C14 A Dark Revelation in the Desert

Two days later, the team crossed the Red Mirage Desert, a place so dry even shadows came thirsty. The sand whistled when the wind blew, like it was telling secrets nobody asked for.

Kachi led the group with a map that kept rewriting itself, courtesy of his newly awakened flame-reading ability. Zarah rode beside Adaeze, her braids whipping behind her like ropes catching the wind.

“We’ll reach the Serpent Sinkhole by sundown,” Kachi said, squinting at the horizon.

“The place where the Oracle’s body fell during the old war,” Zarah added.

Adaeze nodded, though her heartbeat felt restless. Ever since touching the Cipher Heart, dreams chased her every night. Dreams where someone familiar called her name from far away.

By sunset, they stood at the edge of the Sinkhole. A massive crater swallowed the land, lined with dark, cracked stone that glimmered faintly under moonlight.

“This is where my past life died,” Adaeze whispered.

The air rumbled.

Not loudly. Not violently. Just enough for fear to brush everyone’s neck like cold fingers.

From the hole, a figure rose.

Not a ghost. Not a spirit.

A man.

Tall. Cloaked. Masked in bone. His voice echoed like it walked with a limp.

“Adaeze. You finally came back.”

Adaeze froze. She didn’t know this man, yet something deep inside her trembled with recognition.

“Who are you?” she demanded.

“You knew me once,” the man said. “Before the flames swallowed us both.”

Kachi stepped forward. “Stay back. Whoever you are, you’re not welcome here.”

The bone-masked man tilted his head. “And you must be the boy who carries the Oracle’s embers. Poor child. You don’t even understand what burns inside you.”

Zarah unsheathed her twin daggers. “Say one more thing and I’ll silence you.”

The masked man chuckled softly. “Courage. I remember that. It didn’t save you last time either.”

Adaeze’s breath hitched. “Stop. Tell me your name.”

For the first time, the man reached up and touched his mask.

“You knew me as Karynda,” he said. “The first Oracle Guardian. Your partner.”

Adaeze felt something shatter inside her. A memory. A life. A promise.

But before she could speak, the sand beneath them erupted.

Black tendrils shot out, wrapping around Karynda, pulling him into the depth.

“Find me at the gala,” he said as he sank. “Before the others do.”

Then he was gone.

The desert went silent.

And Adaeze’s world tilted again.