The road was winding and quiet, each step along its weathered path filled with a tension that neither Elysia nor Draven spoke aloud. The cool night air carried the faint scent of damp earth and rain, and the distant call of nocturnal creatures punctuated the silence. The Celestial ruins were far behind them now, but the pulse of energy Elysia had unleashed still lingered in her chest, like an ember refusing to die out. Her celestial-blue eyes remained sharp and determined, her resolve hardening with every step forward.
Draven walked just ahead of her, his powerful frame cutting through the dense forest with ease. The crimson glow of his eyes was faint, but it illuminated the path as though his very presence bent the shadows to his will. The weight of their destination hung heavily between them, a meeting with Oracle Nyssa, a figure shrouded in mystery and half-whispers. Even within the Forbidden Court's web of exiles and secrets, her name had carried weight. "She'll know the truth," Draven had said earlier, his tone heavy with meaning. "If there's anyone who can help you unlock your past, it's Nyssa. But her answers come at a price." "And what price is that?" Elysia had asked, unwilling to shy away from the danger she knew awaited them. Draven had hesitated for only a moment before replying, "That depends on whether she wants to help you, or if she sees something in you worth fearing." The thought gnawed at the edges of Elysia's mind as they approached their destination. The visions she had experienced back at the ruins, the fragments of a life she couldn't remember, played on an endless loop in her thoughts. Her father's voice, steady and warm, filled with strength. Her mother's face, beautiful and sorrowful, a warning caught in her lips before the dream faded. They felt too vivid to be just dreams. They felt like memories. Memories that didn't belong to her, or perhaps they did.
"Are you sure this is where she'll be?" Elysia asked, her voice breaking the quiet but not the tension that hung between them. "She's always where she's meant to be," Draven replied cryptically, his tone leaving no room for further questions. They crested a hill, and the forest suddenly gave way to a clearing bathed in silver moonlight. In its center stood a small stone chapel, weathered by time and overgrown with ivy. The air around it felt heavier, tinged with an ancient energy that made Elysia's skin prickle. A soft glow emanated from within, faint but steady, like a beacon in the dark. Draven gestured toward the chapel. "She's inside," he said, his voice quieter now. Elysia hesitated for only a moment before stepping forward. Her silver-white hair caught the moonlight as she moved, shimmering like molten starlight against her pale skin. There was a quiet power in her stride, a strength that had been forged in the chaos of the last few days. She wasn't just walking toward answers. She was walking toward her truth.
---
Inside the chapel, the air was thick with incense, its smoky tendrils curling lazily in the faint light of scattered candles. Oracle Nyssa sat at the far end of the room, her form draped in dark, flowing robes that seemed to shift and ripple like water. Her hair, pure white and cascading down her shoulders, framed a face both ageless and weary. Though her eyes were closed, there was an undeniable sharpness to her presence, as though she saw far more than those gifted with sight. "You've come," Nyssa said softly, her voice like a whisper carried on the wind. "I've been waiting for you." Elysia swallowed hard but didn't falter. "You know who I am?" she asked, her celestial-blue eyes meeting the oracle's closed ones. Nyssa tilted her head slightly, a faint smile playing at her lips. "Elysia Vale," she said, her voice carrying an almost melodic reverence. "The lost heir of the Celestial Court. Your name carries the weight of a thousand destinies. And yet, you do not know your own." Elysia's hands tightened into fists at her sides. "That's why I'm here," she said firmly. "I need to know the truth. About my past. About my parents. About… what I am." Nyssa's smile faded, replaced by an expression of quiet solemnity. "The truth is not so easily given," she said. "It must be earned. And once you learn it, you will wish you hadn't." Elysia stepped closer, her voice steady despite the storm of emotions roiling within her. "I'm not afraid." Nyssa inclined her head, as though weighing the truth of her words. "Very well," she said softly. She raised a hand, her fingers tracing an invisible pattern in the air. The room darkened, the candles flickering wildly before dimming to faint embers. "Open your mind," Nyssa whispered, her voice taking on an otherworldly resonance. "The answers you seek lie within you. I will guide you." Elysia closed her eyes as a wave of energy washed over her. Images flooded her mind, visions of a life she didn't remember but felt intrinsically tied to. She saw a grand palace bathed in celestial light, its halls echoing with laughter and music. She saw her father, Ephraim Vale, standing tall and proud, his hands resting on her shoulders as he spoke words of encouragement she couldn't quite hear. She saw her mother, her face shadowed with sorrow, leaning close to whisper something urgent, a warning lost to time. And then she saw the fall. The light of the Celestial Court extinguished in an instant, replaced by flames and shadow. The laughter turned to screams, the music to chaos. The image of her parents blurred, replaced by a single, haunting sound, the whisper of her name, carried on the wind like a lament.
Elysia gasped, her eyes snapping open. Her heart pounded in her chest as she staggered back, the weight of the visions threatening to overwhelm her. "It is not just your past you see," Nyssa said quietly. "It is your inheritance. Your destiny."
---
Before Elysia could respond, the air in the chapel grew colder, heavy with an unnatural stillness. Draven tensed beside her, his crimson eyes narrowing as he scanned the room. A low, resonant hum filled the air, a sound that seemed to come from nowhere and everywhere at once. "They're here," Draven said sharply, his voice cutting through the tension. The doors to the chapel swung open with a deafening crash, and the Reapers entered. Cloaked in shifting mist and shadow, they moved with an eerie silence that made the air itself shiver. At their head was a figure Elysia recognized instantly, Azriel Kane's former commander, a tall, imposing man with piercing silver eyes and skeletal markings on his hands. His presence was suffocating, as though the room itself had bent to accommodate him. "Elysia Vale," the Reaper commander said, his voice low and chilling. "You walk a path that was never meant to be. The power you seek to unlock will bring not salvation, but destruction." Elysia stepped forward, her celestial-blue eyes blazing with defiance. "If you think you can stop me, you're welcome to try."
The commander's lips curved into a faint smile, though it was devoid of warmth. "You are strong," he said. "But strength alone will not save you. If you unlock your full power, the world will burn." Before she could respond, the Reapers moved as one, their forms shifting into swirling shadows that encircled the room. Draven's hand went to the hilt of his blade, his dark energy crackling to life as he stepped protectively in front of Elysia. "You'll have to go through me first," Draven growled, his crimson eyes blazing. The commander inclined his head slightly, as though acknowledging the challenge. "So be it," he said.
And with that, the room erupted into chaos.