Chapter 19: Whispers Beneath the Mountain
Deep within a mountain chasm, far from any map or mortal step, a chamber pulsed with darkness. The walls bled crimson light, carved with symbols older than kingdoms. Fire didn't burn here—it breathed.
At the center stood the cloaked man—the same one who had faced Mei Xiao. He now knelt, head bowed, before something… massive. Unseen. Breathing.
From the shadows, a woman stepped forward. Her voice was smooth as silk soaked in poison.
"You engaged her too soon."
"She sensed me," the man replied. "She's waking faster than expected."
"And yet," the woman hissed, circling him, "she is still incomplete. Mortal. Weak."
"She carries the flame," he countered. "And more. I saw it… behind her eyes. The fracture has begun."
The shadows stirred.
A third voice spoke—this one not male, not female. Something… in between. Cold. Hollow.
> "Then the balance will break."
The woman bowed her head.
"Yes, Master."
The shadow moved like smoke, forming a semi-human shape, its face covered by a mirror of black glass.
> "The Phoenix has returned, but not whole. The body is hers… the soul is fractured."
"She remembers nothing," the cloaked man added. "Not yet."
> "Good. Let her believe she is free."
The fire in the chamber pulsed brighter.
> "And when she loves… when she trusts… then you strike."
The woman smiled faintly. "It will be him, won't it? The Ice Prince guarding fire."
> "He will fall with her. As he did before."
The man flinched. "I saw no weakness in him."
> "You didn't look closely enough."
The mirror-face turned, and for a moment—just a moment—a symbol flickered in the glass. Not Phoenix. Not Obsidian. Something ancient. Split in two.
A prophecy half-erased.
> "Prepare the vessel. The awakening has begun."