Caelum descended first. He did not hesitate. One foot after another, he disappeared down the ancient staircase as though he had walked those steps yesterday instead of centuries ago. Aurora stood at the edge. The darkness below seemed to stare back. The Veil burned against her skin. Not warning her to turn away. Warning her that something down there remembered it. Lucien stepped beside her. "Don't follow him alone." Aurora glanced at him. "I'm not alone." Behind them, Gideon tightened his grip on his sword. Elara helped their mother gather the survivors. Darian held the useless torch against his chest. "We're going together," Gideon said. Aurora nodded. The woman in white stood beside the staircase. For the first time since revealing herself, she looked uncertain. Aurora noticed. "You aren't coming?" The woman looked down into the darkness. "I am." She took a step. Then stopped. "I simply remember what waits below." Caelum's voice drifted upward. "Then you remember why you came." The woman's expression hardened. "I remember why we came." Silence. Aurora looked between them. There it was again. That strange tension. Not hatred. Not love. Something far older. Something broken so completely that neither word seemed large enough to describe it.
Aurora started down. The staircase was narrow. The walls were carved directly into the mountain, covered with markings that seemed to change whenever the Veil came near them. The first few steps were dry. Then dampness appeared. Then water. Thin streams trickled down the walls, black in the faint blue light. Aurora touched one. She pulled her hand back immediately. Blood. Fresh blood. Her stomach turned. "Don't touch the walls." The woman's voice came from behind. Aurora wiped her fingers against her coat. "That's blood." "Yes." "Whose?" The woman didn't answer. They continued downward. Twenty steps. Fifty. A hundred. The survivors began breathing heavily. The elderly struggled. Gideon moved among them, helping anyone who needed support. Elara carried a small child who had fallen asleep against her shoulder. Their mother stayed near the center of the group, constantly counting heads. "Thirty-two." She whispered. Then again. "Thirty-two." Aurora heard her. "How many survived?" Her mother looked at the group. "Thirty-two." Aurora's chest tightened. Only thirty-two. Out of everyone who had once called Hollow Vale home. Thirty-two. The mountain had taken the rest. A horrible thought entered her mind. "Are all thirty-two supposed to be here?" The woman in white looked back. "No." Aurora stopped. "What?" The woman continued walking. "Some of them were never meant to leave Hollow Vale." The survivors heard her. Fear spread immediately. A man near the rear whispered, "What does that mean?" Another grabbed his arm. "Don't listen to her." But the woman didn't explain. Caelum did. "The Binding has always required witnesses." Aurora looked at him. "Why?" "Because a secret kept by one person eventually becomes a lie." He continued downward. "Thirty-two people can remember what they see." Gideon frowned. "And if they don't survive?" Caelum glanced over his shoulder. "Then the mountain remembers for them." Nobody spoke after that.
The staircase finally widened. Aurora stepped onto a massive stone platform. The others followed. She looked around. The chamber below was enormous. Columns rose from the darkness, each carved into the shape of kneeling figures. At the center stood a circular pit. No. Not a pit. A well. A black stone well surrounded by three enormous statues. Aurora approached cautiously. The first statue held a sword. The second held an open book. The third... had empty hands. The face of the third statue had been deliberately destroyed. Aurora stared. "The Binder." The woman said nothing. Aurora looked at her. "You." The woman lowered her eyes. "Yes." A sudden sound echoed from the well. Drip. Everyone froze. Another. Drip. Something was falling into the darkness below. Aurora stepped closer. The water or whatever it was continued. Drip. Drip. Drip. She leaned over the edge. The darkness below seemed endless. Then something moved. Aurora recoiled. "What was that?" Gideon immediately drew his sword. The survivors backed away. Lucien stepped forward. "Don't." Everyone froze. He stared into the well. "It isn't alive." Aurora frowned. "Then what moved?" "A reflection." "Of what?" Lucien didn't answer. The woman did. "Of the first night."
The well suddenly filled with light. The darkness disappeared. Aurora saw a memory. The same city. But centuries earlier. The city was burning. People ran through the streets. The temple bells rang continuously. Children screamed. Warriors fought something Aurora couldn't see. Then she saw the woman. The First Ashbourne. She stood in the center of the city, covered in blood. Not her own. The Veil burned around her. Caelum stood opposite her. Lucien stood between them. But something was different. Caelum was on his knees. His hands were bound. Silver chains wrapped around his wrists. Aurora stared. "Caelum..." He didn't look at the memory. He looked away. The woman in white stepped forward. In the memory, she spoke. This time Aurora heard her clearly. "I give you one final choice." Caelum lifted his head. His younger face looked furious. "You already chose for me." "No." The woman's voice was steady. "I chose to give you a choice." The memory shook. Buildings collapsed in the background. Lucien stepped forward. "Brother..." Caelum laughed bitterly. "Don't call me that." Lucien stopped. Caelum looked at the woman. "You want me to accept the Binding." "I want you to accept responsibility." "For what?" The woman stared directly at him. "For what you have become." Silence. Caelum's face twisted with rage. "I became this because you feared what I could become." "No." She stepped closer. "You became this because you believed your pain gave you permission to make everyone else suffer." Aurora felt the words hit harder than any weapon. Caelum's expression changed. The memory suddenly became chaotic. The Veil exploded. Silver light consumed the entire city. Aurora shielded her eyes. When she looked again... the woman was standing before Caelum. Her hand rested against his chest. The Veil formed a circle around them. Lucien stood outside it. Crying. Not the calm Lucien Aurora knew. A broken young man. The First Ashbourne looked at him. "Guard the Binding." Lucien shook his head. "No." "You promised." "I promised to protect you." "And now you must protect everyone." He lowered his head. The woman turned toward Caelum. "You have one choice left." Caelum stared at her. His voice was almost a whisper. "What happens if I refuse?" The woman closed her eyes. "Then I will bind you." Caelum smiled. "Then bind me."
The memory shattered. Aurora stumbled backward. The well became dark again. Nobody spoke. Caelum stood perfectly still. Aurora looked at him. "You chose it." His jaw tightened. "You don't understand." "You said the Binding was forced on you." "I said many things." "Was that a lie?" Caelum finally turned toward her. His golden eyes were no longer playful. "No." Aurora waited. He looked at the woman. Then at Lucien. Then back at Aurora. "I chose the chains." He paused. "But I never chose what came after." A tremor shook the chamber. The well cracked. A thin line appeared around its rim. The woman stepped forward. "That is why we are here." Aurora looked at her. "What's beneath it?" The woman stared into the well. "The consequence."
Another crack. Then another. The black stone began separating. The survivors screamed and stumbled backward. Gideon grabbed two children. Elara pulled their mother away. Lucien raised his hand. "Everyone back!" The well split open. Not downward. Outward. Its black stone walls peeled apart like petals. And beneath them was not another staircase. Not another chamber. A vast underground hall. At its center stood a single throne. Empty. Ancient. Covered in silver chains. Aurora stared. "Whose throne is that?" The woman didn't answer. Caelum did. His voice was almost inaudible. "Mine." Aurora's blood ran cold. The chains around the throne began moving. One by one, they lifted from the stone. Not breaking. Uncoiling. Waiting. The woman stepped toward the throne. Caelum watched her. Lucien whispered, "No..." The woman looked at him. "Yes." Then she turned toward Aurora. "The truth you came looking for isn't beneath this mountain." She pointed toward the throne. "It is what happened to the man who sat there." The final chain fell away. The throne became completely silent. Then... a golden light appeared above it. Aurora felt the Veil react violently. Caelum took one step backward. For the first time... he looked genuinely disturbed. The woman saw it. "So you remember." Caelum's eyes remained fixed upon the throne. "I remember." The golden light brightened. And a voice came from the empty throne. Caelum's own voice. But older. Colder. Filled with hatred. "You should never have come back."