the steps weren’t leading underground.

They were floating.

Descending through a vast empty space.

Liora swallowed.

“That’s impossible.”

Kael smiled faintly.

“Apparently, we’re getting used to impossible.”

They stepped onto the first floating stair.

Then the second.

Then the third.

The city above them slowly disappeared.

At the bottom waited a gigantic underground chamber.

In its center stood a throne.

And sitting on it was a skeleton wearing a crown.

Liora stopped.

Kael felt his blood turn cold.

The skeleton slowly lifted its head.

Two crimson flames appeared inside its empty eye sockets.

A voice echoed through the chamber.

“Welcome home, Prince Kael.”

Kael couldn’t move.

Liora stepped in front of him.

“Who are you?”

The skeleton laughed.

“I am the one who remembers what your prince has forgotten.”

The chamber shook.

The crown began glowing.

Kael’s wrist burned.

He dropped to one knee.

Images flooded his mind.

A palace.

A queen.

A little girl with silver eyes.

A sword.

A promise.

And a final memory.

He was standing before Liora.

Both of them were children.

She was crying.

Kael was holding a glowing blue sword.

A monster was approaching behind him.

He whispered:

“I’ll come back for you.”

The memory shattered.

Kael opened his eyes.

Tears ran down his face.

Liora knelt beside him.

“Kael?”

He looked at her.

And whispered:

“I remember you.”

Liora froze.

“You do?”

Kael nodded.

“You were my best friend.”

Her eyes filled with tears.

“And you…”

He smiled sadly.

“You promised you would wait for me.”

Liora covered her mouth.

“I did.”

The skeleton rose from the throne.

“How touching.”

Kael stood.

His golden eyes began glowing brighter than ever.

The blue energy around him transformed.

It became flames.

The entire chamber shook.

The skeleton laughed.

“Yes.”

“Awaken, Starborn.”

“Your kingdom is waiting.”

Above Noctis, the clouds split apart.

For the first time in centuries, stars appeared over the Forbidden City.

Seven stars.

Seven brilliant lights.

And beneath them—

a gigantic shadow opened its eyes.

Liora looked upward.

“Kael…”

He turned.

“What?”

She pointed toward the sky.

The seven stars were moving.

Slowly.

Forming a symbol.

A crown.

Kael stared.

Then a voice echoed across the entire kingdom.

Not from the skeleton.

Not from the sky.

From beneath the world itself.

“THE PRINCE HAS RETURNED.”

The mountains exploded.

The ancient seal broke.

And somewhere beneath Aetheria—

the King of Shadows opened his eyes.

To be continued…