---
Kaelen woke to the sound of footsteps echoing down the hallway outside his room. His eyes flickered open, though he didn't immediately move. The storm inside him had settled into a restless lull, but its presence was still very much felt, like a storm cloud on the horizon, waiting to strike.
The encounter with his dark reflection the night before played in his mind like a broken record. *What was he meant to become?* The words haunted him, repeating over and over in his thoughts. Could he truly change his fate, or was he destined to fall into that same abyss?
Sighing, he sat up, his feet landing softly on the floor. He glanced toward the window, where the first light of dawn began to break through the dark sky. A new day, but the weight of the previous one hung heavily on him.
Kaelen got dressed quickly, hoping to distract himself with some activity, anything to keep his mind from dwelling on the unsettling events. He met his companions downstairs in the inn's main room, where the smells of freshly baked bread and roasting meat filled the air.
Seraphine was already seated at a table, scanning the room with her usual sharp attention to detail. Lira was at the bar, talking to the innkeeper, while Garak was nowhere to be seen. Kaelen had half-expected the dwarf to still be sleeping off last night's indulgence in the inn's less-than-fine ale.
When Lira caught sight of Kaelen, she waved him over. "Breakfast is on the way. Seraphine has been eyeing you like you might explode at any moment."
Kaelen gave her a tired smile, but it didn't quite reach his eyes. He sat down across from Seraphine, who looked him over with a concerned frown.
"You didn't sleep well," she said quietly, her gaze steady. "You haven't said much since last night. What's going on, Kaelen?"
Kaelen opened his mouth to respond, but his throat tightened. The words felt like they were stuck in his chest, caught between what he wanted to say and what he was afraid to admit.
"I saw something last night," he finally said, his voice low. "A… version of me. Darker. Older. It told me that I'm not what I think I am. That the storm inside me isn't just some freak accident. It's who I'm supposed to be."
Seraphine's brows furrowed, her lips pressing into a thin line. "Kaelen… You don't have to listen to it. Whatever that thing was, it's playing with your mind."
Kaelen met her gaze, his eyes dark with doubt. "I don't know, Seraphine. It felt real. Like that's my true self, the one I've been fighting to hide from." He ran a hand through his hair, frustration boiling over. "I don't know what to believe anymore."
There was a long pause, the tension thick between them. Finally, Seraphine reached across the table and placed her hand on his. It was a simple gesture, but one that seemed to anchor him, like a tether to reality.
"You're not alone in this," she said softly. "Whatever is happening to you, we'll face it together. You don't have to carry this burden alone."
Kaelen looked down at her hand on his, the warmth of her touch grounding him in a way nothing else had been able to. "I don't know what I am anymore," he muttered, the words heavy with the weight of his fears. "But I don't want to lose myself."
Seraphine smiled gently. "You won't lose yourself. We'll make sure of that."
At that moment, Garak walked into the room, a grin plastered across his face, though it faltered when he saw the serious expressions on both Kaelen and Seraphine's faces.
"Trouble in paradise already?" he teased, setting a tankard of ale down on the table. He sat down with a sigh. "I swear, no one knows how to enjoy breakfast in peace around here."
Lira followed shortly after, taking her seat next to Kaelen. Her expression was neutral, but Kaelen could sense her watchful gaze. She was always the quiet one, observing everything without saying much. But Kaelen knew she was just as concerned as the others.
"We should head out soon," Lira said after a moment. "If we're going to track down the information we need, we don't have much time. Who knows what other surprises are waiting for us."
Kaelen nodded slowly, though his mind was still swirling. The group had agreed to visit a nearby library that was said to hold information on the forgotten Lord, and perhaps even the origins of the storm that had taken root inside him. But Kaelen wasn't sure if that was what he truly needed.
The storm inside him had only grown more restless. It wasn't just power—it was hunger, desire, a pull toward something he couldn't understand. Every day, it felt more like a living, breathing thing, urging him to embrace it.
He had to fight it. He had to. But how could he fight something that felt so… inherent? So *right*?
"Kaelen, are you with us?" Seraphine's voice broke through his thoughts, and Kaelen blinked, realizing that everyone was looking at him expectantly.
"Yeah, sorry," Kaelen muttered, shaking his head. "Let's go."
The group finished their meal in relative silence, each of them preoccupied with their own thoughts. Kaelen couldn't shake the feeling that something was coming, something inevitable that he couldn't avoid.
When they left the inn, the town was already alive with activity. People bustled about, preparing for the day ahead, but Kaelen couldn't focus on any of it. His mind kept drifting back to that figure—the version of himself. What did it mean? And why did it feel like the answer was always just out of reach?
The library was just a short walk away, a grand stone building with towering spires and intricate carvings that seemed to tell stories of their own. As they entered, the cool air inside wrapped around them, and the scent of old parchment and ink filled Kaelen's lungs.
"Let's find what we need," Kaelen said, his voice firm despite the turmoil brewing inside him. "I need answers."
---
The group split up once inside the library, each of them searching through the vast stacks of books. Kaelen wandered through the aisles, his fingers brushing the spines of the tomes as he passed. He couldn't focus on any one thing, his mind still heavy with doubts and questions.
It wasn't until he reached the far corner of the library, hidden behind a curtain of dusty books, that he found something that caught his eye. A book, ancient and worn, its cover cracked and faded. The title was illegible, but something about it seemed to pulse with an almost *familiar* energy.
Without thinking, Kaelen pulled it from the shelf and opened it. The pages were yellowed with age, the text written in a language he didn't recognize. But as his fingers traced the words, they began to shift, the letters rearranging themselves into something he could understand.
Kaelen's heart skipped a beat as the words slowly began to make sense.
---