Chapter 70: Echoes of the Forgotten War

Chapter 70: Echoes of the Forgotten War

Kael’s POV

The moment the light swallowed Scarlett and John, I thought I’d died.

The entire mountain had erupted stone splintering, runes screaming as their light bled into the air. I remembered reaching for her hand, shouting her name, and then… nothing. Only silence and ruin.

Now, I stood in what was left of the temple. The once-grand chamber was nothing but a hollow shell, the walls cracked open like broken ribs. Cold wind screamed through the fissures, carrying snow and ash.

The pool of mirrors had vanished. In its place, a crater burned faintly with molten silver.

“Scarlett…” I breathed, my voice swallowed by the wind.

There was no answer, only the echo of her name thrown back at me by the empty hall.

I staggered to my feet, every muscle in my body trembling from the backlash of magic. The mark she’d drawn in the air before disappearing still lingered faintly, glowing like the outline of a doorway that refused to close.

That was when I saw the sigil carved into the center of the stone floor.

A circle of teeth and moons. The same one I’d traced earlier. But now, instead of lying dormant, it pulsed with faint light.

It was alive.

I dropped to one knee beside it, pressing my palm to the surface. The power thrummed beneath my skin like a second heartbeat. I could feel the bond that tied Scarlett to this place fragile but unbroken.

“She’s still out there,” I whispered. “Somewhere beyond the veil.”

But how could I reach her? The Third Moon’s gate wasn’t meant for mortals. The goddess herself had sealed it for a reason. If Scarlett and John had crossed into that space, then they were either trapped… or dead.

Neither option was something I could accept.

So, I did what I always did when I didn’t understand the rules. I broke them.

I began searching the ruins for any trace of the old magic that could bridge worlds. I tore through collapsed pillars, brushed frost off ancient carvings, ignored the sting of open cuts as I pried loose slabs of stone.

And then, behind what remained of an altar, I found it.

A book.

It was half-buried in ice, its cover bound in what looked like scales instead of leather. When I brushed it clean, the title revealed itself in shifting letters that refused to stay still:

The Codex of Lunestra.

I had only heard the name whispered once, by the oldest of the Elders the lost scripture said to contain the Moon’s first laws, the ones even the gods feared.

My hands shook as I opened it.

The pages shimmered with silver ink that moved like liquid, forming words only when I willed them to. Each one hummed with power.

I skimmed through until I found what I was searching for: a passage titled “The Bridge Between Light and Shadow.”

It read:

> “When the two halves unite in defiance of death, the veil weakens.
The key to restoring balance is not in closing the door, but in choosing who remains on either side.”

My stomach turned.

That meant… for Scarlett and John to return, someone had to take their place.

A life for a life.

I slammed the book shut, heart pounding. “No. There has to be another way.”

But even as I said it, I knew how these things worked. Magic this old didn’t bend it demanded sacrifice. Always.

I pressed my hand to the floor again, feeling the faint pulse of Scarlett’s bond. She was alive. I could feel her heartbeat like a whisper through the cracks between worlds.

If she was still fighting, then so would I.

The air shifted suddenly heavy, charged. The light from the sigil brightened, and for a heartbeat, I heard something impossible: Scarlett’s voice.

> “Kael…”

It was faint, distant, but real.

“Scarlett!” I shouted, standing. “I’m here! Hold on!”

A flicker appeared above the sigil, a ripple in the air, like heat distorting light. Through it, I glimpsed her face. Pale. Frightened. Determined.

And then another shape loomed behind her.

John.

But not as I remembered him. His eyes were no longer gold; they glowed like the dying embers of a sun, and his shadow moved even when he didn’t.

For a moment, I thought he saw me too. His head turned slightly, and the faintest trace of humanity flickered in his expression.

Then the vision shattered.

I fell backward as the sigil exploded with blinding light.

When the glow faded, the air smelled of blood and ozone. The Codex had opened itself again, pages fluttering as if blown by an invisible wind.

The text rearranged, forming a new line in front of me:

> “To reach them, one must bear the mark of both light and shadow.
To carry that power is to surrender the soul.”

I stared at it, breathing hard.

It was a death sentence.

And yet, the decision came easier than I expected.

Scarlett had saved me once from a life of blind loyalty and rage. She had made me believe there was something beyond obedience.

If I could return even a fraction of that… then my life was a fair price.

I knelt before the sigil, the Codex open beside me. The symbols on the page began to rise into the air, glowing brighter until they circled my hands like silver fire.

I drew my dagger from my belt and dragged it across my palm, letting the blood drip onto the floor. It hissed as it met the runes.

“Guide me,” I whispered to the emptiness. “To her. To them. I’ll pay the cost.”

The temple trembled. Wind howled through the cracks. The silver light from the sigil turned crimson, spreading outward like wildfire.

Pain lanced through me, but I didn’t stop.

The Codex’s final line burned across the last page, searing itself into my mind:

> “The bridge demands a guardian.”

And I understood.

This wasn’t about death, it was about becoming the threshold.

The sigil’s light enveloped me completely, swallowing my breath, my heartbeat, my fear.

For a moment, I saw Scarlett again standing beside John in that other realm, her mark glowing fiercely. She turned as if she felt me, her lips parting in shock.

Then everything went white.

When I opened my eyes, I was no longer in the temple.

I was standing on the edge of the same endless void Scarlett had described in the Codex’s drawings. Stars spiraled below. The Third Moon loomed overhead, cracked and bleeding silver light.

And far ahead, I saw Scarlett and John locked in a storm of shadow and flame.

I took a step forward, the bridge forming beneath my feet, built from my own blood and will.

My body screamed in protest, but I kept moving.

Because now, I understand my purpose.

If Scarlett was the key, and John the vessel… then I was the gate.

And no god, not even the one beneath the moon, would stop me from bringing them home.