Page 64

Twilight’s Chosen

I t felt like all I did was cry as we marched back through the wildlands of Cindersea.

Sometimes it was small silent tears, sometimes I sobbed so hard I had to stop and catch my breath.

But most times it was just an overwhelming feeling of being dragged down, my grief so heavy I found it difficult to put one foot in front of the other.

Sky never left my side during our journey, his hand always finding mine when the weight threatened to pull me under completely. Sometimes he’d squeeze my fingers gently, other times he’d brush his thumb over my knuckles, a silent reminder that I wasn’t alone in my grief.

“It’s okay,” Rhia said on our second day of travel when I apologized for needing another break. She’d fallen into step beside me, her usual brisk pace slowed to match my dragging footsteps. “Kai was... he was everything to us.”

I nodded, unable to form words around the lump in my throat.

Ahead of us, Mira walked with her blue hair hanging limp around her shoulders, her usual vibrant energy dimmed to almost nothing.

Even Kuro was subdued, his sword drawn not for showing off but for actual protection, his eyes constantly scanning the trees around us.

We were all broken in our own ways.

“I keep thinking he’s going to catch up to us,” I finally managed, my voice cracking. “That he’ll just appear on the path ahead, smiling that smile of his, telling us he found a way out.”

Sky’s ears twitched, and I knew he was listening even as he walked slightly ahead of us, leading the way through the increasingly tangled underbrush.

“I know,” Rhia said, her usually stern face softening with grief. “I’ve looked back at least a hundred times, expecting to see him there.”

The wildlands grew thicker as we traveled, the twisted vegetation that had surrounded Ivros Hollow gradually giving way to more natural forest. But even here, danger lurked.

Twice we’d been forced to hide from roaming beasts.

Once was from an entire pack of dire wolves that even Sky’s druidic abilities stood no chance against, and once from something so large it made the ground tremble beneath our feet.

All we saw was its giant shadow, and that alone was enough to prove we were no match for it.

Without Kai’s leadership, our formation felt unbalanced, our decisions hesitant. We’d argued briefly that morning about which route to take, the certainty we’d once possessed now fractured by doubt and exhaustion.

“We should reach the outskirts of Selas by tomorrow afternoon,” Mira announced as dusk began to settle around us. She’d been consulting a small compass, one of the few items she’d managed to keep during our escape. “If we push hard enough.”

“No,” Sky said firmly, turning to face us all. “We’re not pushing any harder. Oliver’s still recovering, and none of us are at full strength.”

I bristled slightly at being singled out as the weak link, even though I knew he was right.

My magic had slowly begun to replenish, but I still felt hollow, drained in a way that went beyond physical exhaustion.

Calling on the power of the Twilight god saved Sky’s life, but it sapped my energy for far longer than a simple spell should have.

Clearly there were consequences to channeling so much raw power through my body that was untrained for such a thing.

I needed to get stronger.

“Sky’s right,” Kuro surprisingly agreed. “Better to arrive late than not at all. Besides, we need to be careful about how we re-enter the city. The RSB shouldn’t be looking for us, but I’m sure there will still be people watching our group.”

“And we need a plan for what to say about Kai,” Rhia added quietly, her gaze dropping to the forest floor. “People might ask questions.”

The weight of her words settled over us like a shroud. We hadn’t discussed this yet. What story would we tell when we returned to Selas without our leader?

“We tell the truth,” I said, my voice stronger than I expected. “Or most of it anyway. Boromia sent us on a mission. There was a cave-in. Kai saved us but couldn’t save himself. ”

Sky’s tail swished anxiously. “And the fragment? The Architect?”

“We never saw it,” Mira suggested, her fingers nervously twisting a strand of blue hair.

“The mission was just to scout ruins. Nothing special about them. Just old stones and danger. Nobody in this world should know about the Architect, anyway. That was the crux of Boromia’s plan, to use the unknown to overthrow the king. ”

Kuro nodded approvingly. “Simple. Believable. And it explains why we look like we’ve been through hell.”

“We set up camp here,” Sky decided, gesturing to a small clearing sheltered by dense foliage. “Rest tonight, approach Selas tomorrow with our story straight.”

As the others began unpacking our meager supplies, Sky pulled me aside, his blue eyes searching mine with concern.

“How are you holding up? Really?” he asked softly, one hand gently cupping my cheek.

I leaned into his touch, drawing comfort from his warmth. “I don’t know,” I admitted. “Everything feels... wrong. Like we’re walking back into a life that doesn’t exist anymore.”

Sky nodded, understanding in his gaze. “Nothing will be the same without him.”

“What if we just... don’t go back?” I whispered, the thought forming as I spoke it. “We could keep going. Find somewhere new. Somewhere the RSB can’t reach us.”

His ears fell flat against his head, his voice low. “You know as well as I do that there’s no such place. And living in the wildlands… well, that’s a death sentence.” He wrapped an arm around me, pulling me close. “But I’ll go wherever you go, Oliver. You know that.”

He began to lean in, to press a kiss to my forehead. But then he stopped, his brows furrowed as a small gasp escaped his lips, like he was in pain.

“Are you alright?” I asked, suddenly on high alert. “Your neck? Should I heal you?”

Sky shook his head, his ears twitching. “I’m… I’m fine. My thoughts… they’re just a bit chaotic still.”

“What do you mean?”

“I don’t know…” he said slowly. “Ever since Kai touched the orb, I keep getting flashes of things I don’t recognize. It’s like a world or a life that I’ve lived but can’t quite recall. It all seems familiar, but I can’t seem to make heads or tails of it.”

“Yours didn’t go away either?” I asked, my voice barely above a whisper. “ Nobody’s been talking about it, so I thought it was just me. Maybe we should ask the others.”

But as I went to pull away, Sky’s grip tightened around me. “It can wait until tomorrow,” he said. “Give them one more night to grieve before we heap another problem on their shoulders. One last night to dream and rest before we start another quest for answers.”

I stared at him for a long moment before finally nodding. “You’re right. One more night.”

Sky kissed me before quietly going about setting up our bedding for the night.

The others gathered wood for a fire and set up their own beds near the base of a large tree.

Dark clouds had been moving in all day and now they blotted out the moon and stars from the sky.

We all kept tight to the trees, the scent of rain and the rumble of thunder not far off, hoping it would keep us mostly dry through the night.

A soft, sad silence fell over the group as the wind picked up.

I huddled close to Sky, the blanket wrapped around our shoulders.

Warmth enveloped me and before I knew it, I’d slipped away into a peaceful darkness.

I stood at the edge of a great cliff under a small flowering tree, an endless waterfall stretching to either side of me.

Despite the size of the waterfall, it made no noise, the water cascading endlessly into a dark void filled only with stars.

The cosmos stretched on forever in every direction, stars dotted amongst swirling colorful nebulae.

The sight was breathtaking as I took a step toward the edge, wondering how far I would fall if I just let myself go.

“Not too close,” a familiar voice said behind me.

I froze, my heart seizing in my chest. Slowly, I turned around, hardly daring to believe.

Kai stood beneath the flowering tree, bathed in soft purple light.

He looked... different. His features were the same, but there was an otherworldly quality to him now, as if he were made of light rather than flesh.

The purple veins I’d last seen spreading across his skin were gone, replaced by faint luminescent patterns that shifted beneath his skin like constellations.

“Kai?” My voice cracked. “Is it really you?”

He smiled, that same warm smile that had guided us through so many dark moments. “In a way,” he said, his voice carrying the same dual tone I’d heard in the temple. “I’m... more than I was, and also less. ”

I took a step toward him, afraid he might vanish if I moved too quickly. “Am I dreaming?”

“Yes and no,” he replied, glancing around at the starry void surrounding us. “This place exists between consciousness and dreams. The Architect showed it to me before... before the end.”

Tears welled in my eyes. “You… You died for us.”

Kai’s expression softened. “I made a choice, Oliver. The only choice I could live with… or die with, I suppose.” He gestured to the cosmic expanse around us. “The fragment of the Architect showed me things about Cindersea, about all of us. Things I couldn’t ignore.”

“What things?” I asked, desperate to understand why he’d sacrificed himself. “What was worth dying for?”

“The truth,” he said simply. “Cindersea isn’t what we think it is. None of us are who we think we are.” He stepped closer, his form shimmering slightly. “You’ve been seeing flashes, haven’t you? Fragments of memories that don’t make sense?”

I nodded. “Since the temple collapsed. Sky’s experiencing them too. We think everyone is.”