Chapter 9: The Shadow Who Knows Tomorrow
The hall of silver ice turned deathly silent.
The cloaked man stepped forward, boots echoing on the crystal floor. His violet-trimmed cloak fluttered unnaturally, as if tugged by an invisible storm. Though his face was partly hidden under a hood, his voice was sharp, calm… and dangerous.
> "Four marks. Four flames. The prophecy reborn."
"And yet, you know nothing of what's coming."
Ren stepped in front of the frozen girl, fists clenched. "Who are you?"
The stranger chuckled. "I am Kaelrin — a traveler like you, from a future much darker than yours. But unlike you… I know why I'm here."
Yuna ignited a flame in her hand. "You're from the future?"
Kaelrin nodded. "A fractured one. One where your kind failed. Where this world collapsed under its own magic. I simply arrived first… and I intend to reshape it."
Akio raised a hand. "Yeah, nope. You're giving villain monologue vibes. We're not interested."
Kaelrin's eyes narrowed. "And yet… I'm interested in her."
He pointed toward the sleeping girl.
"The Frost Mark," he said. "The final key. She hasn't awakened yet. But with her, the gate to the Heart of Eravallis can be opened."
Ren's heart pounded. "The Heart of… what?"
Kaelrin smirked. "A core of pure essence. The source of this world's magic. And once I control it, I can tear down the timeline and build a new one."
A sudden spike of dark energy erupted from his palm — a blast aimed directly at the crystal encasing the girl.
Ren leapt forward.
"NO!"
His lightning surged — untrained but desperate. It clashed with Kaelrin's magic midair, causing a shockwave that threw all of them back.
The ice cracked.
The girl inside twitched.
Yuna and Akio rushed to Ren's side.
Kaelrin sighed. "Still untrained. Still weak. No matter. You'll come find me, eventually. You'll have to."
With a swirl of violet wind, he vanished — a trail of dark particles hanging in the air.
The trio staggered to their feet.
Behind them, the ice began to shatter — slowly, like falling petals of frost.
Then, a gasp.
The girl opened her eyes.
Glowing pale blue. Confused. Sad. Powerful.
> "Who… who are you?" she whispered.
Ren smiled. "We could ask you the same."
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