The corridor felt too small.
Too quiet.
Too heavy.
Vael's words didn't fade after he spoke them.
They stayed.
Echoing.
"She trusted someone…"
"…and that someone betrayed her."
Liora couldn't move.
Her body was still in the corridor…but her mind
Her mind was slipping.
"Liora."
Cairis's voice sounded distant.
Like it was coming from somewhere far away.
Vael was still watching her.
Calm.
Interested.
Waiting.
"…Would you like to know who it was?" he repeated softly.
Something inside her snapped.
And suddenly
The world disappeared.
MemoryThe sky was burning.
Not red.
Not orange.
But something darker.
Something unnatural.
The air itself felt broken.
Cracks of light tore through the heavens like wounds.
Liora stood in the center of a battlefield.
Except
She wasn't Liora.
Not here.
Not in this moment.
She was someone else.
Something more.
Power flowed through her veins like a storm.
Endless.
Terrifying.
Her hands glowed with silver light.
Stronger than anything she had ever felt in her current life.
Around her
War.
Demons.
Spirits.
Creatures that shouldn't exist.
And at the edge of it all
Azhrael.
His form towered over the battlefield, shadows twisting endlessly around him.
His voice echoed like a curse.
"You cannot win."
But she didn't hesitate.
She raised her hand.
And the world answered.
Light exploded outward.
Stars seemed to fall from the sky itself.
Reality bent under her will.
And for a moment
She was unstoppable.
A queen.
A god.
A force that could rewrite fate.
Then
A hand caught her wrist.
Warm.
Familiar.
She turned.
And saw him.
Cairis.
But not the one she knew now.
This version of him
Felt different.
Colder.
Sharper.
His wings were fully spread behind him, shadows curling at the edges.
His crimson eyes locked onto hers.
"Stop."
His voice was urgent.
Not angry.
Not cruel.
Urgent.
"If you keep using that power"
"We don't have time."
Her voice
Stronger.
Colder.
Certain.
"He's breaking the seal."
Azhrael's laughter shook the sky.
The world trembled again.
Cairis stepped closer.
His grip tightened slightly.
"Listen to me."
"For once."
Her expression softened.
Just slightly.
"…You don't trust me."
"I trust you too much."
The words hung between them.
Heavy.
Complicated.
Painful.
For a moment
The war disappeared.
It was just the two of them.
Standing too close.
Saying too much without saying enough.
Then
She pulled her hand away.
"I'll end this."
Cairis's eyes darkened.
"That's exactly what I'm afraid of."
She smiled faintly.
Soft.
Familiar.
"…Stay alive."
And then she turned.
Walked toward Azhrael.
Toward the end of everything.
Cairis watched her go.
And for the first time
He didn't follow.
The memory shifted.
Faster now.
Fragments breaking apart.
The battle was over.
Azhrael was sealed.
The world was quiet again.
Too quiet.
Liora…no
The Star Witch Queen stood alone in a ruined temple.
Weaker.
Her magic flickering.
Exhausted.
But alive.
She exhaled slowly.
"It's over…"
Footsteps echoed behind her.
She turned.
Relief flickered across her face.
"…You came."
The figure stepped into the light.
Tall.
Familiar.
Trusted.
Her guard dropped instantly.
Because she knew him.
Because she trusted him.
Because she never thought
He would hurt her.
"I told you," he said softly.
"I would."
Something was wrong.
But she didn't see it yet.
Not until
The blade pierced through her chest.
Her breath caught.
The world froze.
She looked down slowly.
At the weapon.
At the blood.
Then back up at him.
Her voice barely came out.
"…Why…?"
The figure didn't answer immediately.
His face was shadowed.
Unreadable.
"…Because this is the only way to end it."
Her knees weakened.
Her magic flickered violently.
"No…"
Her voice broke.
"You said"
"I know what I said."
His tone didn't change.
Calm.
Cold.
Final.
"You trusted me."
The words felt like another blade.
Her vision blurred.
Her power surged one last time
Then shattered.
And as she fell
The last thing she saw
Was his face.
PresentLiora collapsed.
Her knees hit the ground hard.
The corridor snapped back into existence.
But the memory didn't disappear.
It stayed.
Burning through her chest.
Her breath came out uneven.
Sharp.
Broken.
"Liora!"
Cairis was beside her instantly.
But she couldn't look at him.
She couldn't look at anyone.
Because her hands
Her chest
It still felt like the blade was there.
Like she was still dying.
"…No…"
Her voice trembled.
"That wasn't"
Her fingers curled into the floor.
Tight.
Desperate.
"That wasn't supposed to happen…"
Her body shook.
Not from fear.
From something worse.
Betrayal.
Pain.
Loss that didn't belong to this life
But felt just as real.
Cairis reached for her.
"Liora"
She flinched.
Hard.
Like his touch burned.
That stopped him instantly.
Silence fell.
Heavy.
Painful.
Slowly
Very slowly
Liora lifted her head.
Her eyes were glassy.
Unsteady.
And filled with something broken.
"…I remember."
The words came out quietly.
But they hit like a storm.
Vael smiled faintly.
"Of course you do."
Liora's gaze shifted to him.
Sharp now.
Shaking.
"…He killed me."
The corridor went completely still.
Cairis didn't move.
Didn't speak.
Because he knew what was coming next.
Liora's voice dropped.
Barely above a whisper.
"…Someone I trusted."
Her eyes slowly turned
Back to Cairis.
And for the first time
There was doubt in them.
"…Who was it?"
Silence.
Cairis didn't answer.
Couldn't.
Because the truth
Was standing right in front of her.