Leira did not stop moving until the last line of trees released her, the thick, oppressive shadow of the forest finally behind her, and the wind carried through her hair as if it were welcoming her back to a world that still breathed. Every step she took felt like reclaiming herself, though her muscles ached and her lungs burned from the fight, and the faint pulse of the Veil under her skin continued to hum, a steady, low rhythm that whispered warnings she could not yet name, but she understood enough to respect.
The forest had not followed her. Its dense silence now lay behind, folded into the trunks and roots, yet she could feel its eyes lingering, distant, patient, and curious.
She did not look back, and yet, a small part of her felt the pull, the tug of something she could not see, something that had marked her with memory, as if the forest remembered what had transpired inside.
She emerged onto open ground, the air immediately lighter, clearer, carrying no scent of corruption, no pressure from the Veil or residual taint from Shadows. She inhaled sharply, tasting the real wind, and for a moment, the simplicity of normal air made her stomach twist with relief. Her knees wobbled, but she refused to bend. Relief would come later. Right now, focus was survival, and survival demanded she keep moving.
Ahead, the ruins of her temple lay waiting, a skeletal reminder of what had been destroyed, stone and marble cracked and blackened, pillars fallen like shattered bones under the sun, and the remnants of a roof collapsed in jagged shards. Even in ruin, it radiated a quiet dignity, a reminder of the life she had once known, the power she had wielded, and the responsibility that had always weighed upon her.
Leira stepped forward, her hands still trembling from exertion, her mind still alight with the resonance of the Veil, but she did not stop. She raised her palms, and the Veil responded, a low hum resonating from beneath her skin, gathering in strength, lifting loose stones and debris into the air with deliberate grace, twisting fallen pillars upright, mending cracks in walls, reconnecting broken tiles, and raising the roof until the temple was whole again, luminous and better than before, alive with power.
The air itself seemed to shimmer as if the temple breathed along with her, responding to her every heartbeat.
As the last shard of marble clicked into place, Leira paused before the altar. Her eyes narrowed at a sudden shimmer near the center of the chamber, and she froze. A figure stood there, pale and translucent yet solid enough to reflect light and cast a faint glow. The markings of a Veil Keeper glimmered along her arms and collarbone, familiar yet different, ancient and yet impossibly alive.
"You…" Leira whispered, the word a mere tremor.
The figure inclined her head, a soft smile forming on her lips, warm yet tinged with the weight of centuries.
"I am one who walked your path long before you, one of the Keepers who came before you, a voice left behind for those who must learn too late," she said, her tone was gentle, echoing softly in the chamber, carrying a weight that made Leira's chest tighten.
Leira's throat constricted. "Why are you here?" she asked, her voice low and cautious, wary of both the woman and the power radiating from her.
The Keeper's eyes softened with something almost mournful. "You need to know the truth that was written long before your first breath. The truth that all Keepers come to understand too late, when the consequences are unavoidable."
Leira swallowed, her pulse quickening. "The truth?" she whispered, her voice almost reverent, though she did not fully understand it yet.
The Keeper nodded. "Yes, Leira. Your heart will be your greatest power, and your greatest undoing. It is written that the one for whom you feel the deepest bond will be the one who brings you to ruin. He will break you in ways even the Veil cannot mend, yet you will not see it coming, and the world will not reveal it until it is too late."
Leira's breath caught in her throat, and her eyes widened. "…Who?" she asked, the word trembling between fear and disbelief.
The Keeper's eyes dimmed with sorrow. "If it were so simple, it would not be prophecy," she said softly, "one will love you, one will betray you, and that one will be your undoing.
Leira's mind raced. "…What does that mean?" she asked, confusion and dread twisting together in her chest. "…Kael… that must mean it is Cassian. It has to be. There is no other choice."
The Keeper shook her head ever so slightly, a subtle hint that it was not so simple.
"Even a bright flame casts a dangerous shadow, and sometimes, child, you do not fall because of the monster you fear, but by the hand you trust."
The Keeper warned. "You must be cautious, even with those you believe are unassailable. The reason it is a prophecy is because nothing will be handed to you clearly, nothing will be obvious. You will only see the truth when it is nearly too late."
Leira's fists clenched. "I don't care what your prophecy says. I will save Kael, no matter the cost," she said, her voice firm, edged with desperation. "I can not wait anymore… he needs me and I am going to save him."
The Keeper's form shimmered faintly. "Your heart burns strong, Leira, but passion alone cannot guide you. The Veil sees more than you do, it knows paths and consequences that even you cannot yet comprehend."
Leira's chest tightened as the hum of the Veil grew louder, stronger, a tide of power rising within her. "I am going to save him."
Before the Keeper could say another word, The Veil roared in sudden, overwhelming force, a sound like collapsing mountains and thunder combined, its power pressing against every nerve, twisting her vision and shaking the very air of the temple. Invisible hands slammed into her, shoving her across the floor with brutal force, flinging her against pillars, sending shards of marble skittering across the ground, and raising dust and debris into a swirling storm around her.
Keeper, the Veil warned, voice rising,
do not defy me.
Leira's teeth clenched, blood trickling from the split in her lip. "No!" she shouted, her voice cracking yet unbroken, "I am going to save him!"
The Veil's fury intensified, lifting her off the ground as if gravity itself had betrayed her. She slammed into the ceiling with a deafening crack of stone and dust, bones rattling, before plummeting back down, hitting the floor with a bone-shuddering impact. Before she could gather herself, invisible hands hurled her again, this time slamming her against the freshly reassembled walls of her temple, chunks of stone chipping and falling around her, the air thick with debris and the electric hum of raw power. She tasted blood and dust, her vision blurred, yet even as the Veil hurled her across the sacred space, she screamed, teeth clenched, chest heaving, "You're going to have to kill me. Leira rasped, breath shaking.
At those words, all movement around her stopped, every tremor in the air, every ripple of power, even the dust suspended mid fall. The Veil froze her in place, its force locking her spine straight, her feet barely touching the floor.
Her voice dropped to a raw, unbreakable whisper.
"Because we save him first… or you take my life here and now."
Slowly, almost reluctantly, the pressure holding her aloft loosened, lowering her back to the ground inch by inch, as if the Veil itself was stunned by her defiance. The storm of energy around her stilled gradually, the Veil's roar fading into a low, measured pulse. …Very well, it finally conceded, its voice now restrained but edged with warning. We will retrieve him, but know this, Leira, every choice carries consequence, and every action demands its due. You cannot escape the weight of what you decide, and the ripples will reach farther than you imagine.
Leira rose to her knees, shaking, sweat mixing with blood, yet her resolve hardened. "Then I will face it," she said, her voice low but fierce, her hands glowing faintly as the Veil's energy settled around her, coiling and waiting for her direction.
The temple floor vibrated, and the Veil's power pulsed outward, tearing open the air in front of her, fabric of reality bending and twisting, forming a jagged wound between worlds. Light and shadow mixed violently, spinning into a portal that pulsed with energy and danger, yet it shimmered with the promise of finding Kael.
Leira's eyes narrowed, focusing, and she stepped toward the threshold. The Veil's voice lingered in her mind, soft now, restrained, but carrying weight. He waits beyond this threshold. Be prepared. The path ahead is not forgiving, and the choices you make will echo long after you have crossed it.
Leira's hand rose, and she drew the power of the Veil into herself, feeling it resonate with her heartbeat, thrumming through her veins, settling into a quiet, ferocious rhythm. She did not hesitate. She inhaled sharply, steadying herself, and then she walked forward, crossing the tear in space and time, the air around her snapping and folding, light and shadow swallowing the ground beneath her feet, until she vanished entirely into the unknown, leaving the temple, the forest, and the certainty of her path behind her.