Lyra POV:
"Keep moving."
Kael's voice is low, steady, but I hear the strain in it.
"I am moving," I reply, keeping pace beside him.
"You're watching me instead of the path."
"You're walking like you might collapse."
"I'm fine."
"You're not."
He stops. I stop with him.
For a moment, we just stand there, facing each other in the quiet stretch beyond the outer wall.
Kael exhales slowly. "Lyra "
A pulse cuts him off. It hits like a silent удар sharp, sudden.
The Blood Moon surges. Kael stiffens. Then he drops.
"Kael!"
I catch him before he hits the ground fully, but his weight drags me down with him.
His body is rigid. His hand grips my sleeve like he's holding onto something unseen.
"Stay with me," I say quickly.
His eyes are open but not seeing me.
"Lyra…" he whispers.
Then his gaze goes distant. Wrong.
I press my hand to his chest, forcing lunar energy into him.
"Come on," I mutter. "Not now."
The magic pushes back immediately. Stronger than before.
"Kael, listen to me."
No response. His grip tightens painfully around my arm. Then He speaks again. But not to me.
"She failed."
His voice is strained, distant.
"Again…"
I freeze for a second.
"What?"
"She couldn't hold it…"
His breathing grows uneven. My magic flickers.
"Kael, you're here. Stay here."
But he doesn't hear me.
"They all tried…" he says.
"All of them…"
My heart stutters. I push more energy into him, trying to anchor him.
"Who tried?" I ask.
His head shifts slightly, like he's following something I can't see.
"The sorceress… the one with silver light…"
My fingers tighten.
"That's me," I say.
"No…"
The word comes out weak.
"Not you…"
I feel something cold slide down my spine.
"What do you mean not me?"
His breathing sharpens.
"She said she could save me…"
His voice cracks.
"She always says that…"
Always.
"Kael."
I shake him lightly.
"Look at me."
Nothing.
Only that distant, fractured voice.
"She stood where you stand…"
His hand lifts slightly, trembling in the air.
"Same eyes… same light…"
My throat tightens.
"Who?"
"She died…"
I stop breathing for a second.
"What?"
"She couldn't stop it…"
His body jerks under my hands.
"The moon took her…"
I press harder, my magic surging brighter.
"No," I say firmly. "That's not happening again."
But his words don't stop.
"There were more…"
His voice weakens, but the words keep coming.
"Different faces… same power…"
My pulse pounds in my ears.
"They all tried to break it…"
"Break what?" I demand.
"The curse…"
His hand tightens again.
"And it broke them instead…"
I grit my teeth.
"Not this time," I whisper.
My magic flares brighter, wrapping around him, forcing warmth back into his body.
"Kael, listen to me. You're not alone. Not anymore."
For a moment. Nothing changes. Then. His body relaxes slightly.
His breathing steadies. But his eyes still don't see me.
"Don't let her go there…" he whispers.
My chest tightens.
"Where?"
"The temple…"
My breath catches.
"What temple?"
"The lunar temple…"
His voice drops lower.
"Where it all begins… and ends…"
I lean closer.
"Kael, what's in the temple?"
His lips part slightly.
"The heart…"
I freeze.
"The Heart of the Moon?"
He nods faintly.
"It's not what you think…"
A sharp tremor runs through him again. I hold him tighter.
"Then what is it?"
"It doesn't just control the curse…"
His voice turns strained again.
"It feeds it…"
"No," I say immediately.
"That's not possible."
"It is…"
His fingers twitch weakly.
"They used it before…"
"Who?"
"The first ones…"
His breathing turns uneven again.
"They tried to change it…"
"And?"
"They failed…"
I feel my magic falter for a split second.
"Why?"
His voice breaks.
"Because it needs a life…"
My chest tightens.
"A life?"
"To redirect it…"
I stare at him.
"What does that mean?"
His head turns slightly, like he's looking at something far away.
"They chose him…"
A chill runs through me.
"Who?"
"…me."
I stop completely. Everything inside me stills.
"What?"
"They always choose me…"
His voice is barely there now.
"As the anchor…"
My hand trembles against his chest.
"Anchor for what?"
"The curse…"
"No."
The word comes out sharp.
"That's not how this works."
"It is…"
His breathing grows weaker.
"They bind it to me…"
"Who does?"
"The sorceress…"
My vision blurs for a second.
"They think they're saving everyone…"
"And they are," I snap.
"No…"
His voice is almost gone now.
"They're feeding it…"
I shake my head.
"No. No, that's wrong."
"It's the only way…"
His hand falls from my sleeve.
"To hold it back…"
"And it kills them," I whisper.
"Yes…"
Silence falls for a moment. Only his weak breathing fills it. Then
"There was one more thing…"
His voice is faint, barely there. I lean closer, desperate.
"What?"
"The artifact…"
My pulse spikes.
"What artifact?"
"In the temple…"
His eyes flicker slightly.
"It can change the flow…"
"How?"
"It redirects the bond…"
"To what?"
"…to something else."
I swallow hard.
"What something?"
His lips part. But no sound comes out.
"Kael."
Nothing.
"Kael!"
His body goes completely still. The connection snaps. His eyes close.
"No "
I push more magic into him immediately.
"Not again. Stay with me."
The energy fights me. But I don't stop.
"Kael!"
His chest rises sharply. Then again. And again. He gasps like he's been pulled from deep water. His eyes snap open. This time. They see me.
"Lyra…"
I let out a breath I didn't know I was holding.
"You're back."
He winces slightly, sitting up with effort.
"What… happened?"
"You collapsed," I say.
"You started talking."
He frowns. "Talking?"
"Yes."
"About what?"
I hesitate. Then I answer.
"About the curse."
His expression hardens slightly.
"That's not new."
"No," I say.
"But this is."
I meet his eyes directly.
"You said this has happened before."
He goes still.
"What?"
"You said there were other sorceresses."
His jaw tightens.
"I didn't say that."
"You did."
Silence stretches between us. Kael looks away first.
"That's not possible."
"It is if you saw it," I reply.
"I didn't."
"You collapsed and started naming things you shouldn't know."
His gaze snaps back to mine.
"Like what?"
"The lunar temple."
He freezes.
"And an artifact inside it."
His expression shifts just for a second. But I see it. Recognition.
"You know something," I say.
"No."
"You do."
He stands up slowly, brushing off the snow from his armor.
"I don't remember anything," he says.
"That's not an answer."
"It's the truth."
"Then why did you react?"
He doesn't reply immediately. Instead, he looks toward the distant outline of the mountains. His hand tightens slightly at his side.
"I've seen it before," he says finally.
My breath catches.
"The temple?"
He nods once.
"In dreams."
"What kind of dreams?"
"The kind that don't feel like dreams."
I step closer.
"And the artifact?"
"I've seen something."
"What?"
He hesitates. Then
"A structure inside the temple," he says.
"Carved in stone… glowing with the same light as you."
My pulse quickens.
"What does it do?"
"I don't know."
"You said it could redirect the curse."
He shakes his head.
"I don't remember saying that."
"But you did."
He exhales slowly.
"Then maybe it's true."
"That's not good enough."
"It's all I have."
I look at him, searching his face.
"You said something else," I say quietly.
His eyes narrow slightly.
"What?"
"You said the curse is bound to you."
He doesn't react this time. And that scares me more.
"That's obvious," he says.
"No," I reply. "Not like that."
I step closer.
"You said you're the anchor."
Kael's gaze shifts slightly.
"That doesn't mean anything."
"It means everything," I say.
He shakes his head once.
"You're reading too much into it."
"And you're ignoring it."
"Because it doesn't change anything."
"It changes everything," I repeat.
I take a breath.
"If the curse is bound to you… and the Heart of the Moon feeds it…"
His eyes darken.
"Then what?"
"Then saving you might not stop it."
The words hang between us. Sharp. Unforgiving.
Kael looks at me for a long moment. Then he says quietly
"Or it might make it worse."
Neither of us speaks after that. Because we both understand what that means.
I tighten my grip on my staff.
"Then we go to the temple," I say.
He doesn't argue.
"Because if there's an artifact that can change this…"
I meet his eyes.
"We find it."
Kael nods slowly.
"And if it doesn't work?"
I don't hesitate.
"Then we find another way."
But as we start moving back toward the city. A faint pulse echoes again. Stronger. Closer.
Kael stops suddenly.
"What is it?" I ask.
He looks toward the horizon. His expression shifts tight, controlled, but uneasy.
"They're moving," he says.
"Who?"
His jaw clenches.
"The ones from my vision."
My stomach drops.
"That's not possible."
He looks at me. This time, there's no doubt in his eyes.
"They're not just memories, Lyra."
Another pulse hits. The wards in the distance flicker.
"They're coming back."
And this time We're not just fighting the curse. We're walking straight into where it began.