Nicolette stood frozen before the mirror as the last echo of the elder's voice faded. The battlefield vision still lingered behind her eyes—the flames, the screams, and the image of the Healer Queen, her face a mirror of Nicolette's own. It wasn't just a warning. It was a promise of what could come.
"I'm not ready," she murmured.
Kael, standing a step behind her, placed a steadying hand on her shoulder. "No one ever is. But you're not alone."
His touch grounded her, and she nodded slightly, drawing a deep breath. The elder moved closer, extending a hand toward the mirror. As his fingers brushed the surface, the watery image shifted, dissolving into a new vision—an ancient map etched in glowing gold, depicting the two realms divided by a dark rift.
"That," he said gravely, "is the Tear of Aeon. It is growing. If it fully opens, both worlds will bleed into each other. Your journey begins at its source."
Kael stepped forward, frowning. "That's near the Scorched Peaks. The land there is poisoned—nothing grows. The sky never clears."
"Because the fire still burns beneath the surface," the elder said. "A wound left from the last war. It is there you must go."
Nicolette blinked, her hands trembling. "What am I supposed to find there?"
"Answers," the elder replied. "And the first of three keys. Only with all three can the veil be sealed."
She turned back to the map. Three glowing symbols pulsed faintly across it—a flame, a tear, and a crown. The first glowed just at the edge of the Scorched Peaks.
---
Later that night, Nicolette sat by the hearth in the temple's east wing, wrapping her cloak tighter around her shoulders. The fire crackled, casting long shadows on the ancient stone walls. Kael sat across from her, sharpening a blade that looked older than both of them combined.
"You think I can really do this?" she asked quietly.
He looked up, his eyes meeting hers. "I've fought beside warriors, nobles, and fools. You? You're none of them. And that's what makes you dangerous to the enemy."
She managed a small smile. "That sounded like a compliment until it didn't."
He chuckled. "It was both."
A soft knock interrupted their moment. The elder entered once more, carrying a small bundle wrapped in violet silk.
"This belonged to the last Healer Queen," he said, handing it to Nicolette. "You may find it useful."
Unwrapping it carefully, she revealed a pendant shaped like a flame, carved from some unknown crimson crystal. It pulsed faintly as if alive.
"It's warm," she whispered.
"It will guide you when the path darkens," the elder said. "But beware—others seek the keys, and they will kill to stop you."
---
By dawn, they were on horseback, the temple fading behind them as they headed east toward the Scorched Peaks. The landscape changed quickly—lush green gave way to barren earth, then cracked, blackened stone. The sky grew redder with each passing hour, and the air grew thick with ash.
As they crested a ridge, the vast wasteland of the Scorched Peaks stretched out before them—rivers of cooled lava, dead trees like skeletal fingers, and, in the distance, a faint glow pulsing from deep within the earth.
"We're here," Kael said grimly.
Nicolette stared ahead, the flame pendant now burning gently against her chest. Her journey was truly beginning—and there would be no turning back.