The temple loomed before them, a monolith of ancient stone and celestial inscriptions that pulsed faintly in the dim glow of the distant stars. The weight of history clung to it, seeping into the air like an unspoken hymn. Kaelen felt it the moment he stepped forward, an unseen force brushing against his skin, stirring something deep within his core.
Rina exhaled sharply beside him. "This place feels… old."
Kaelen nodded. "Older than anything we've ever known."
The lone figure at the top of the steps remained motionless, cloaked in the deep shadows cast by the temple's towering pillars. Yet, despite the distance, Kaelen could feel their gaze, steady, unyielding, as though they had been waiting for this moment far longer than either he or Rina had been alive.
"Who are you?" Kaelen called out, his voice steady despite the tension coiling in his gut.
For a moment, there was only silence. Then, the figure shifted, stepping into the pale light. A woman, clad in robes woven from the fabric of twilight, her silver hair cascading over her shoulders like threads of moonlight. Her eyes, luminous and ancient, locked onto Kaelen's with a knowing gaze.
"You stand at the precipice of truth," she said, her voice both gentle and commanding. "And the past has long awaited your return."
Kaelen frowned. "My return?"
The woman extended a hand, and at her motion, the celestial inscriptions across the temple's facade flared to life. Runes spiralled outward, their glow illuminating the intricate carvings that lined the stone walls. Images emerged, warriors locked in battle, celestial beings descending from the heavens, a great throne shattered by an unseen force.
Rina took an uneasy step back. "What… what is this?"
The woman studied Kaelen, her gaze piercing. "Fragments of a forgotten war. A war that shaped Aeterna… and the one you are bound to."
A heavy silence stretched between them. Kaelen clenched his fists. He had spent his life running from his past, from the echoes of a life he barely remembered. But as he stood before the temple, the weight of those forgotten memories pressed down upon him with relentless certainty.
"I don't believe in fate," he said at last.
The woman smiled, sad and knowing. "Fate does not require your belief, Kaelen Duskbane. Only your choice."
The temple doors rumbled, shifting as if stirred by an unseen force. Beyond them lay something Kaelen could not yet name, but he knew, with unwavering certainty, that stepping through those doors would change everything.
He took a slow breath and stepped forward.