Lira sat motionless.
The man lay unconscious on her floor, his warning echoing in her ears.
> "The oath, Lira. The true one."
She pressed her palm against the silver ring.
It pulsed again. Warm... then hot.
Too hot.
> FLASH.
Suddenly, her mind was no longer in the room.
She was inside a memory —
—but not her own.
She saw a fire. A burning house.
Her mother, running. Crying.
A man in the shadows laughing.
And beside him — a boy with silver eyes.
> Sijuki.
He was younger. Smiling.
> "We made the oath," he whispered in that memory. "And no one breaks it. Not even her."
Lira gasped.
She could feel the flames on her skin.
The air thick with smoke. Screams.
Then—
> Bang!
She was yanked back. The memory vanished.
The man on the floor had grabbed her wrist.
> "You saw it," he coughed. "Didn't you?"
She nodded slowly.
> "I was there," she whispered. "I remember now."
The man leaned closer, barely breathing.
> "Then it's begun. You've triggered the first burn."
Outside, thunder cracked.
A shadow moved across her window.
And this time... it wasn't just watching.
---
> 🔥 To be continued…
---