Cold.
That was the first thing I felt when I opened my eyes.
The world was blue and silent, heavy with pressure. My lungs didn’t burn, though I was deep beneath the river. The water wasn’t water anymore—it was smoke and glass, swirling around me like memory.
And in front of me, the creature knelt.
Its head was bowed, its molten skin dimmed to dull iron. The glow in its chest pulsed faintly, like a dying heart. It spoke without moving its mouth—its voice echoing inside my skull.
Crown-bearer… you live.
My fingers curled into fists. “What are you?”
What you buried.
The creature lifted its head. The resemblance was uncanny now—its face rough and featureless, yet shaped like mine. A reflection carved from shadow and fire.
“You’re not real,” I said quietly. “You’re a curse.”
A curse d
