The road back to Duskar Cradle stretched beneath a setting sun, the skies aflame with gold and bleeding violet. Wind howled down the cliffs as Kael walked, the weight of the Crimson Hollow’s loot secured in his Voidkeep Ring, and Seradin a silent sentinel at his side.

  Kael’s cloak fluttered behind him, and his mind wandered.

  He stared at his hand—at the ring… then the Grimoire floating beside him. Its pages rustled now and then, silent thoughts curling through it like smoke.

  “Tell me something,” Kael finally said. “Why am I able to raise my Luck so easily? Why do I have ten when the average person has… what, three?”

  The Grimoire buzzed quietly. Then whispered, “Most mortals are born with 1 to 3. Four is whispered to bring fortune. Five is rare. Eight?” It paused. “Unnatural. Ten? Unwritten.”

  Kael frowned, golden eyes narrowed. “So why me?”

  “…Unknown.”

  That wasn’t good enough.

  The tome paused again, then offered, “There is one place that may answer. The Cathedral of Starlit Birth. If the goddess still watches you… perhaps she will speak.”

  Kael didn’t speak.

  He just walked faster.

  Duskar Cradle was the same towering floating fortress it had always been—but Kael felt different stepping back into it. People watched him as he passed. Whispers followed in his wake. Seradin’s towering presence only added to the intimidation—none dared approach the knight of death trailing at Kael’s side.

  They passed the Bazaar of Cinders, climbed the eastern spiral toward the Upper Sanctum, and at the peak of it all stood the cathedral.

  A vast temple of obsidian stone and white marble veins, shaped like dragon wings arching skyward. Stained glass glowed in blues and golds, casting celestial patterns across the courtyard.

  This narrative has been purloined without the author's approval. Report any appearances on Amazon.

  The Cathedral of Starlit Birth—the most sacred site of Aerithrael’s drakenborne.

  Kael entered alone.

  Seradin stood guard outside, unmoving, his greatblade grounded before him. No priest dared stop him. No noble dared order him.

  Inside, the cathedral was silent.

  Silver fire burned in floating braziers. Dragon statues coiled between moonstone pillars. An altar made of celestial crystal rested at the center, framed by an ancient mural of Elyndra—the goddess of souls, light, and beginnings.

  Kael approached the altar. Slowly. His boots echoed like whispers in the chamber.

  He knelt.

  “I don’t know if you’re listening,” he said softly, voice stripped of sarcasm or pride, “but I have questions. About me. About what I’ve become. And about why I’m not like the rest.”

  He closed his eyes.

  And the world went white.

  The air was warm. Sweet. The scent of moonflowers and starlight filled his lungs.

  Kael opened his eyes.

  She stood before him.

  Hair like silver fire cascading down her shoulders. Eyes like galaxies behind glass. Skin pale, radiant, ageless. Her gown shimmered with constellations that moved with her breath.

  Elyndra.

  The Goddess.

  “Hello again, Kael,” she said with a smile that warmed his bones. “It has been a long time.”

  Kael blinked, stunned. “…You remember me?”

  She stepped closer. “Of course. I remember every soul I touch. Yours shone… differently. Even then.”

  He swallowed, standing slowly. “Why am I different? Why can I see things no one else can?”

  Her expression softened. “Because you are not of this world, Kael. Not truly.”

  She waved a hand, and before them shimmered two visions—Kael’s glowing System Window, and beside it, a simpler projection. Flat. Basic. Unmoving.

  “What you see? It is the System in full. The living weave of your soul. You see its root, not its mask.”

  She turned to him.

  “The others? They only see fragments—blood measurements on glass tablets, read by guild relics. Numbers, yes, but only estimates. They cannot assign points. They cannot hear the Grimoire.”

  Kael stared in disbelief.

  “I’m the only one?”

  She nodded. “Yes. Because you are the only one with the soul of another world… and the mark of Choice.”

  The chamber fell silent.

  Kael’s mind raced, heart thundering in his chest. This wasn’t just reincarnation. This was something else. Something deeper.

  “Then what am I supposed to do with all this?”

  Elyndra stepped forward, her hand brushing his cheek.

  “Live.” She whispered. “Grow. Become.”

  “And when the time comes… be the one who decides what rises when this world falls.”