The sun no longer burned with the fury of midday when Lyra and Kairo left behind the ruins of the ghost city. The road ahead of them was lined with twisted trees, as if nature had tried to rebuild itself — but everything seemed fractured, like broken memories of a world that no longer knew how to exist.
The two walked in silence. There was something different in the air, a heavy calm, like the moment of breath between heartbeats. And even without exchanging words, there was an invisible bond forming between them, tenuous and alive, made of everything they had lived through and what they still didn't dare to say.
— It's way too quiet... — Lyra murmured, looking up at the sky, where the clouds seemed frozen.
Kairo merely nodded, but his gaze wandered, alert. Until he suddenly stopped.
— Did you hear that?
It was a light sound. Water flowing. A stream? Maybe. But it didn't sound normal. It had an echo… as if it were singing. They looked at each other and followed the sound.
The trail led them to a clearing that seemed untouched by the chaos of the world. A spring bubbled up from a crack between black stones, forming a small lake with waters so clear they reflected the sky like a mirror. White and purple flowers grew on the banks, and golden dragonflies sliced through the air with lightness.
Lyra widened her eyes.
— This looks like a forgotten piece of the old world...
— Or a dream. — Kairo completed, smiling, for the first time in a long while.
She knelt near the water, touching it. It was warm, pleasant. She took off her gloves and dipped her hands. She felt something different there... as if the water itself had memory.
— Let's stay here today. — she suggested. — It's not every day the world gives us something beautiful.
Kairo looked around. The place seemed safe, at least for now.
— Only if you promise not to try to kill me in the middle of the night.
She laughed. A true laugh. He couldn't remember the last time he had heard something so real.
As the day faded into golden and violet tones, Lyra and Kairo explored the surroundings, hunted wild berries, and even found a small cave with dry moss where they could sleep.
As night fell, they lit a fire and sat side by side.
— I... I'm not the type who talks much about myself. — said Lyra, breaking the silence. — But I think you deserve to know that... I lost everyone. My parents. My friends. I just... kept walking.
Kairo didn't respond right away. He just looked at the fire. The flame's light danced on her face, revealing sadness and strength in equal measure.
— You're not alone now. — he finally said.
She looked away.
— And you? Are you going to keep running from what you feel?
— I'm not running. — he replied. — I'm surviving.
— Is there a difference?
Kairo turned to her. The night seemed to hold its breath.
— Maybe not. But here... now... — his voice softened — I feel like everything is suspended. Like nothing can destroy us.
She moved closer, her eyes fixed on his.
— Then prove it.
He hesitated. Just for a second. Then his face leaned toward hers. And when their lips met, it was as if the whole universe stopped for an instant. The kiss wasn't just soft. It was like the release of a tension they both carried in their chests since day one.
Kairo's hands found her waist. Lyra's held his face. When they parted, the silence was complete. But loaded.
— The water has memory... — she whispered. — And I think we just wrote one.
In the early morning, something changed. The once calm lake began to emit a faint bluish glow. Kairo was the first to notice.
— Lyra... something's... wrong.
She woke with a start. The water's surface was trembling, and a mist was rising from the center, forming shapes.
— Is this a Rift? — she asked, grabbing her weapon.
But no. It was something different. Older. More... primal.
From the depths of the water, a creature emerged. Humanoid, but with eyes made of liquid light, and obsidian claws. Its scream tore through the night.
— Protect the source! — Kairo shouted. — It's a channel! It's opening to another plane!
The fight was brutal. The creature moved like mist, and its voice was made of echoes. Lyra used everything she knew — spins, slashes, acrobatics — but it regenerated. Kairo summoned marks of light on his arms, channeling ancient energy.
When the creature tried to drown Lyra, it was he who dove after her, pulling her back to the surface with his body bloodied.
— You won't take her... — he whispered, spitting blood.
It was Lyra who dealt the final blow. She enveloped the blade with the flames of the runes that spontaneously appeared on her arms — and cut the monster in two, which dissolved into star dust.
After the battle, exhausted, both lay on the lake's edge, breathless. He held her against his chest, and she, even covered in cuts, simply closed her eyes, feeling his heart beating.
— That... wasn't just any monster. — she said.
— It was a Guardian. Of something we still don't understand.
Lyra touched the pendant she wore around her neck — something she had found at the beginning of the journey. For the first time, it glowed on its own, as if it had awakened.
— We're closer to the origin of the Rifts than we thought, Kairo.
He looked up at the sky, where a purple aurora was forming, silent and beautiful.
— And farther from the way home.
She looked at him.
— Who said we want to go back?
As they slept, the lake's water carried their reflections… and beneath it, ancient eyes watched them. The prophecy moved. And the world, in silence, awaited the awakening of what slept at the bottom of the abyss.