Chapter 84 Third ascension

Chapter 84 Third ascension
~Elira~ 
"I'll talk to Kael," I said quietly, looking between Ryker and Lyra and both of them nodded.
I did not wait for another word. I turned and hurried after him.
"Kael!" I called, but he did not stop.
I gathered my dress and walked faster. "Kael!"
He continued down the long hallway, his shoulders rigid and his hands clenched into fists at his sides. I had never seen him leave a room like that before. Not even when he was furious. Not even when we had first met.
This was different. He looked... broken.
I quickened my pace again.
The palace was strangely silent around us. The maids and guards we passed immediately lowered their heads and stepped aside, probably sensing that something was wrong. The only sound was the echo of our footsteps against the marble floor.
Then suddenly, Kael stopped so abruptly I almost walked into him. We had reached the empty training room.
He stood at the entrance for several seconds before walking inside.
The room was deserted. Weapons rested on the walls. Wooden practice dummies stood in their corners. Sunlight poured through the high windows and painted long shadows across the floor.
Kael remained standing in the middle of it.
I slowed down. I had absolutely no idea what to say. How did you comfort someone who had just discovered that everything he knew about himself was a lie?
That was too much for anyone to process. I took a deep breath and then walked toward him. I did not speak, instead I simply wrapped my arms around him.
For a moment, he did nothing. His body remained stiff. I thought he would pull away, but then slowly… I felt him exhale. His shoulders sagged and his hands rose and settled around me.
And suddenly he was hugging me back.
I rubbed his back gently as his face slowly lowered until it disappeared against my shoulder. I could feel the warmth of his breath through my dress.
I tightened my hold around him.
We remained like that for what felt like forever. Then finally, he lifted his head.
"He put her in danger."
His voice was so low that I almost did not hear him. He stepped away from me and walked toward one of the wooden benches in the room and sat down.
I followed and sat beside him.
"You mean your father?" I asked softly.
He laughed, but there was no amusement in it. He shook his head.
"What the hell was he researching that he left my mother to go through all that alone? He wasn't even there the day I was born."
His jaw tightened.
"If he had been there..." he said, his voice growing heavier, "if he had paid attention to his wife instead of chasing whatever stupid secret obsessed him, maybe she wouldn't have died."
I could see the anger. But beneath it, there was hurt. A lot of it.
I slowly placed my hand over his.
"I don't mean this to take his side in any way," I said carefully, "but maybe whatever he was looking into drew him in so deeply that he lost himself without realizing it."
He looked at me and I continued.
"What if there is more to this? What if whatever he was researching killed him too? What if everyone believes he died because of your mother's passing, but that's not the truth?"
He stared at me.
"What if he was trying to stop something?" I asked quietly.
For several seconds, he said nothing. Then he looked away.
"I don't care. I don't care what he was looking into. He wasn't supposed to ignore his family."
His eyes darkened. "She warned him. You heard Mama Cheryl. My mother begged him to stop."
He rose from the bench.
"But he didn't." He started pacing. "He kept digging."
His voice echoed through the empty training room. "He kept leaving."
He looked furious again. "Whatever he found ended up getting all of them killed."
He looked at me. "I hate him for that."
He laughed bitterly.
"I would've preferred the lies. I would've preferred believing my parents were ordinary people."
He looked around the room as though seeing it for the first time. "I would've preferred believing my mother died giving birth to me."
His eyes became distant. "I would've preferred not knowing any of this."
My chest tightened. I wanted to answer, I wanted to tell him something that would make everything better.
But at that exact moment… something changed.
I began to feel intense heat. It started in my chest, and then it began to spread. The feeling was familiar, and somehow, I knew exactly what was about to happen. 
My breathing hitched. “No. No. Not now.” I suddenly couldn't breathe properly as my skin burned.
I grabbed the edge of the bench.
Kael frowned. "Elira?"
I blinked rapidly. Everything looked strange at that moment. My heartbeat accelerated and my eyes started burning.
‘No…’ 
"Elira?" I heard him stand and I could feel his hands on my shoulders. "Elira, look at me."
I tried, really tried, but I could already feel it happening.
My body no longer belonged to me. Heat exploded through me and my eyes rolled upward.
I heard him say my name again. And then… everything disappeared.
I was somewhere else.
I saw darkness, then suddenly, the masked men. They were dressed entirely in black and their faces hidden. Their weapons were raised.
I knew this place. I knew these people. It was the attack. The night they tried to kill me.
The vision changed without warning and this time, I saw the black weapon. It lay before me and its surface looked darker than night itself.
I reached for it slowly but the moment my fingers touched it, everything changed again.
This time, I was standing in front of an old cave. I had never seen it before. Its entrance was enormous and ancient symbols covered the rocks. The inside was dark.
As I walked forward, my footsteps echoed. The cave seemed endless. Just then, I saw a coffin. It sat alone in the center.
I approached it slowly. Something about it terrified me, yet I could not stop.
My hands slowly lifted the lid and it opened. I looked inside with my heart thumping in my chest. Then I froze.
All that was in it was a human spine lying carefully inside. I stared at it with furrowed brows. 
‘What was this place? Whose remains were these? What did any of this mean?’
Then suddenly… a face appeared, making me gasp. It was the First Crowned Moon. This time, her expression was different from the last two times. It was cold and terrifying.
She was so close, her face filled my entire vision. Her silver eyes looked directly into mine.
Her lips moved but I could not hear the words. I tried to listen and stepped closer. She stepped closer too, until our faces were nearly touching.
All of a sudden, her eyes widened and I screamed. Everything shattered.
I felt myself falling, and then… THUD.
Pain exploded through my body as I hit the ground. I could hear someone shouting, but I couldn't understand the words.
Everything sounded far away.
Something warm trickled down my face, then more and more. I blinked and I could see blood.
There was blood on the floor, more dripped onto my dress and then I realized it was mine.
I could feel blood pouring from my nose and ears. Panic gripped me.
Then a familiar voice reached me. "Elira!"
I blinked again and the room slowly returned. Kael’s hands were on my face. His eyes looked terrified.
"Elira."
I stared at him. He looked like he had seen me die.
"Can you hear me?"
I swallowed and then nodded.
Relief washed over his face. "Oh, thank the moons." He said as he helped me sit up.
I winced because everything hurt. Kael looked at me with pure fear.
"We have to stop this."
I looked up. His eyes were frantic. "We have to find a way to stop these ascensions. They're getting worse."
I looked at him and then I remembered the vision. That made me sit straighter.
"I saw something."
He frowned. "What?"
I looked into his eyes, then a thought suddenly formed. I turned toward him completely.
"Didn't Mama Cheryl say the men who attacked her wore black?"
His brows furrowed. "What?"
"The men." I grabbed his arm. "The ones who threatened her daughter."
He looked confused. "Yes..."
"They wore black and had masks on."
He nodded slowly. "Yes."
I stared at him. My heart began pounding all over again.
"What if..." I swallowed. "What if those men are the same ones who attacked me?"
Kael's expression changed.
I continued. "What if it's all connected? The attacks. The black weapon."
I could barely hear my own voice anymore.
"What if your father's research had something to do with that weapon?"