The ash had not yet settled.

Aria stood at the edge of the ruined sanctuary, her breath ragged, her crown pulsing faintly as if echoing the tremor in her chest. Behind her, the Circle mages whispered among themselves—uncertain, fractured, doubting whether the war they thought they won had only just begun.

But Aria couldn’t hear them. She could only hear the sound of his voice—the last words Caleb had spoken before the veil tore open.

"It was never just about the prophecy. I chose you, ...