The air in the Solaris Sanctuary didn't smell of divinity anymore. It smelled of ozone and the metallic tang of blood.
Six-year-old Dessy huddled in the "Cradle of Stars," a hidden chamber deep beneath the manor. The walls were etched with ancient runes that hummed with a soft, golden light, but today, that light was flickering. Every time a heavy thud echoed from the floors above, a layer of dust shook loose from the ceiling, coating her small, trembling hands in white powder.
"Dessy, look at me."
Her father, Alaric, the Head of the Solaris Family, knelt before her. He was a man usually draped in light, but now his golden armor was cracked, leaking a dark, smoky ichor. His breathing was shallow, a wet, rattling sound that terrified her more than the screams outside.
"Father, the guards... they said the Azure Lord was our friend," Dessy whispered, her voice small and breaking.
"In a world of monsters, Dessy, the brightest light casts the darkest shadow," Alaric said. He reached out, his blood-stained palm cupping her cheek. "Our kin... they have forgotten why the Immortal gave us these gifts. They no longer want to protect. They want to rule."
A massive explosion rocked the manor. The golden runes on the walls turned a violent crimson and shattered.
"They are here," her mother, Elena, hissed, standing by the door with two glowing blades of solar fire. Her eyes were red from weeping, but her stance was iron. "Alaric, do it now! Before the Azure Lord breaks the seal!"
Alaric turned back to Dessy. His eyes filled with a soul-crushing grief. "Forgive me, my sun. This will be a heavy burden. But it is the only way you survive."
He pressed his thumb to the center of her chest.
Dessy didn't just feel pain; she felt as if a star had been forced into her veins. She screamed, but no sound came out only a burst of blinding gold. She felt her memories of her mother's lullabies, her father's laughter, and the warmth of the sanctuary being pushed into a cold, dark box at the back of her mind.
The First Seal: The Gate of Silence.
The Second Seal: The Gate of the Unseen.
One by one, her father locked her powers and her identity away.
"Stay hidden," he whispered as the door to the chamber was blasted off its hinges.
The last thing Dessy saw through the crack in the floorboards was a man in sapphire armor Lord Valerius walking over her father's body. He didn't look like a demon. He looked like a god. And he was smiling.