CHAPTER XXIV
"The Message at the Third Door"
Caelum's Point of View
I was standing at the third door when everything changed.
I didn't even know it yet — how one message, one command, would unravel everything I thought I believed.
The path beneath my feet was quiet. Cold. But inside me… chaos.
And then, without warning, the wall before me shimmered.
A pulse of magic surged through the air, and in its wake appeared Her — Mother Fairy, not in flesh, but in light. A grand figure, towering, ancient, radiant… her form etched across the stone, glowing like a memory from the beginning of time.
Her voice filled the space, deep and soft — the kind that didn't echo… because it didn't need to.
> "Caelum," she said, "You must save Celeste. She is falling."
I froze.
Celeste?
Why her?
My voice came out colder than I intended. "Why should I? Let her fall. Let her break. It makes no difference to me."
I meant it… or at least, I thought I did.
But Mother Fairy… she didn't flinch.
She simply looked at me — not with disappointment, not even with anger… but with a knowing that burned deeper than any flame I'd faced.
> "Cael," she said slowly, "You are in your true form now… and still, she couldn't see your face."
Her words hit harder than any spell.
I clenched my fists. "What do you mean?"
> "Do you know why, child?" she continued. "Because your face… is hidden behind deceit. And until you stop lying — to others, to her, to yourself — she will never see you. Not truly."
I turned away.
But her voice only grew stronger — not louder, but clearer.
> "Do you remember what I told you, Cael? Years ago?"
I didn't respond. But of course I remembered. How could I forget?
> "I told you that the day you brought me a fairy — whose soul was tied to yours — that day, I would grant you any two wishes of your choosing."
My breath caught.
Was that what this was? Was Celeste that fairy?
No. It couldn't be…
Mother Fairy went on:
> "But instead of searching for her… you've spent your life running from her. You've kept your sisters, Olivia and Ivory, locked in a web of false promises. You've twisted your prophecy — the one you were born under — just to prove it wrong."
Her voice softened again.
> "But I know the truth, Cael. This journey of yours… it didn't begin to escape fate.
It began… to find her."
My chest tightened.
Because deep down… I knew she was right.
> "The one whose presence alone will call forth the curse meant for you. The one whose soul is your mirror. The one you've dreamt of since before you knew what dreams were."
> "Celeste is the key, Cael."
I shook my head, even as my heart screamed in agreement.
"She's just a girl," I whispered. "A loud, curious, impossible girl. She doesn't even—"
> "You think you don't care?" Mother Fairy interrupted gently. "Then why did Laila warn you? Why did Ethan risk everything to protect you? Why do you keep saving her, Cael… even when you don't have to?"
My hands trembled at the names. The memories.
Laila…
Ethan…
They saw something in me that I never did.
> "You want to walk among humans?" she asked. "You want to leave this world of wings and spells behind?"
I didn't answer. I couldn't.
But she already knew.
> "Then go, Cael," she said, her voice like prophecy itself.
"Go now. Because your destiny is waiting.
And it has her name written all over it."
I stared at the fading image of her face… and for a second, I thought I saw it — a flicker of Celeste's laughter in her eyes.
And suddenly… I was running.
Not away this time.
But toward the edge.
Toward the fire.
Toward her.
Toward the one soul that had ever made me question everything I thought I was.
"The Truth She Wouldn't Say"
I didn't get very far before I stopped.
The weight of her words still echoed in my ears… burning like acid.
I turned back — not fully, but just enough. My voice cracked as I spoke, quiet but laced with fire:
"I hate you."
I said it to the one who had guided me since I was a child. The one who once held my future in her hands.
"I hate you, Mother Fairy."
The silence after was thick. Heavy. For a moment, I thought she might disappear.
But she didn't.
Her voice returned — gentle, calm… maddeningly calm.
> "I know what you want, Cael."
She always did.
> "And in the end… you will have it."
That shook me more than it should have.
Because even though I tried to bury the truth, even though I tried to silence the longing I'd never dare speak aloud — she saw through me.
> "Go," she said.
"Because this time, Cael… it's your turn.
To do something not for your kingdom.
Not for your sisters.
Not even for prophecy…
But for yourself."
I wanted to scream at her.
I wanted to curse her for pulling me into this again — for dangling hope like a blade.
But then… she said something that made my breath catch.
> "You may not love her, Cael.
But you are bound to her."
> "If she dies today…
You will die too."
My heart froze.
> "But if you die…
She will live.
Unaffected.
Untouched."
> "They may have asked for her… to be your end."
"But believe me, Cael…
She is your beginning."
> "She will bring you to life in a way you've never known."
Her words weren't meant to comfort. They were truth. Pure, brutal truth.
And the terrifying part was…
I believed her.
I didn't answer.
I didn't look back.
I just turned — wings still burned, soul still aching — and I ran.
Toward her.
Toward Celeste.
Not because I loved her.
Not because I wanted to.
But because I couldn't let her die.
Because deep down, beneath the bitterness and betrayal…
I knew one thing:
She mattered to me.
And even if I didn't deserve her…
Even if I never could…
I would save her.
Even if it cost me everything.
"Ashes of Loyalty, Threads of Destiny"
When I finally arrived…
The first thing I saw shattered what little strength I had left.
There, lying like a forgotten memory on the scorched edge of the path — was Rira.
Or rather… what was left of her.
My Rira.
She was no longer the lively creature who curled into Celeste's hair, who wrapped herself around her shoulders with pride and playfulness. No longer the soft, feisty spirit who would glare at anyone who dared harm her.
Now… she was just dust.
A pile of grey and glowing ash — lifeless, still, broken.
My heart twisted in a way I hadn't felt in centuries.
This wasn't just the loss of a companion.
It was the loss of a part of Celeste.
A part of me.
And then my eyes moved — only to find something even more terrifying.
Celeste.
Falling.
Her body, small and helpless, was tumbling down — toward the deadly core of the lava abyss. Her arms were reaching, her face contorted in fear. She hadn't screamed, but her silence… was louder than anything I'd ever heard.
Flash and Chiko were already at the edge.
Desperate. Panicked.
I saw the look in Flash's eyes — wild and ready to jump.
Even Chiko, who always cracked jokes in chaos, was trembling. He was ready too.
They were going to leap into the fire for her.
I opened my mouth — to scream, to stop them, to rage at them — but before I could, I saw the tiniest flicker of red rise from the flames below. The faint outline of Rira's last moment… and I knew.
No one from Fairyland would survive it.
If even a single spark touched them, they'd be reduced to the same fate — ash.
Just like Rira.
"NO!" I shouted, my voice sharp, shaking with command and desperation.
Flash froze.
Chiko flinched.
And then I wanted to scream at them. I wanted to let all the fury and pain inside me explode in their faces. I wanted to blame them — for failing her, for letting her fall.
But then…
Flash turned to me.
His eyes didn't hold fear or guilt.
They held something else.
Hope.
"Cael…" he said, breathless, voice hoarse. "I know you're angry. You have every right to be. But…"
He swallowed. "You're a fairy. And still… I believe Celeste was made for you."
His words were soft — almost reverent.
And they hit me like a punch to the chest.
What was he saying?
How could he see that — now, of all times?
I wanted to argue, to tell him he was wrong. That I didn't need anyone. That she wasn't made for me. That I didn't feel anything.
But Chiko cut in, snapping, "Flash! Don't start with your prophecies now. This isn't the time. Let Cael do what needs to be done!"
And that was it.
I didn't wait for another second.
I leapt.
Into the fire.
Into the pit where fate had tried to end her.
And with every ounce of will I had left — I found her.
I caught her.
Her body was burning with the heat of the fall, her breathing shallow, her heartbeat fast against my chest.
But she was alive.
Barely… but alive.
And I held her.
Held her like she was the only thing in this cursed world that mattered.
Because the truth was…
My life is tied to hers.
If she dies — I end.
But more than that…
Even if this pain rips me apart…
Even if every wing, every bone, every memory inside me is scorched by saving her…
I will do it.
Because somewhere deep inside, I knew —
I wasn't ready to die.
And she…
She was the reason I still had a future.
Even if I didn't love her.
Even if I wasn't ready to admit it…
She was mine to protect.
And I would not let the fire take her from me.
Not today.
Not ever.
To be continue....