The journey to the ruins had been long, and Kael could feel the tension building between him and Elara. She was a mystery—her motives hidden behind a veil of sly smiles and cryptic words. Still, Kael couldn't shake the sense that there was more to her than she was letting on.
They reached the base of the ancient ruins after days of traveling, a towering structure that seemed to hum with a strange energy. The air was thick with the scent of magic, the remnants of long-forgotten rituals still lingering in the cracks of the stone.
But something wasn't right.
As Kael approached the entrance, the hairs on the back of his neck stood on end. He could feel eyes on him—watching, waiting. It wasn't just the ruins that seemed alive; the very ground beneath his feet had an unnatural pulse. He turned to Elara, his gaze hardening.
"You've been quiet," he said, his voice low. "What aren't you telling me?"
Her eyes flickered, a shadow crossing her face before she masked it with a smile. "You're paranoid, Kael. There's nothing to worry about."
But Kael wasn't buying it. His instincts—once honed to perfection in the celestial realm—told him the truth. Elara had been hiding something from him all along. And it wasn't until they entered the ruins that the truth was revealed in the most brutal way possible.
As they ventured deeper, Kael began to notice that the air grew colder, the walls adorned with symbols he vaguely recognized. His mind raced, but before he could piece it together, Elara turned on him.
"You didn't think I'd let you have the relic that easily, did you?" she said with a cruel smile, her voice laced with a strange power.
Kael's heart clenched as the realization hit him like a bolt of lightning. Elara had never been his ally. She had been working with the gods from the beginning. Her plan wasn't to help him regain his power—it was to use him as a tool to fulfill the prophecy. She had led him here to trap him.
Before he could react, the ground beneath them erupted. Dark figures emerged from the shadows—celestial agents sent to retrieve him, to finish what had been started. Betrayed once more, Kael fought back, his movements a blur of rage and precision. But the odds were stacked against him. Elara had planned for this, and she had made sure that the forces she unleashed were enough to bring him to his knees.
For the first time in his life, Kael felt helpless. His powers were still weak—too weak to defeat the celestial agents or Elara herself. His heart burned with fury as he struggled against their magic, but it was no use. He had been played.