he winds howled through the black mountains of Xel'nar, where the Slumbering Court once buried their weakest gods alive.
Lucius stood before a massive gate—carved from bone and humming with the weight of old names.
The girls stood behind him, each one ready, each one quiet.
Except Lilith, who stepped beside him and said:
"If they speak her name before you remember it… what will you do?"
Lucius stared at the gate.
"Take it back."
They entered.
Inside—nothing.Then soundless pressure.Like their hearts were being squeezed by something that hadn't been awake in centuries.
Velda whispered, "They're watching."
Claire gripped her staff tighter. "They're inside our heads."
Zara growled. "Let them come."
Then the air broke—
And a voice spilled out of the dark like blood.
"Sovarion… and the pieces he clings to."
Lucius stepped forward.
The shadows shifted.
And from them rose a figure. Half-melted. Wearing a crown of stone.
Its mouth didn't move.
But Lucius heard it in his soul.
"You were once sovereign of silence. But you broke. For her."
Lucius clenched his fists.
"You know her name?"
The creature tilted its head.
"Of course. We took it from you."
The air behind Lucius cracked—
Lilith let out a snarl.
Velda nearly collapsed from magic pressure.
And Claire began to bleed from the nose—the name was trying to force itself into her mind.
Zara threw a blade into the darkness.
"ENOUGH!"
The creature bled from the strike—but smiled.
"You seek her name?"
"Then suffer what it meant."
It raised one hand—
And Lucius fell to his knees, clutching his skull.
MEMORY UNLEASHED.
FLASH – THE REAL LAST MOMENT
The First Bond—arms wrapped around Lucius.She whispered:
"Don't forget me.""No matter what they do.""No matter how they erase it.""My name is—"
And everything went black.
[Memory Resync: 42%]Name Fragment: Recovered"—ielle."
Lucius gasped.
A name.
A shape.
A whisper.
Zara rushed forward. "Lucius—?!"
He stood.
Blood in his mouth. Fire in his eyes.
He looked at the creature.
"You remembered her name before I could."
He raised Ariadne.
"So now you'll forget yours."