Location: Elandra – Forbidden Archives, Kane Estate
The torchlight flickered against the aged stone walls as Damien, Nora, and Cyrus descended deeper into the heart of Elandra. Past the Chamber of Silence lay a place few had ever entered—the Forbidden Archives. It was here that the secrets of the Kane bloodline had been buried, locked away to protect the world... and the Kanes themselves.
Ellric walked ahead, his fingers trailing lightly along the runic symbols etched into the passage. "When your father sealed Seraphina, he knew the price. But he feared the bloodline's darkest truths even more."
"What did she want so badly?" Nora asked. "Why fake her death and orchestrate this elaborate deception?"
Ellric stopped at a metal vault door. "Because the Vault contains the Scorched Map. A relic that predates even the formation of Tavara. It's said to lead to the First Chamber—the origin of power in the Kane lineage."
Cyrus frowned. "I thought the Scorched Map was a myth."
"It's very real," Damien muttered. "My father once told me it was too dangerous to even think about. Said it showed not just places—but people. Bloodlines. Threats."
With a hiss of ancient gears, the vault door unlocked. Inside was a chamber lined with sealed scrolls, faded tomes, and golden relics. At the center, laid out under glass, was a large piece of blackened parchment—its edges curled, its center glowing faintly.
Damien stepped forward.
The Scorched Map.
Nora's breath caught as she stared at it. "It's… alive."
Indeed, the parchment shifted ever so slightly, like flames licking through its veins. Embedded in its surface were strange symbols, changing in real time. One name pulsed red:
Seraphina Kane.
And just below it, two others flickered—one Damien recognized instantly:
Victor Kane.
Damien's eyes hardened. "That's impossible."
"Who is Victor Kane?" Nora asked, confused.
Ellric's voice was a whisper. "Victor… was your father's younger brother. Exiled for treason before you were born. We believed he died in exile."
Damien shook his head slowly. "No. This changes everything."
Cyrus stepped beside him, eyeing the map. "Then if Seraphina and Victor are both alive, and they're converging on the Black Vault…"
"We're dealing with more than a family feud," Damien growled. "This is war. One that's been brewing for decades behind our backs."
Nora reached out, her fingers brushing over a name barely visible—her own.
But it wasn't just Nora Blake.
The map displayed her as: Nora Aurelia Thorne-Kane.
Her heart dropped. "What…?"
Damien looked at her sharply. "Aurelia?"
Nora turned to Ellric. "What does that mean?"
Ellric bowed his head. "Because you are more than just a healer and strategist. You're of the Thorne bloodline—our only remaining allied family from the East. Your mother knew. And she swore us to silence."
The realization struck Damien like a hammer. "That's why Seraphina wants her. Nora isn't just my wife. She's the key to the alliance Seraphina wants to destroy."
Nora stood taller, fire rising in her gaze. "Then we'll make sure she never gets the chance."
Damien reached for the map again. "We head east. To the last point this map burned."
Cyrus nodded, already plotting routes.
And as the Scorched Map pulsed again, a single, cryptic phrase began to appear at the bottom:
> "Blood must answer to blood. The heir of light must confront the shadow of her kin."