"An heiress?" she whispered the word as if afraid to say it aloud.
Sibak nodded slowly, his gaze sinking deep into hers, as if weighing her ability to accept the truth.
"Yes, Izaria. You are the true heir to the Will of the Rakim."
Izaria felt a slight tremor in her hands. "But how? Why me?"
"Because your blood carries the echo of the Rakim." He approached her slowly, then pointed to her eyes, which glowed with a mysterious purple hue.
"Have you ever wondered why your eyes are this color? It's not just a genetic anomaly. It's proof that the energy of the Rakim has been embodied in you since birth. You are the daughter of the ancient Will, the thread that connects the past and the future."
Her eyes widened in astonishment as memories began to form in her mind... her mother, that mysterious woman who always seemed to be hiding something from her. Scattered words returned to her, whispers of unknown powers, of a destiny awaiting her.
But Sibak wasn't finished yet.
"Being the heir doesn't just mean you carry the power... it means you carry a heavy responsibility. A responsibility no one else can bear."
She hesitated before asking, "And what do you mean by that?"
He looked at her for a long moment, then said firmly, "You are the key, Izaria. The key that will restore the Rakim to its unity, the key that will preserve the balance of power."
She swallowed hard, trying to process his words.
"But..." She took a deep breath before continuing. "What is my connection to the Rakim-bearer? And why do I feel like there's a part of the story you haven't told me yet?"
Sibak closed his eyes for a moment, as if gathering the courage to speak the final truth.
"The Rakim-bearer is not just a person in this story... he is the vessel. The person who may become the hope of this world—or its destruction. Despite his power, there is a danger looming... the danger of the darkness that stalks him."
Her heart tightened. "Darkness?"
"Yes."
He looked at her seriously, then continued, "The power growing within him is not pure. It carries fragments of another will, a will that feeds on chaos. And if he loses control... if he strays from his path... he will become the darkness itself."
Izaria felt a shiver run through her body.
"And what happens if he falls into darkness?"
Sibak looked at her with a harsh gaze, his words coming out like an irreversible verdict.
"Then there will be only one choice... to eliminate him."
She took a step back, as if the words had struck her like a wave of shock. "No... I can't do that."
"No one wants that, Izaria," he said in a softer tone, though it still carried the weight of responsibility. "That's why you exist... you are the last line of defense. Your role isn't to kill him, but to bring him back to his senses before it's too late."
Izaria took a deep breath, her mind swirling with thoughts.
"So... if he loses himself to the darkness, I have to be the one to bring him back?"
Sibak nodded. "Exactly. Because you are the heir... the only one capable of balancing the energy he carries, the only one capable of preventing his fall."
Izaria looked at the glowing runes around her, as if seeing a future she had never imagined. A future filled with power and destiny, but also danger and responsibility.
"So, it's not just about restoring the Rakim... but also protecting it."
Sibak smiled faintly, then said, "But protecting everything... him, the Rakim, and the balance between light and darkness."
Her eyes shone with new determination, and she took a deep breath before whispering:
"Alright... I'll be ready."
A heavy silence filled the room, as if the air itself was waiting for the next move. Izaria was still lost in her thoughts, while Sibak watched her silently, certain that her last words were not just a promise, but the beginning of her transformation into what she was destined to be.
"But there's something I still don't understand..." she said quietly, as if trying to organize her thoughts. "If I am the heir, the key, how exactly can I help him? Is there a specific way to contain the darkness within him?"
Sibak nodded slowly, then pointed to the runic inscriptions carved on the walls. "The Rakim is not just a tool of power... it is the memory of the world, the will of the universe, as I told you before. But it is also a balance. When it was created, it wasn't just a source of energy—it was meant to balance chaos and order."
Izaria approached the wall, running her fingers over the intertwined lines that glowed faintly.
"And that means?"
"That whoever holds a part of the Rakim carries its influence within them, whether it's light or darkness."
Izaria felt a cold grip in her stomach. "Are you saying Noah might have absorbed a part of the Rakim's dark side?"
"It's not that simple," Sibak said, crossing his arms. "Noah is not just a recipient of power—he is a vessel. And that means any energy he is exposed to, whether light or darkness, can interact within him unpredictably. The Rakim's power flowing within him is not entirely stable, and if he doesn't find something to guide him, he could drown in darkness without realizing it."
Izaria stared at the inscriptions, then turned to face Sibak with determination. "Then... how do I stop him from falling?"
He looked at her for a long moment before saying, "You, Izaria, are the balance he needs."
She raised her eyebrows in surprise. "Me?"
Sibak nodded. "Your power is not like his, because you are not just an heir to the Rakim—you are also the only one who can directly influence him. The blood running through your veins is not just an extension of your mother's... it is also a link between you and the Rakim, and between you and its bearer."
Izaria took a deep breath, trying to grasp the weight of the responsibility. "So... I have to be by his side always, to keep him balanced?"
"Not just physically by his side, but in his spirit," Sibak said quietly but firmly. "If darkness begins to take hold of him, your voice will be the one to bring him back. And if he loses himself, your will must guide him. This is not just a battle of power, but a battle of will... a battle you must win."
Izaria took a moment to absorb his words, then looked at him with resolve. "And what if I fail? What if I can't bring him back?"
Sibak looked at her heavily, then said in a low but firm voice, "Then you will be the one who must put an end to him."
Izaria felt her heart stop for a moment. "Kill him?"
Sibak lowered his gaze for a moment, then said, "If there is no other way, leaving him to the darkness means the destruction of everything."
Izaria clenched her fists, feeling a weight she had never known before. She didn't want to think about that possibility, but she realized she no longer had the luxury of escaping the truth.
"I won't let him fall," she said firmly, her eyes glowing with new determination. "I'll bring him back, no matter the cost."
Sibak smiled faintly, as if he had been waiting for this response. "That is the faith we need, Izaria. But remember, this is not a battle you will fight alone."
She looked at him, a question in her eyes. "Then... who is with me in this battle?"
"Everyone who believes that the balance must be preserved," he said in a mysterious tone. "But before you worry about who is with you, you must first discover what you can truly do."
Izaria took a deep breath, then nodded, ready to move forward on a path she had never imagined before.
"What I can truly do..." Izaria muttered to herself as she watched the glowing runic inscriptions before her. There was a strange certainty within her that she had only scratched the surface of her abilities, and that what awaited her was far more complex than she had imagined.
Sibak, who was watching the changes in her expression, spoke in a quiet voice: "You've only scratched the surface, Izaria. The heir is not just a bearer of the Rakim's power—she is the one who can decipher its secrets and summon its true will."
She looked at him intently. "And how do I do that?"
Sibak pointed to the opposite wall, where a complex runic circle was inscribed, with a symbol resembling an eye surrounded by wings at its center. "This is not just an inscription—it is an ancient seal containing a part of the lost knowledge of the Rakim. To understand your power, you must start here."
Izaria stepped forward cautiously, feeling a strange energy emanating from the inscriptions, as if calling to her. She reached out her hand carefully toward the circle, and as soon as she touched it, a golden light surged through the room, enveloping her completely. She felt vibrations running through her body, as if rearranging something within her.
"What's happening?" she asked, her voice a mix of awe and fear.
"The seal is testing you, reading your essence, and deciding if you are ready to see the truth," Sibak answered, stepping back.
Suddenly, another dimension opened before her eyes, as if she were being pulled into a vision of a past she had never lived. She saw the same room, but it wasn't abandoned as it was now. It was lit by golden torches, and in the center stood ten ancient beings, each with a majestic aura.
At the forefront stood a tall man, his golden armor reflecting the torchlight. He held a staff adorned with Egyptian symbols, and on his head was a crown symbolizing the sun. Izaria immediately realized who he was.
"Ra..." she whispered, barely believing what she was seeing.
"The Rakim is not just a tool..." Ra said in a powerful voice, as if speaking directly to her across time. "It is the living embodiment of ancient knowledge, the power that balances everything. We created it, but we did not know that the will of the universe would decide its future."
Izaria looked around, watching the other gods who had signed the creation of the Rakim. Osiris, Isis, Horus, Thoth, and the rest of the ancient beings who were once worshipped stood in a semicircle around a massive table covered with glowing golden scrolls.
"If you were the ones who created the Rakim, why didn't you keep it under your control?" Izaria asked, unable to contain her curiosity.
Osiris raised his gaze to her, his eyes holding eternal wisdom. "Because power that is not shared becomes a curse. We thought we were protecting the world, but in truth, we created something beyond our understanding. The Rakim is no longer ours alone... it has become part of the fabric of existence itself."
Isis, who seemed to have been waiting for this question, added in a quiet but strong voice: "That is why you are here, Izaria. The heir is not just a bearer of power—she is the mediator between the ancient will and the future. Your task is not just to restore the Rakim, but to guide its destiny."
Izaria shuddered for a moment, feeling the weight of the words spoken to her. "And what is its destiny?"
Thoth, who seemed more enigmatic than the others, stepped forward and said, "That depends on the choice you and Noah make. If you can gather it, you will either restore balance... or destroy everything."
Suddenly, Izaria was back in reality, stumbling backward as she gasped for breath.
She looked around to see Sibak still standing in his place, but his eyes held a look of understanding.
"You saw them, didn't you?" he asked in a low voice.
She nodded slowly, still under the influence of what she had seen. "They... spoke to me. They told me that I must not only restore the Rakim, but decide its destiny, and that its bearer is named Noah..."
Sibak nodded. "And that is the hardest part, Izaria. Because the decision will not be easy... especially when Noah begins to change."
Her eyes widened in worry. "What do you mean?"
Sibak took a step toward her, his tone becoming more serious. "The Rakim has already begun to affect Noah. And if there is no one to guide him... he may no longer be the same person you know."
Izaria felt her heart pounding violently. "That's why I am the key... not just to open the door, but to bring Noah back if he starts to drift."
Sibak looked at her deeply before saying, "Exactly. And now, it's time for you to discover what you can do before it's too late."
Izaria didn't know that her true journey was just beginning...
A heavy silence fell, broken only by the sound of Izaria's ragged breathing. She stared at Sibak with wide eyes, as if trying to comprehend what she had just been told.
"Who is Noah, really?" she finally asked, her words cautious, as if she had uncovered a gaping hole in her knowledge.
"Why is he so important? And why am I responsible for bringing him back if he changes?"
Sibak looked at her thoughtfully, then said in a quiet voice that carried the weight of centuries of knowledge: "Noah... is not from here."
Her heart skipped a beat, but she held her ground. "Not from here? Do you mean he's not from Saisera?"
Sibak nodded slowly. "Not from this world at all."
She froze in place, trying to process what he had said. Her mind refused to believe it, but her heart told her that Sibak wasn't lying. "Then... where is he from?"
Sibak turned his gaze to the glowing runic symbols around the room, as if searching for the right words. "Noah came from another world, a distant world unlike ours. But he is connected to the Rakim in ways you cannot yet imagine. His presence here was no accident... it was part of a design older than anything you can comprehend."
Izaria felt a shiver run through her body. "Why didn't you tell me this before?"
Sibak sighed, his tone carrying a hint of sorrow. "Because the time wasn't right. There are things you cannot understand until you are ready. Some truths can be a heavy burden if revealed too soon."
She pressed her lips together hesitantly, then asked, "So... when will he come?"
He looked at her directly, his eyes shining with something like certainty. "He will come when he is ready. And when he does, he will not be the same person he was before."
Another shiver ran through her. There was something unsettling about his words, something that made her realize that Noah might not just be an ally in this journey—he might also be one of the greatest challenges she would face.
"So, what is my role now?"
Sibak smiled faintly, though it wasn't entirely comforting. "Your role now is to become strong enough to receive Noah when he comes. You cannot just be an observer—you must be the one who can guide him... or stop him, if necessary."
She didn't like the last part of the sentence, but she understood its meaning. If there was a chance that Noah could be corrupted by the Rakim... she would be the only one who could bring him back to his senses.
"How do I begin?" she asked in a steady voice, trying to hide the hesitation in her heart.
Sibak pointed to the glowing runic circle behind her. "We begin where it all started... by understanding the full truth of the Rakim."
Izaria stepped toward the circle once more, but this time, there was no fear in her heart... only readiness to face what was to come.