When Azra woke, the world around her was a blur of shadows and fading light. Her entire body ached as if it had been pulled apart and stitched back together, every muscle screaming in protest. She was lying on the cold stone floor of the chamber, her vision hazy and unfocused. For a moment, she didn't know where she was or how she had ended up here. Her mind felt foggy, her thoughts tangled in a web of confusion and pain.
Then it hit her.
Kian.
Azra bolted upright, her breath catching in her throat as the memory came flooding back. The ritual. The obelisk. Kian's sacrifice.
She scrambled to her feet, her heart racing as she looked around the now-quiet chamber. The blinding light from the obelisk had faded, leaving behind an eerie silence that filled the room. The stone walls were scorched, the symbols once etched into them now dark and burned away. The air smelled of ozone and ancient magic, a heavy stillness settling over everything.
"Kian…" she whispered, her voice trembling.
She stumbled toward the platform where Kian had stood, her legs weak and unsteady. But when she reached the spot where he had offered himself to the veil, there was nothing. No body, no trace of him—only the faint residual glow of the obelisk, its surface now cracked and dark.
"Kian!" Azra called out, louder this time, her voice echoing through the empty chamber. But the silence that followed was deafening. The reality of it hit her like a blade to the chest—he was gone.
Her knees buckled, and she collapsed to the ground, her hands trembling as she pressed them against the cold stone. Tears blurred her vision, and she clutched at the spot where Kian had stood, where he had sacrificed himself to save the veil, to save Al'Khari—to save her.
"No, no, no…" Azra's voice cracked, the sobs coming fast and hard as the grief swallowed her whole. She pounded her fists against the ground, the pain in her chest unbearable. "You can't be gone… You can't…"
But the truth was inescapable. Kian was gone, his life given to reinforce the veil, to hold back the dark forces that threatened to spill into their world. And Azra was left standing in the wreckage of what they had fought so hard to protect, with nothing but the echo of his last words and the weight of her promise to keep her company.
The room spun around her, and she collapsed fully onto the stone, her body wracked with sobs. She had barely known him, and yet Kian had become something more—someone she had trusted, fought beside, and cared for in a way she hadn't allowed herself to in so long. And now, he was just… gone.
Azra lay there for what felt like hours, her tears falling silently onto the stone. The chamber was dark now, the only light coming from the faint glow of the broken obelisk, but she didn't care. She didn't move. She couldn't. The grief weighed her down like a stone, suffocating her, pressing in from all sides until she could barely breathe.
She had promised him she would survive. That she would finish what they started. But how? How could she go on without him? How could she face the horrors of Al'Khari alone? The thought of continuing, of stepping out of this chamber and into the cursed city above, felt impossible.
The quiet stretched on, broken only by Azra's shallow breaths. She closed her eyes, pressing her forehead against the cold stone. Her entire body ached with the loss, the emptiness where Kian had been. It felt like the world had torn in two, and all that remained was a gaping void she couldn't fill.
Then, through the thick fog of her grief, a sound reached her ears. Faint at first, like the whisper of a breeze, but growing louder with each second. It was a low, resonant hum—like the distant echo of magic still lingering in the air. Azra blinked, lifting her head slightly, her heart pounding in her chest. It was coming from the obelisk.
She stood slowly, her legs weak and trembling as she stumbled toward the center of the chamber. The obelisk was still there, cracked and blackened, but the faint hum was unmistakable. As she approached, the sound grew louder, vibrating through her bones, filling the air around her with an eerie, unnatural energy.
Azra hesitated, her hand hovering just inches from the surface of the obelisk. She could feel the pulse of magic radiating from it, dark and twisted, but also familiar. It was the same energy she had felt during the ritual—the power of the veil itself. And something else—something deeper, buried within the ancient stone.
Her heart raced as she pressed her palm against the obelisk. The moment her skin made contact, a shock of energy surged through her, and Azra gasped, her body jerking as the world around her seemed to blur and shift.
Suddenly, she wasn't standing in the chamber anymore.
She was somewhere else—somewhere dark and cold, surrounded by a thick mist that clung to her skin like ice. Shadows swirled around her, disorienting and chaotic, and for a moment, she thought she was back at the Gate of the Forgotten. But this place was different. It was emptier, darker, like a void that stretched endlessly in every direction.
A voice echoed through the mist, low and distant, but unmistakable.
"Azra…"
Her heart stopped. It was Kian's voice.
"Kian?" she whispered, turning in every direction, trying to see through the swirling mist. "Where are you?"
The voice came again, stronger this time. "I'm here… but I can't stay…"
Azra's chest tightened, and she stumbled forward, her hands reaching out for him. But there was nothing. Only the mist and the shadows. "Kian! Please, I need you! Where are you?"
The mist thickened, swirling faster around her, and for a brief moment, she thought she saw him—a dark figure standing just beyond her reach, his form flickering like a shadow in the fog. She lunged toward him, desperate to reach him, but the mist parted, and he was gone.
"You have to finish it, Azra…" his voice echoed through the darkness, growing fainter. "You promised me… the veil…"
Tears streamed down her face as she reached out into the void, her hands trembling. "Kian, don't leave me. Please, I don't know how to do this without you."
His voice was faint now, barely a whisper. "You can… I believe in you…"
And then, just like that, the mist swallowed him whole, and the void fell silent.
Azra collapsed to her knees, her chest heaving with sobs. He was gone. Truly gone this time. But his words—his final words—echoed in her mind like a mantra, refusing to let her go.
"You promised me…"
She had promised him. She had promised to survive. To finish what they had started. And now, she had to keep that promise, no matter how much it hurt.
Azra wiped the tears from her face, her hands trembling as she slowly stood. The obelisk's hum had faded, the energy gone, but the weight of her promise remained. Kian had given his life for this—for the veil, for her—and now it was up to her to make sure his sacrifice wasn't in vain.
The veil was still fragile, still at risk of collapsing, but the ritual had bought them time. How much time, she didn't know. But she knew one thing for certain—she couldn't let Kian's death be for nothing.
Her heart heavy with grief, Azra turned and made her way out of the chamber, her steps slow and deliberate. The city of Al'Khari waited for her above, dark and cursed, but she would face it. She would fight, no matter how much it hurt.
Because she had promised.
And Azra always kept her promises.