The Midnight Key

The air grew colder.

Not the natural chill of night, nor the icy mist Adrian and Adriel could summon—it was something else. Something old.

Rene pulled Rena closer, feeling the strange tension in the baby's small body. She wasn't frightened, but she was aware. More aware than a child should be.

Lucien moved fast, leading them through the jagged cliffs and winding, overgrown paths that had long been abandoned. The Forgotten Ruins were still hours away, but each step made the world around them feel thinner—as if they were walking between what was real and what was meant to stay hidden.

Rene felt it in her bones.

They weren't supposed to be here.

But they had no choice.

Nyra kept her blade in hand, her steps careful. Adrian and Adriel remained close, their silver eyes flickering like light on ice, scanning every shadow.

And Rena…

She was quiet. But her eyes held something unreadable.

Something ancient.

Lucien was the first to break the silence.

"There's something you all need to understand," he said, his voice lower than usual. "Selene isn't just someone we can find."

Rene frowned. "What do you mean?"

Lucien glanced at her, then at Rena.

"She's in the place where time forgot. Do you know what that means?"

Nyra tensed. "You're saying we're walking into a trap."

Lucien's golden gaze darkened. "I'm saying that if we enter, there's no guarantee we'll leave."

Adrian scoffed. "Then we'll carve our way out."

Adriel, ever the quieter of the two, simply watched Lucien with a sharp, knowing gaze. "You've been here before."

Lucien didn't answer immediately. His jaw clenched.

Then—

"…Once."

Rene stared at him. "And you lived?"

Lucien's expression remained unreadable. "Barely."

For the first time, Rene saw something flicker in his golden eyes. Something almost like fear.

And that terrified her more than anything else.

Because Lucien wasn't afraid of anything.

Not the whispers in the dark.

Not the ones who sealed Rena away.

Not even death.

But this place—this thing—had left a mark on him.

Rena suddenly lifted her head.

And in a soft, almost distant voice, she murmured—

"They're already here."

Then—

A gust of wind tore through the cliffs, bringing with it a chorus of whispers.

Not voices.

Memories.

The air rippled, like something unseen was peeling apart.

And Rene saw them.

Figures shifting in the mist.

Not quite human. Not quite shadow.

They had no faces, yet she could feel their eyes on her.

On all of them.

Rena turned her head, her silver gaze calm.

Almost expectant.

As if she had seen this before.

Lucien inhaled sharply. "Don't move."

Nyra's grip tightened on her blade. "You expect us to just stand here?"

"They aren't attacking." Lucien's gaze was sharp, calculating. "They're watching."

Adrian's silver light crackled at his fingertips. "I don't like being watched."

Adriel was already reaching for his twin, ready to counter whatever was about to happen.

But then—

One of the figures moved.

Stepping forward.

Rene felt her heartbeat stutter.

It wasn't just mist.

It wasn't just a shadow.

It was a person.

Dressed in dark, flowing robes. Their body wavered between solid and ethereal, but their eyes—

They were golden.

Just like Lucien's.

Lucien went still.

"…No."

The figure tilted their head. Then, in a voice that sounded like the wind through dead trees—

"Welcome back, little brother."

Silence.

Rene's breath caught.

Little… brother?

She turned to Lucien—

And for the first time ever, she saw shock on his face.

Adrian and Adriel exchanged glances, their postures shifting immediately into something colder. More dangerous.

Nyra stared between Lucien and the figure, her hand tightening on her blade. "What the hell is going on?"

Lucien's fists clenched. His golden eyes darkened, unreadable.

And in a voice barely above a whisper—

"…You're supposed to be dead."

The figure smiled.

And the world around them shattered.

To Be Continued…

---