"The Fourth Relic was not forged. It was born the moment the first oath was broken."
— Carved into the walls of the sunken city of Adras
---
The ruins of Adras had no map.
They slept beneath thirty layers of rewritten scripture, hidden by flame, flood, and betrayal.
But now… they stirred.
Beneath collapsing temples and inverted towers, a single figure stood alone—wrapped in silver cloth, barefoot in blood that hadn't been spilled in centuries.
He had no name.
Not yet.
Only a Mark.
Burned into the center of his spine, where wings should have grown.
It glowed now.
And it ached.
---
He approached the altar at the heart of Adras.
It wasn't made of stone or Veyra.
It was made of memories.
Things forgotten.
Names stolen.
Echoes that had no past.
And floating above it, suspended by threads of prophecy too old to speak—
A spear.
Nine feet long.
Carved from oathbone and sealed by the First Choir.
Cracked, but undefeated.
It breathed like it had been waiting.
---
The figure reached out.
Touched it.
And screamed.
---
Vision: The Oath Reversed
A battlefield.
A sky of black suns.
A promise made in the rain.
A voice: "I will never betray you."
Another: "Then you are already lying."
And then—
The spear.
Buried not in the enemy's chest…
…but the friend's back.
---
The nameless figure opened his eyes.
And spoke.
> "I remember now."
> "You killed me with my own vow."
> "So now I'll make a new one."
He took the spear.
And the altar collapsed into light.
---
Name Reveal: The Fourth Unwritten
The Mark on his back restructured.
Took shape.
And in that moment, the world whispered his name:
Kaien.
> "Let the Hollow Star rise."
"Let the Flame forget."
"Let the Winged One watch."
"I am the one who will sever the rest."
---
Elsewhere: Vellamira Laughs
Within Sanctum Auris, the sky cracked.
Saint Reversal stumbled.
The threads snapped.
And Vellamira…
Laughed.
> "Oh, Kaien."
> "You weren't supposed to come back."