Semua Bab Sacrifice Of The Heart: Bab 81 - Bab 90

The journey to the Oracle’s domain was unlike any Elara had faced. The forest grew darker the farther they went, its trees ancient and twisted, branches clawing at the sky like they were trying to pull it down.Mist clung to the ground, not soft but sharp—slicing through warmth and numbing her skin. The path bent unnaturally, and time seemed to stretch and bend with it. Even Kael looked unsettled.“She’s warded this place with soul magic,” Dain muttered. “It’s meant to unravel the mind before you reach her.”Elara pressed forward. “Then let’s make sure we get there before ours fall apart.”When they reached the mountain pass that housed the Oracle’s sanctum, a sudden stillness blanketed the land—no wind, no birds, not even breath. Just silence… and waiting.A rusted gate blocked the way, though no wall stood with it. A single phrase was etched into the arch in bloodstone: Only the Bound May Pass.Kael stepped forward, but the gate didn’t move.Elara’s fingers brushed it, and the metal

Rain lashed against the ruined chapel like an army of ghosts, drenching the cracked stone and filling the silence with its endless rhythm. Elara’s body trembled from the visions still echoing in her mind—flashes of fire and bone, a broken crown, a bloodstained vow whispered in the dark.Kael hadn’t let go of her. His arms were firm around her, grounding her. But in his eyes, she saw it—the fear he couldn’t speak. He’d recognized the man, the power, and what it meant.“You saw the Vault,” Dain said, stepping closer. His voice was low, controlled. “Tell me what you saw, Elara. All of it.”She didn’t speak for a moment. Her gaze drifted to the altar, its glow now dimmed but still pulsing faintly, like a heartbeat buried deep beneath stone.“I saw a war,” she began slowly. “One that never truly ended. A woman—she wore my face, but older, tired. She held something… a key, shaped like flame and shadow. She locked something inside the Vault and whispered that it must never be opened.”Kael s

Elara’s cloak billowed behind her as she stepped over the scorched stone, her boots echoing through the ruined council chamber. Smoke curled from broken walls, and the stench of magic still lingered—wild, untamed, and angry.Kael stood near the shattered throne, his silhouette tense, shadowed by moonlight that pierced through the fractured ceiling. He didn’t move as she approached.“You broke the barrier,” Elara said, voice low, steady. “The one that protected the last of the neutral lands.”His jaw clenched. “I had no choice.”“There’s always a choice.”“And yours?” he snapped, stepping forward. “Was it a choice to trust Dain after everything?”Her heart stammered. Not at the accusation—but at the truth laced within it. Dain’s absence since the betrayal had been deafening, and part of her feared what his silence meant. Part of her feared… he was no longer on her side.Kael’s voice softened. “I didn’t come here to argue. I came to offer something we’ve never had—honesty.”She stared a

The silence after the clash was deafening.Ash rained from the sky, caught in the beams of fractured moonlight that filtered through the ruined cathedral roof. Elara stood still, the runes on her arms pulsing in defiance. Across from her, the cursed king knelt—no longer monstrous, but not yet man.His once-imposing figure trembled, weighed down by the magic unraveling from his bones.Kael tightened his grip on his sword, standing half a pace in front of her.“He’s still dangerous,” he said, voice low.“Everything about this is dangerous,” Dain added, emerging from the veil of smoke, his armor scorched, eyes wary.But Elara didn’t move.Her heart was pounding, not from fear—but recognition.Not of the face, which was barely visible through the shadow-clinging magic—but of the pain. The sorrow that clung to him, the echo of countless betrayals. She felt it humming through her blood like an old, broken chord that finally remembered how to sing.“He wasn’t always this,” she whispered, ste

The atmosphere within the grand hall was thick with tension, every eye fixated on the two figures standing at the center. Selene’s heart raced as she tried to decipher the shifting glances around her. Her pulse quickened as a sense of betrayal settled like a weight in her chest.“You should have known,” whispered a voice from the shadows, its cold tone sending a shiver through her spine.The room fell silent as Damien stepped forward, his features shadowed in the dim light. His usual confidence had shifted to something darker, more foreboding. Selene’s eyes narrowed. She had trusted him, believed in their fragile alliance. But now, the truth was unraveling in front of her, threatening to tear apart everything she had worked toward.“You’ve been playing a dangerous game,” he continued, his voice low and filled with unspoken implications. “But you never once considered the cost.”“Damien, what are you talking about?” Selene demanded, her voice shaking despite her best efforts to remain