Amelia's heart wouldn't slow down.
No matter how deeply she breathed.No matter how tightly Kael held her hands.
The Sanctuary felt colder than before.Or maybe she was the one changing.
Again.
Kael's eyes stayed locked on her, worried, searching, almost pleading.
"Amelia… tell me what you saw."
She swallowed hard.
"It wasn't a vision this time," she whispered. "It was… a beginning."
Kael stiffened.
A terrible realization flickered over his face.
He knew exactly what she meant.
The Memory Breaks Open
Amelia's eyes flashed gold—briefly—unwillingly—and Kael reached out on instinct.
"Wait—!"
Too late.
Light swallowed her.Not the soft glow she used to emit when she got emotional—but a violent, ancient radiance that cracked the ground beneath her feet.
Amelia gasped and clutched her head.
Another memory ripped through her consciousness—
not human,not soft,not safe.
The world around her dissolved.
She was no longer Amelia.
She was Serael.
The first dawnlight in creation.
She hovered in a vast, starless void—light forming her wings, her body, her existence.
And then—
A shape coalesced across from her.
Shadow.Fire.A silhouette with two eyes—
one silver,one red.
His voice was the first thing she ever heard.
"Serael."
Not seduction.Not temptation.
Recognition.A call made before language existed.
She reached out.
So did he.
Their fingertips touched—
and the void exploded with creation.
Stars.Worlds.Life.Death.Everything.
Dawn and Dusk born together.One to create.One to devour.
Raeth whispered, reverent:
"We were made as one."
Amelia gasped—
and the memory shattered.
Kael Sees What He Was Never Supposed To
Amelia collapsed forward, and Kael caught her.
But he had seen it.
Every flicker of light.Every echo of Raeth's voice.Every connection she tried so hard to deny.
His body trembled—not with pain, not with anger—
but with fear.
Fear he had kept buried for centuries.
"You weren't just bonded," he whispered, his voice breaking.
"You were created together."
Amelia's eyes widened, horrified at the truth he'd witnessed.
"Kael, I didn't want to see that. I didn't want you to—"
"I did," he rasped, brushing her hair from her face.
"But I wish I hadn't."
His wings trembled, folding tight against his back.He forced a pained smile.
"You were beautiful," he admitted quietly.
Amelia blinked.
"In that form… you were terrifying. And magnificent. You lit the void."
Amelia's breath caught.
"And him?"
Kael hesitated.
"He looked at you like…"
His voice faltered.
"…like you were all he was ever created to follow."
Amelia's stomach twisted.
Kael's next words were barely a whisper:
"I can't compete with a destiny like that."
Raeth Feels Her Remembering Him
Far below, Raeth's chains pulsed.
His shadow-wings unfurled, stretching impossibly wide.
"Ahhh…" he breathed, smiling like a starving god.
"She remembers our meeting."
Another chain snapped.
Only five remained.
"She remembers what we were born for."
His silver eye burned with ravenous longing.
"And she will remember the rest."
Seraphine Arrives at the Sanctuary
A cloaked figure approached the Sanctuary gates, her aura carefully masked under layers of spells.
Seraphine walked with confidence—no fear,no hesitation,no remorse.
Claire followed a few steps behind, hood drawn tight over her face.
"Mother…" she whispered, "are you sure this is a good idea?"
"Oh, it is not 'good,' my daughter."Seraphine smiled coldly."It is necessary."
Two Celestial sentries stepped forward.
"Halt. Identify yourself."
Seraphine bowed her head demurely.
"My name is Elowyn," she said sweetly."A wandering astrologist. I seek temporary shelter."
Her illusion spell rippled perfectly—her voice, her aura, her face entirely transformed.
"Very well," one guard said."State your purpose inside."
Seraphine smiled.
"I have news," she said softly.
"News about the Dawnbringer."
Both guards froze.
Her smile widened, beautiful and deadly.
"That is all you need to know."
They stepped aside immediately.
And just like that—
Amelia's greatest threat walked directly into the Sanctuary.
Amelia Breaks in Kael's Arms
Back inside, Amelia leaned into Kael's chest, trembling.
"I don't want to be her," she whispered."I don't want to go back to that life. I don't want to be a weapon. Or a goddess. Or a… counterpart."
Her voice cracked.
"I want to be Amelia."
Kael held her tighter, his own voice shaking.
"Then we will fight for Amelia. All of her. Every piece."
Her breath steadied.
But the light in her chest pulsed—
a warning.
A promise.
A threat.
Because the next memory waiting to surfacewas not about creation.
It was about the first time she and Raeth tried to destroy each other.
And loved each other for it.