Chapter 97 The World of the Elyrions
The smell of old books always brought me comfort.
Aged paper, worn leather, dust accumulated over centuries... it was as if each page carried echoes of voices that no longer existed. But that night, sitting on the library floor with the enormous tome Elyrion open before me, there was no comfort at all.
Only urgency.
The pages shimmered softly under the magical light of the floating orbs, revealing arcane maps that shifted as I ran my fingers over the ancient ink. Lines of energy traversed entire continents, crossing mountains, forests, and seas—until they converged at specific points.
Ruptures.
Fissures.
Possibilities.
"Have you ever noticed that these symbols react more to your presence than to magic itself?" Kael asked, crouching beside me.
His voice was low, respectful, but carried that restless curiosity that always accompanied him.
I ran my hand over one of the diagrams again, and the golden lines pulsed.
"Because it's not just magic," I replied. "It's lineage. Elyrion."
Kael was silent for a few seconds, observing.
I felt his gaze on me—too intense to be merely academic interest.
"Are you looking for the location of the rift that appeared in your vision?" he asked.
I nodded.
"If there's a rupture large enough to create erasers... it must be anchored somewhere in the physical world. No rift sustains itself without a core."
"A heart," he murmured.
I looked at him.
"Exactly."
For a moment, something crossed Kael's expression. A shadow of recognition. As if that word had touched a memory he couldn't reach.
"Kael..." I hesitated. "About what you told me... about your memories."
He looked away at the book. "There's not much more to say."
"Yes, there is." I partially closed the tome, forcing him to look at me. "You recovered everything you had, only that night hasn't returned?"
"An entire night that simply no longer exists in my mind."
His gaze went blank, as it always did when he remembered it.
A shiver ran down my spine.
My gaze also wandered.
"Do you think it was something about the rift?" Kael asked, trying to understand my look.
"I wasn't thinking about that."
Kael looked confused.
"What were you thinking about?"
I looked at his face and saw the scar that was still evident. I approached him and lightly touched the scar with my fingertips.
There was no more dark magic inside Kael, but the scar was still there.
"I just don't understand anything that happened that night. The amount of dark magic you received should have erased you completely." I notice, lost in thought.
"But something saved me."
"Yes. But who?"
I ask thoughtfully.
"When you sense the dark magic, it was already too late." I sigh. "It's as if something was already prepared to defend you."
"Do you think someone with magic similar to yours was near us?"
Kael asks, intrigued by that possibility.
"I think everything is interconnected, and soon we will know the truth."
When the rift closes, everything will return to how it should be. We will have the answer to what happened that night.
I opened the book completely again, turning a few more pages until I found a map different from the previous ones.
This one didn't show the world.
It showed... layers.
Overlapping planes.
And at the center of them was a dark, pulsating point, surrounded by ancient Elyrion inscriptions.
My heart raced.
"I think I found it," I whispered.
Kael leaned forward immediately.
"What?"
I ran my finger over the central symbol.
The black ink expanded under my touch, forming a three-dimensional projection of cracked energy—like broken glass floating in the air.
The rift.
"It's not just in one physical place," I realized aloud. "It's trapped between planes. Anchored here... but open on the other side."
"Is that possible?" Kael asked.
"For ordinary magic, no." I swallowed hard. "For magic involving pure light... and shadows... yes."
The baby moved again.
More forcefully.
As if answering.
Or recognizing.
Then a new inscription appeared on the map—words that weren't there before.
Golden fire racing across the pages.
A location.
And when I read the name…
My blood ran cold.
Because I knew that place.
And it was within the borders of our own kingdom.
"Kael…" my voice came out almost breathless. "The rift is here."
He frowned.
"Where?"
I looked up at him.
"In the forbidden territory of the ancient Elyrions."
The silence that followed wasn't one of surprise.
It was one of fear.
The forbidden territory of the ancient Elyrions.
The name alone carried enough weight to make the air seem thicker around us.
Kael stood still for a few seconds, processing it.
"In the place where it all began."
Kael concluded.
"Does the map show where it is?"
Kael asked, staring at the book, completely intrigued.
"It's not a place visible to everyone. It was a place belonging only to the Elyrions. A place where peace reigned and magic flowed freely."
I ran my finger over the map and felt a confusing feeling:
Longing.
Longing for something I couldn't have.
Home.
Home of my ancestors.
I ran my fingers over the map again, and the projection of the rift pulsed stronger, as if reacting to my decision even before I made it.
The baby moved again.
This time it wasn't just a movement.
It was a wave.
Heat coursed through my belly, rising through my chest, my arms, until it reached my throat. My breath caught for a moment.
"Hey..." Kael approached immediately. "Maya, look at me."
I forced my focus on him.
"I'm okay," I whispered, though I wasn't sure.
My hand remained on his stomach.
He's reacting to the rift.
The perception came clear, crystal clear.
It wasn't just a connection to magic.
It was recognition.
As if that rupture... had some direct connection to him.
"This changes everything," I murmured.
"What changes?" Kael asked.
"If the rift is in Elyrion territory... then its origin is also linked to my lineage." I swallowed hard. "Perhaps even to my birth."
Kael was silent.
And that silence spoke louder than any answer.
"Do you think someone opened it on purpose?" he finally said.
"I think someone tried to control something they couldn't," I replied. "And failed."
The projection vibrated again.
Then something unexpected happened.
A second layer of symbols appeared around the rift—runes I hadn't seen before.
Runes of containment.
Runes of sacrifice. Blood runes.