The sun hung low, bathing the golden fields in a warm, amber light. Kus wiped the sweat from his brow, leaning on his hoe for a breath. His tall frame cast a long shadow across the wheat as he looked over the simple vilge of Elden Hollow. The wind whistled gently through the stalks, and for a rare moment, the world felt calm.

  "Kus! You spacing out again?"

  He turned to see Sofie jogging up the path, her brown boots kicking up dust. Her long chestnut hair was tied back in a loose braid, and her smile—warm and easy—always seemed to cut through Kus's usual cold exterior.

  Kus smirked. "You sound like an old woman."

  "I'm serious," she ughed. "Old man Tanner said you were daydreaming instead of harvesting. Again."

  He shrugged, flexing his broad shoulders. "I work twice as fast as the others. I've earned a few daydreams."

  Sofie rolled her eyes. "You're impossible."

  "And you're still bossy," he said, a teasing edge in his voice.

  They walked together toward the well, the vilgers calling out greetings and waving. Kus wasn't talkative with most people, but Sofie brought something out of him. Something… almost human. She had always been there—since they were children pying with sticks in the mud, imagining battles and faraway kingdoms.

  "Same dream again?" Sofie asked, voice soft now.

  Kus didn't answer right away. His brown eyes gnced toward the sky.

  "Yeah," he finally said. "The one where everything burns."

  Sofie shivered, trying to ugh it off. "You really need to stop eating dried fish before bed."

  But before Kus could reply, the ground trembled beneath them.

  The sky, once so peaceful, had begun to ripple like water. Clouds twisted unnaturally, spiraling around a single point. A blinding light erupted above the mountains—not thunder, not lightning—something else entirely.

  Kus's blood ran cold.

  "Sofie…"

  He turned, panic welling in his chest.

  She was already running—back toward her house near the forest's edge.

  Then came the sound. A deafening hum that shook the world to its core. Trees bent as if bowing to some unseen force. The animals fled in frenzied panic.

  And then—it happened.

  A blinding pilr of light erupted from Sofie's house, shooting into the sky like a nce. The wind howled. The light was alive, pulsing with power so immense it made Kus drop to a knee.

  "Sofie!!" he screamed, trying to stand.

  But his body wouldn't obey. The energy pouring from the light was too much—too ancient.

  And just as suddenly as it began, it stopped.

  The air grew silent. The world held its breath.

  From the scorched ruins of the house, a figure stepped out—her clothes torn, skin glowing faintly with golden threads of light winding beneath.

  It was Sofie.

  But not the Sofie he knew.

  Her eyes, once warm and hazel, now glowed a piercing white. Her presence felt… divine. She looked at Kus, her expression bnk—serene and terrifying all at once.

  Kus stared, wide-eyed, barely recognizing her. The light around her shimmered like a crown.

  "Sofie…" he whispered.

  She tilted her head, as if trying to remember a dream long forgotten.

  "…Do I know you?" she asked.

  The words hit him harder than any sword ever could.

  The Ascension Pulse had come.

  And it had taken Sofie with it.