C214 MORTALS ARE MEASURED, NOT WELCOMED

The gates closed behind Aria with a sound that was not loud, yet felt final.

Stone met stone. Ancient mechanisms locked. The sound spread through the Blood-Fed Kingdom as a warning bell struck too late.

For the first time since leaving the village, Aria felt it fully—the separation.

Not from Elara’s fire, not Damon’s presence, but from the world where breathing had been straightforward