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Ice and fire
<p>Chapter Eleven</p>
<p>A Memory and a Prophecy</p>
<p><br></p>
<p>In the stillness before the storm, the past finds a way to speak.</p><p><br></p><p>Even the dead, when woven into destiny, are never truly silent.</p><p><br></p><p><br></p><p>---</p><p><br></p><p>The ruins of Kareth had shifted.</p><p><br></p><p>Beneath its broken halls, Kaelara discovered a sealed chamber hidden behind frost-covered stone. The lock was older than any she had seen—carved with both flame and ice.</p><p><br></p><p>Seren stood beside her. “This place… it wasn’t just ruined. It was hidden.”</p><p><br></p><p>Kaelara touched the center sigil. Her frost flowed into it. Seren followed, fire meeting cold.</p><p><br></p><p>The wall breathed—and opened.</p><p><br></p><p><br></p><p>---</p><p><br></p><p>Inside was a circular chamber lined with mirrored glass and ancient crystal. At the center stood a pedestal… and on it, a shard of skyglass—the rarest form of memory crystal. Pulsing.</p><p><br></p><p>Kaelara reached out.</p><p><br></p><p>The moment her fingers touched it, the room vanished.</p><p><br></p><p>And they were children again.</p><p><br></p><p>Not in body—but in mind.</p><p><br></p><p><br></p><p>---</p><p><br></p><p>They saw her.</p><p><br></p><p>Elenya.</p><p><br></p><p>Their mother.</p><p><br></p><p>She stood atop a burning hill wrapped in flowing robes of silver and blue. Her face, radiant and exhausted, turned toward the skyglass as though she could see them.</p><p><br></p><p>Her voice rang like a bell:</p><p><br></p><p>> “My daughters.</p><p>I gave my life so you could live.</p><p>One of fire. One of frost. But both of me.</p><p>You are not weapons. You are a choice.”</p><p><br></p><p><br></p><p><br></p><p>> “When the Hollow Flame rises again, it will seek to unmake not only the world—but the meaning of balance.</p><p>It will wear your faces. It will divide you.</p><p>It will promise peace… if only you abandon each other.”</p><p><br></p><p><br></p><p><br></p><p>> “Remember this:</p><p>The void cannot consume what is whole.”</p><p><br></p><p>Her image flickered.</p><p><br></p><p>Then, with a final breath:</p><p><br></p><p>> “Choose love.</p><p>Choose each other.”</p><p><br></p><p>---</p><p><br></p><p>The vision shattered.</p><p><br></p><p>The crystal dimmed.</p><p><br></p><p>Kaelara and Seren stood in silence, their hands still joined.</p><p><br></p><p>Neither spoke for a long time.</p><p><br></p><p>Then Seren said, quietly, “She knew.”</p><p><br></p><p>Kaelara nodded. “And she trusted us.”</p><p><br></p><p>Outside, the wind howled like a warning.</p><p><br></p><p>The Hollow Flame was nearly free.</p>
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