Night fell fast over the Veiled Hollow. Kale had disappeared into the mist, claiming he needed to scout the nearby ridge, though Ash suspected he just didn't want to be near them when they opened the vial. Elira didn't trust him either — not fully — but she felt no lie in what he'd said. Just sorrow.
Ash held the vial up to the moonlight. "Are you sure we should open it now?"
Elira hesitated. "No. But we need to keep moving. Every time we wait, something is taken."
He nodded and broke the wax seal.
As soon as the vial opened, the soft glow inside burst outward into thin tendrils of golden smoke. It danced through the air, curling into a shape — a symbol they both recognized: a burning flame split down the center, marked by a single teardrop.
"It's the same as the pendant," Elira whispered.
The tendrils pulsed once — and vanished.
Ash looked around. "That's it?"
But then the earth trembled.
The mists parted behind the altar, revealing a narrow trail that hadn't been there before. It descended into a hidden ravine where a thin stream glowed faintly in the dark — not water, but liquid memory, shimmering with threads of color and light.
The River of Names.
Elira stepped toward it, her heart pounding.
"I know this place," she breathed. "Ash... this is where we first met."
Ash stared at the water. Visions shimmered along its surface — flickers of their past selves. They saw themselves as strangers, then allies... and something more.
A moment froze above the current — Elira laughing, brushing ash from Ash's hair as the two of them sat by a fire. The look in his eyes… it wasn't just warmth. It was love.
Elira reached out — but the image vanished.
Ash looked at her, quiet. "You saw it too?"
She nodded, unable to speak.
But the moment was shattered by a low growl. From the shadows behind them, shapes began to move — hunched figures cloaked in soot-black rags, with eyes glowing ember-red.
"Elira," Ash whispered. "Run."
But she didn't.
Because one of the figures stepped forward — and spoke her name in a voice that sent shivers down her spine.
"Elira... you remember the fire, don't you?"
She froze. That voice — familiar, but wrong. Like hearing your own lullaby sung by a stranger.
Ash stepped between them. "Who are you?"
The creature smiled. "We are what's left of those who served... and survived."
"Served what?" Elira asked, even as she already guessed.
The thing smiled wider. "The Hollow Flame."
Behind them, the river shimmered again — and whispered a single word into the wind.
> "Choose."