The golden light had faded completely, yet no one in the ruined chamber moved. The cold mountain wind whistled through the broken archway, carrying with it the faint scent of snow and old stone. Mirabel remained curled on the frozen floor, her small shoulders shaking, Clara’s arms wrapped tightly around her.Kaelen Ashwright stood motionless beside the empty stone pedestal, the pouch containing the fragment resting against his hip, its warmth pulsing gently through the leather like a second heartbeat. He had faced armies of the dead and the voice of a god, yet nothing had prepared him for the quiet weight of watching a man dissolve into light after a hundred years of loyalty.“A century.” Sylra Ashwright finally whispered, wiping tears from her cheeks. “He waited a hundred years for us, and he only had a few minutes to see his duty fulfilled.”“But he did see it fulfilled.” Old Moth immediately said softly, her weathered hand resting on Sylra Ashwright’s arm. “Some people carry a burd

Commander Zach turned to the group, his weathered face set with grim resolve. “Then we cannot linger. If a host is converging on this mountain, we must leave before it arrives. We must also decide what to do with the fragment, because carrying it with us into every battle only increases the risk of losing it.”“Agreed.” Kaelen Ashwright said. “Mirabel, is there anything else here? Anything your father kept in the ruins that we should take or protect?”Mirabel hesitated, wiping her face. A strange, thoughtful expression crossed her features. “There is something. My father always told me that when the fragment was claimed, I should give the new keeper what he left behind. I did not understand what he meant until now.”Without another word, she slipped away from Sylra Ashwright and disappeared into a narrow tunnel at the chamber’s far end, one the team had not noticed. The group waited in tense silence, listening to her small footsteps fade into the mountain’s depths.“Should someone fol

“Many of them will have been deceived.” Old Moth said thoughtfully. “Vandel was once a revered saint. Some of his followers may truly believe he intends to end suffering. Zealots are often the most dangerous precisely because they cannot imagine they are wrong.”“Then maybe some of them can be turned.” Kaelen Ashwright said. “If we show them the truth, the murders, the purges, the lies he told even his own family, perhaps they will listen. Not all, but some.”“A noble thought.” Commander Zach said. “But do not mistake hope for strategy. Be prepared for the worst, and let mercy be what surprises us rather than what blinds us.”Kaelen Ashwright nodded slowly, accepting the correction.“And how does the sword factor into all this?” Ryn Ashenfang asked, glancing at the hilt over his shoulder. “If it can detect disturbances in the veil between life and death, could it also detect Vandel’s anchors from a distance?”“Possibly.” Commander Zach said. “I would like to test it once we have time,