The journey to the Temple of the Seers wasn't long—but every step felt like walking deeper into a trap.
Aether rode ahead, eyes locked on the horizon. He remembered this path. The broken statues. The dried-up fountains. He remembered bleeding here in his last life—bleeding while the Seers watched.
Now, he was going back.
Selene rode beside him, quiet. Not cold, just… thinking.
"You ever been here?" Aether asked.
"Once," she replied. "When I was young. They said the Seers could see your soul. Said it was sacred. Safe."
Aether scoffed. "They said a lot of things."
Behind them, Viktor, Lena, and Darius followed on foot, weapons at the ready. The air had changed. It smelled like rust and incense. Like old blood.
When the temple finally appeared through the mist, it didn't look like a sanctuary.
It looked like a tomb.
---
The Outer Court
The Temple of the Seers stood tall and crumbling, wrapped in dead vines and stone carvings of faceless prophets. Its gates were open—but no guards, no priests, no chants of prayer.
Too quiet.
Viktor muttered, "It's abandoned?"
"No," Aether said. "They're hiding."
He motioned to Selene and Lena. "Check the side halls. Viktor and Darius—stay near the courtyard. We go in three minutes."
Selene vanished into shadow. Lena followed.
Aether stood at the main gate, fingers twitching near his daggers. This place felt wrong. Not just haunted—poisoned. The very walls breathed.
He stepped inside.
---
Hall of Mirrors
The main chamber hadn't changed. A wide hall filled with mirrors—floor to ceiling, each one flawless. No dust. No cracks.
Aether walked between them, watching his reflection. Each one showed something different—some a child version of him, others… the man he became in the last timeline.
Then one showed him dying. Sword through the chest.
He flinched.
A whisper followed: "You failed before. You'll fail again."
He growled low. "Not this time."
From behind the last mirror, a voice echoed. Calm. Smooth.
"Aether Kael. The boy who outran time."
Aether froze.
From the shadow, the High Seer stepped out—cloaked in white, golden threads stitched into his sleeves. His face was lined but unbothered.
"You've changed," the Seer said. "But your eyes still burn with the same fire."
"I should've killed you last time."
"Perhaps," the Seer nodded. "But you didn't."
Lightning cracked outside. The Seer motioned to the mirrors.
"You've seen what you were. But do you know what you're becoming?"
Aether stepped forward. "I know enough. I know you fed the Herald. I know you opened the rift."
The Seer didn't deny it.
"Power must be guided. Not wasted on fate's whim. The Herald is not our enemy… He is correction. He is order."
"You mean control."
The Seer smiled. "Call it what you like."
Aether lunged.
Steel clashed. The Seer moved fast—faster than he looked. His staff blocked Aether's daggers with impossible precision.
"You think a few tricks and regrets make you a threat?" the Seer sneered.
"Let's find out," Aether hissed.
---
Outside – The Ambush
Selene and Lena returned just as masked figures dropped from the temple's upper walls.
"Cultists!" Selene shouted.
Viktor raised a shield barrier just in time. Energy blades sparked against the magic field.
Darius spun his spear and charged forward, striking one clean across the chest. Lena hurled a dagger into another's neck.
They were outnumbered.
Inside, the temple glowed red. The mirrors began to shatter.
---
Inside – Echoes of the Past
The Seer whispered a phrase—and the mirrors exploded around them.
Aether was thrown back, slammed into a column.
But then he heard it.
Footsteps. Familiar ones.
He looked up—and saw himself walking through the mist. Aether from the past, still naive, still hopeful.
Another mirror. Another echo.
This wasn't a trap.
It was a trial.
The Seer raised his staff. "Face the past. Or die with it."
Aether clenched his fists. His aura pulsed—dark blue and silver, flickering like flame.
He rushed forward. Past-Aether swung at him—but he dodged, then struck.
The echo shattered like glass.
Another appeared—this time, Aether kneeling before a grave.
"No," he whispered.
It lunged at him.
Aether dodged again, eyes burning.
"You're not me anymore."
One by one, he destroyed each echo. Each regret. Each version of himself that held him back.
Until only he remained.
Bloodied. Breathing hard.
The Seer watched, expression unreadable.
"You really have changed," he said. "But that makes you dangerous."
He raised his staff. Energy crackled.
But the mirror behind Aether exploded.
Selene stepped through, blade glowing with violet runes. "I hate temples."
She launched at the Seer.
Lena and Viktor followed. The chamber erupted into battle.
---
The Shattering
Magic collided. Columns cracked. The ceiling groaned.
Darius held the door as more cultists tried to break through. "This place is falling apart!"
Aether grabbed the sealing scroll from Viktor's bag.
"The eye is beneath the altar!" he shouted.
They ran toward it—Selene and Lena covering their sides. The Seer shouted a curse, but Viktor's barrier flared, blocking the spell.
Aether reached the altar, slammed the scroll down, and stabbed a dagger into the center.
Light erupted.
A scream echoed—not from a mouth, but from the air itself.
The eye shattered. The Herald's gaze… blinked out.
The temple began to collapse.
"Run!" Selene yelled.
They sprinted out, stone crashing behind them.
---
Outside – Aftermath
Rain poured down as the temple crumbled.
They stood in silence, soaked and breathing hard.
Aether looked at the ruins.
"The Seer?" Lena asked.
"Gone," Aether said. "But not dead."
Viktor held the broken scroll. "We've closed one eye. But there are more."
Selene stepped closer. "You okay?"
Aether nodded slowly. "Yeah. Just… tired of ghosts."
She didn't say anything. Just stood beside him, letting the rain wash over the silence.
From a nearby tree, a shadow watched them.
Red eyes glowing.
The Herald's whisper returned, just faint enough:
"One eye shut. But many still see."