The darkness receded slowly, like a tide reluctantly returning to its place. When Aria opened her eyes, the Crossroads had changed. The floating platforms were gone, replaced by a wide, cracked expanse of black stone that stretched into a horizon lit by faint embers hovering like dying stars.
She tried to move and felt the emptiness first.
Kael was beside her. But when she looked at him, recognition faltered. Something crucial was missing.
His eyes were the same silver gray she remembered. His voice, too, remained steady. But she could not place him. Not as guide, not as protector, not as friend. The lifebond had been severed in the Trial.
“You… you’re here,” she said quietly, voice trembling.
Kael’s lips parted in shock. “You don’t remember me?”
She shook her head, confusion twistin
