Amelia didn't sleep.
Her body lay still on the astral platform, but her mind…her mind was no longer entirely here.
Her breathing slowed.The golden glow beneath her skin pulsed like a heartbeat—unsteady, awakening, remembering.
Kael sat beside her, refusing to move.
His thumb brushed her knuckles in slow circles, grounding himself in her warmth—because everything else in the Sanctuary felt too quiet.Too weightless.Too much like the moment before a storm devours a city.
Master Xuan observed from the far side, sitting cross-legged with his staff across his knees.
"The Devourer forced a resonance," he said quietly. "It cracked one of the seals on her soul."
Kael's jaw tightened. "And the other two chains?"
Xuan's expression darkened."They will break on their own… if she remembers too much, too fast."
Kael's fingers froze on Amelia's hand.
"Then we slow it down. We protect her."
Xuan's gaze sharpened.
"And what will you do, Kael, when her memories reveal what she truly was?"
Kael didn't respond.
Couldn't.
Because deep down, he already knew the truth:
Something ancient lived inside her.Something powerful enough to command Devourers.Something tied to him in ways he hadn't fully remembered himself.
The celestial approached them, wings dimmed in respect.
"She is reliving moments from her first existence. Not dreams. Not illusions. Memories."
Kael swallowed.
"What kind of memories?"
The celestial hesitated.
"Ones that were sealed away because the knowledge would shatter her mortal mind."
Kael's heart sputtered painfully.
He looked at Amelia—at her trembling eyelashes, her shallow breath, the rising glow beneath her ribs.
Then—
Her fingers twitched.
Kael straightened.
"Amelia?"
A whisper tore from her lips—soft, pained, foreign.
"Sariel…"
Kael felt something cold crawl down his spine.
He didn't recognize the name,but his soul did.
Master Xuan's eyes widened.
"She remembers one of the Seraphim."
The celestial nodded grimly.
"And if she remembers the others… the second chain will fracture."
Before Kael could speak, Amelia's back arched sharply.
Her breath hitched.Her golden glow brightened—and suddenly the Sanctuary shifted around her.
A room formed in her mind.
A vision.A memory.
And Kael saw it through her eyes.
In Her Memory
Silver halls stretching endlessly.A throne of light.Seven figures kneeling before her—
Not in fear.Not in worship.
In loyalty.
Her voice—not human, not soft—echoing with command:
"Hold the Devourers.Bind them beneath the mortal realm.I will return when the stars fall."
Then a presence beside her—familiar, warm, fierce.
A warrior whose face was hidden in the vision.
But Amelia's soul recognized him instantly.
So did Kael.
Even without seeing the face—he knew.
It was him.
He stumbled backward in the Sanctuary, chest clenching.
Master Xuan steadied him with a hand.
"It seems your past lives are not separated from hers as cleanly as we thought."
Kael barely heard him.
Because in the memory—the warrior took Amelia's ancient hand and said:
"I'll find you again.Every lifetime.Even if you forget me."
The memory shattered.
Back in the Sanctuary
Amelia gasped violently.Her body jerked upward, eyes snapping open with gold flames swirling inside.
Kael caught her shoulders.
"Amelia! Look at me."
She looked directly into his eyes—and for a split second…
She didn't see Kael.
She saw the warrior from the throne room.
The one who vowed to return to her.
"You…" she whispered, breath trembling.
Kael froze.
"Amelia, it's me. I'm right here."
Her hand reached up, brushing his cheek, trembling.
"I know."
Something deep inside Kael cracked—a memory of a memory he didn't fully possess.
But before either of them could speak—
BOOM—
A blast of corrupted qi slammed against the Sanctuary walls.
The ground shook.
Lanterns flickered violently.
The Devourer's voice hissed through the cracks of reality:
"Little Dawn…Your memories are mine."
Master Xuan stood, fury twisting his face.
"It found her again?! Impossible—the Sanctuary should be untouchable!"
The celestial's wings flared.
"One chain has broken.Its power grows with every truth she remembers."
Amelia's hand tightened around Kael's.
Her voice was small, frightened, yet steadier than before.
"Kael… I don't know who I was.But I know I can't face this alone."
Kael leaned close, forehead touching hers.
"You won't."
And for the first time since the Devourer awakened—Amelia believed him.