The ruins whispered.
Not with sound, but presence. Each stone radiated something ancient, older than Eldoria, older than the Upper Realm itself.
Kael lay still, breathing shallow. His strength had not returned. But his mind stirred.
Something in the air was different.
Elira moved through the remains of the structure with quiet reverence. The walls bore markings she didn't recognize, spirals, intersecting lines, symbols that pulsed faintly when her hand passed near.
The children slept, nestled close together.
Elira found what remained of a chamber, roof half collapsed, floor covered in moss, but sheltered enough. She began clearing the space with frost-covered hands, layering protective ice runes at the perimeter.
Kael's voice rasped behind her. "This place... it remembers."
She turned to him, startled. "What do you mean?"
"It's... not just old. It's awake."
His eyes flickered. Not glowing. Not magical. But aware.
The twins stirred. The girl's fingers curled around her brother's. A soft pulse rippled outward, a wave of energy neither fire nor frost.
And the markings on the wall responded.
They lit.
One by one.
The air thickened.
Kael blinked slowly. "Something's coming."
Elira stood, placing herself between him and the outer arch.
Beyond the mist, something shifted.
Another presence.
But not like before.
This one did not watch.
It waited.