Aeri sat on her bed, still trembling from the hallucination—or was it a memory?
Soren held her shoulders, trying to steady her breathing.Lior stood guard near the door, his red eyes glowing faintly, scanning for any magical trace.
Aeri pressed a hand to her forehead.Her skin was burning.
"It… hurts," she whispered.
Soren immediately reacted. "Where? Show me."
Aeri lowered her hand.
There, faint but unmistakable, glowed a thin crimson line on her skin—a mark that hadn't been there minutes ago.
Lior's expression darkened instantly.
"No," he muttered. "It's starting."
Aeri stared at the glowing mark, panic rising."Starting? What's happening to me?"
Soren cupped her face gently.
"Aeri… that's the first layer of your soul seal awakening."
Aeri's eyes widened. "Soul seal…? You mean—"
Lior finished sharply:"The one HE placed on you."
Aeri felt cold from the inside out.
"I thought the seal faded when I reincarnated…"
"That's what we hoped," Soren whispered. "But if it's reacting now, it means he's trying to re-establish the connection."
The connection.Aeri's stomach churned. That word alone made her feel sick.
"What connection?"
Lior didn't sugarcoat it.
"The bond he forced on you. An obsession spell. One that ties your life to his will."
Aeri shook violently. "No—no, I don't want anything to do with him!"
Soren pulled her in closer."You won't. Not as long as we're here."
But the glowing mark pulsed again—this time, brighter.Hotter.
Aeri gasped as a surge of memories struck like lightning.
A voice.A hand gripping her wrist.A promise dripping with poison:
"If I cannot have you… no one can."
Aeri screamed, clutching her head.
Soren wrapped his arms around her.
"AERI—look at me! Breathe!"
Lior pressed a glowing sigil to the floor.A rune circle burst to life beneath them, stabilizing her soul's energy.
The pain slowed. Then stopped.
Aeri collapsed against Soren's chest, exhausted and shaking.
"…I saw him," she whispered.
Soren's entire body froze.Lior turned sharply.
"You WHAT?" he demanded.
Aeri nodded weakly."I didn't see his face… but I felt him. He was close. Too close."
Lior cursed loudly and punched the wall hard enough to crack stone.
"This bastard—he's pushing through every barrier we've set!"
Soren stroked Aeri's hair, trying to soothe her trembling.
"What else did you feel?" he asked softly.
Aeri hesitated.
Then, voice barely audible, she said:
"He was calling me by a name."
Lior turned back to her instantly. "A name? Which one?"
Aeri swallowed hard.
"It wasn't Aeri.It wasn't my past name either."
Both boys leaned closer.
"It was a name I've never heard before," she whispered."But somehow… it felt like mine."
Soren's face paled.Lior's jaw clenched.
"What name?" Soren asked.
Aeri lifted her gaze.
"Lyrenia."
The air in the room went still.
Lior stepped back like he'd been struck.Soren stared at her, stunned.
"Aeri… that name… it can't be…"
Aeri's voice trembled."You know it?"
Soren closed his eyes."Yes. It belongs to someone from the deepest part of your past. The part you were never allowed to remember."
Lior whispered:
"That was your true identity… the one erased from history."
Aeri felt her heart throb painfully.
"Then who was I… really?"
The boys exchanged a look—fear, awe, and something like guilt.
Soren stepped forward.
"Aeri… in your past life…"
He took her hands.
"…you weren't just powerful."
Lior added quietly:
"You were the one destined to end the Nightbound Circle forever."
Aeri felt her breath catch.
And Soren whispered the final revelation:
"Lyrenia… you were their prophecy's chosen destroyer."