The relic's surface was colder than winter frost, its chill seeping into Elena's fingertips as she pressed her palm against it. The mirror-like stone rippled, distorting her reflection into something unrecognizable—a hollow-eyed stranger with shadows pooling in her collarbone. She tried to pull back, but the relic clung to her, its pulse syncing with the frantic rhythm of her heart.
*What is this?*
Then, the world splintered.
---
She stood in a chamber she knew too well.
The air reeked of burnt sage and iron, the scent of her mother's sanctuary. Moonlight streamed through high, narrow windows, casting silver streaks over the figure kneeling at the room's center.
*Asmara.*
Her mother's hands were bound by glowing chains, her emerald eyes blazing with defiance even as blood trickled from a gash on her temple. A hooded figure loomed over her, his wrist marked with the three-lined symbol—the same sigil Elena had seen on the mercenaries, the same one seared into her nightmares.
"No—" Elena choked out, but the word died in her throat. This wasn't a memory. It was a truth she'd been denied.
Asmara lifted her chin, her voice raw but unbroken. "I did everything you asked. I gave you *her*. Now honor your pact."
The hooded man laughed, low and grating. "You failed. The child was never yours to control."
The chains ignited, flames licking up Asmara's arms. Her scream tore through the chamber, a sound Elena felt in her bones. She lunged forward, but her hands passed through the vision like smoke.
The scene dissolved, replaced by another:
*Centuries ago.*
A younger Asmara stood before a council of cloaked figures, their faces hidden beneath gilded masks. The air thrummed with power, the walls etched with runes that writhed like serpents.
"You wish to betray the Veridian bloodline?" one figure intoned, their voice echoing as if spoken through water.
Asmara smirked, her eyes glinting with ambition. "I wish to claim what was *denied* to me."
The vision shattered.
---
Elena jerked her hand back as if burned. The relic cracked with a sound like breaking bone, golden light erupting from its core. The blast hurled her backward, her skull striking stone as magic surged through her—uncontrolled, *wild*.
Adrian caught her before she hit the ground, his grip firm. "Elena!"
She shoved him away, scrambling to her feet. The cavern trembled, dust raining from the ceiling as the relic's light flickered over Asmara's form.
For a heartbeat, the illusion fractured.
Scales rippled across Asmara's skin. Her pupils slithered into vertical voids. Claws curled where her fingers had been.
Adrian swore, dagger already in hand. "I *knew* it."
Elena's chest heaved. "You're not her."
Asmara's smile twisted, warm maternal softness melting into something predatory. "Oh, darling. Did you truly think I'd let you win?"
Her voice dropped, cold and venomous. "Your mother begged for death in the end. Will you do the same?"
---
The cavern warped.
Walls liquefied, stone flowing like tar. The floor splintered, gaps yawning open to reveal a void beneath. Shadows peeled from the rock, coagulating into figures—mirror images of Elena and Adrian, their eyes hollow, their movements jerky and wrong.
Adrian slashed at the nearest clone, his blade passing through it like mist. The illusion reformed instantly, its dagger grazing his arm.
"They're tethered to her!" Elena shouted, her magic sparking erratically. "Find the source!"
Asmara laughed, her voice echoing from all directions. "You think you can outwit me, child? I am *ageless*."
Elena's hands trembled as she focused, pushing past the panic clawing at her throat. *Think. Remember.*
The carvings. The name.
"Adrian!" she yelled. "The walls—the name! Use it!"
His gaze snapped to the runes etched into the stone. Understanding flashed in his eyes.
He stepped forward, voice cutting through the chaos like a blade.
"**Asmara!**"
The illusions shuddered. The clones flickered, their edges dissolving into smoke.
Asmara snarled, her form cracking like porcelain. "You dare—?"
--
Elena didn't let her finish.
She channeled every shred of grief, every ounce of fury, into her hands. Golden light erupted from her palms, searing the air as it collided with Asmara.
The demon's scream was deafening. Her body fragmented—scales, claws, shadows—disintegrating into ash and whispers.
But before she vanished, her voice slithered into Elena's mind, soft and taunting.
*"The immortals will feast on your despair, little sorceress."*
---
Silence fell, heavy and suffocating.
Elena collapsed to her knees, her magic sputtering out. Adrian crouched beside her, his breathing ragged. Blood dripped from a cut on his temple, mingling with the dust on his skin.
"Here," he muttered, pressing a crumpled letter into her hand. "Found it in the tunnels."
The parchment was brittle, the edges charred. But the handwriting—
*Her mother's.*
Elena's vision blurred as she read:
*My Elena,*
*If you hold this, I am gone. Asmara is not what she seems. Trust no one who wears my face. The artifact's true power lies deeper, guarded by lies. Forgive me.*
The words blurred. Elena crushed the letter to her chest, a sob clawing its way up her throat.
Adrian's hand hovered over her shoulder, hesitant. "They lied about Excidium. It's not here. It's—"
The ground trembled.
A shadow stretched across the chamber floor.
---
"You've only delayed the inevitable."
The voice was gravel and ice.
Elena looked up.
A hooded figure stood at the cavern's edge, his face hidden, his wrist marked with the three-lined symbol. The air around him *warped*, as if reality itself recoiled from his presence.
Adrian moved first, dagger raised, but the figure vanished—swallowed by the darkness.
Only his parting words lingered:
*"Run, little Veridian. We will feast on your heart."*
---
Elena rose, her legs shaking but steady. The letter crumpled in her fist, she turned to Adrian.
"Where next?"
He studied her, something unreadable in his gaze. "Deeper. Wherever Excidium's buried."
She nodded, her jaw set. The grief was still there, sharp and raw, but beneath it burned something fiercer.
*Let them come.*
As they retreated, the cavern's shadows seemed to watch.
And somewhere, far below, the earth groaned.