Chapter 2: The Stranger

"Sometimes the most dangerous people are the ones who already know your name."

The rain had finally stopped.

Drops of water still clung to the rooftops of Elaris, reflecting the crimson moon hanging silently above the city. The streets were deserted, as though every living soul had vanished after witnessing the impossible.

Nyra stood frozen.

Her fingers instinctively wrapped around her left wrist.

Blank.

Exactly as it had always been.

Then why...

Why had everyone reacted as if they had seen something she couldn't?

She closed her eyes for a brief moment, replaying the events in her mind.

The hunters.

The mysterious leader.

The silver flash.

"...Impossible."

That single word echoed louder than the clash of swords.

"You're thinking too much."

Lucien's calm voice pulled her back to reality.

She slowly looked at him.

"You still haven't answered my question."

"And what question is that?"

"Who are you?"

Lucien remained silent.

Instead, he removed one of his black gloves.

Nyra instinctively looked at his left wrist.

It wasn't blank.

A crimson symbol, shaped like a broken crown surrounded by seven stars, glowed faintly beneath his skin.

"I have a destiny," he said quietly.

"You don't."

Nyra narrowed her eyes.

"That's not an answer."

"No."

"It isn't."

For the first time, Lucien looked directly into her eyes.

"But if I tell you who I really am tonight..."

"You won't survive until sunrise."

The air between them grew heavy.

Nyra hated riddles.

"If you're trying to scare me—"

"I'm trying to keep you alive."

A loud crash interrupted them.

Across the street, an old bookstore collapsed without warning.

Wood splintered.

Glass shattered.

Dust filled the air.

Both of them turned instantly.

A little girl stood alone in front of the ruins.

She couldn't have been older than eight.

She wasn't crying.

She wasn't moving.

She was staring at Nyra.

Slowly...

The child raised her left hand.

Her destiny mark, which moments ago glowed with soft golden light, began to flicker.

Then...

It changed.

The golden symbol darkened into silver.

The little girl gasped.

"So... it's true."

Her frightened eyes met Nyra's.

"You really can change fate."

Before Nyra could reach her—

A hooded figure appeared beside the child.

He whispered something into her ear.

In the blink of an eye...

They disappeared.

Not ran.

Not hid.

Disappeared.

Nyra stopped.

"What... was that?"

Lucien's face had lost all color.

"They've found another witness."

"Who are they?"

"The people who erase impossible things."

A deep horn echoed from somewhere beyond the city walls.

One blast.

Then another.

Lucien looked toward the eastern gate.

His expression turned serious.

"We have to leave."

"I'm not going anywhere until someone explains what's happening."

"You don't have that luxury anymore."

Nyra folded her arms.

"I've lived twenty-one years without answers."

"I can survive one more night."

Lucien took a slow step closer.

His voice dropped to almost a whisper.

"No, Nyra."

"You've survived twenty-one years because they believed you were only a myth."

A pause.

"They don't believe that anymore."

At that exact moment...

The great bells of Elaris rang again.

Once.

Twice.

Three times.

Every lantern across the city burst into crimson flames.

People screamed inside their homes.

A cold wind swept through the empty streets.

Then a voice echoed across the entire city—

"By the order of the Council of Fate..."

"Seal every gate."

"No one leaves Elaris."

Nyra's heartbeat slowed instead of racing.

She had spent her entire life hiding.

Running.

Wondering.

Tonight...

For the first time...

She had a choice.

Run again.

Or finally discover why the whole world feared a girl with an empty wrist.

She looked at Lucien.

A faint smile appeared on her face.

"Looks like neither of us is leaving."

For the first time that night...

Lucien smiled back.

"Then welcome to the beginning of the truth."

Outside the city walls...

Hidden beneath the shadows of the forest...

Hundreds of masked riders waited silently.

Their leader lowered his hood.

A long scar crossed his face.

He looked toward Elaris and spoke only four words.

"Bring me the girl."

To be continued......

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