The night was quiet, but Lena's mind was chaos.
She sat alone in her room at the inn, the low flickering lantern casting a pale glow across the wooden walls. Outside, Mytherra slept beneath a blanket of mist, unaware of the growing storm that stirred beyond its forest borders. But Lena felt it.
Every hour, the air grew heavier. Like the world itself was holding its breath.
Kairos — the Demon King — was looking for her.
She didn't know what he wanted. She didn't know if the warnings whispered by the shadow creature were twisted truths or protective lies. But deep in her bones, she knew one thing: she wasn't safe.
She needed answers.
Her hand trembled slightly as she reached beneath her collar and drew out the necklace Winter had given her. It was delicate — silver laced with ice-blue threads of enchantment — and nestled in the center was a crystal that shimmered like frozen moonlight.
Winter had said to rub it if she ever needed her.
Lena hesitated.
Then, with a breath, she pressed her thumb against the crystal and whispered, "I need you."The moment her skin made full contact, the air shifted.
The flame of the lantern flickered wildly before extinguishing. A chill swept through the room, not cold like wind — but something older, deeper, like the kind of cold that settled into your soul. Frost danced along the edges of the windowpane.
Then came the scent of pine, frost… and something wild.
In the center of the room, light shimmered. Ice crystals spun in a slow spiral, pulling inward like a miniature snowstorm. And when the magic settled, there she was.
Winter.
The snow witch looked just as Lena remembered — young in appearance, pale hair falling in elegant waves, her eyes ageless and piercing like glacial sapphires. She wore a cloak woven from white fox fur, and snowflakes drifted lazily in her wake, never melting.
"You called," Winter said calmly, her voice like wind across a frozen lake. "You're frightened."
"I—yes." Lena stepped back, her words tumbling out. "There's a man. A king. The Demon King, Kairos. He's looking for me."
Winter raised a brow, expression unreadable. "So the rumors are true… he stirs again."
"You knew about him?" Lena asked, pulse racing.
"I know many things," Winter replied. "But he is no ordinary man. He is ancient. Dangerous. And bound to a prophecy long forgotten."Lena sat slowly on the edge of the bed. "He wants me because of the mark. The one I don't even remember getting."
Winter moved closer, her boots silent on the floor. "That mark is older than your world. It was placed upon a soul chosen to bridge realms — yours, and ours. You were never meant to carry it. And yet…"
"And yet I do," Lena finished, voice quiet.
Winter nodded. "That makes you a key. A beacon. One the Demon King has likely waited an eternity to find."
Lena's hands curled into fists. "So what do I do? Run? Hide? He's a king—how do I stop someone like him?"
Winter tilted her head slightly. "You don't."
Lena's stomach sank.
"What you do… is decide."
"Decide what?"
"Whether you will be claimed by your fate," Winter said, "or change it."
A long silence passed between them.
Lena looked down. "I'm not a hero. I didn't ask for this. I was just a model, living a life full of flashing lights and shallow praise. Now I'm marked, hunted, and caught between worlds."
Winter's voice softened, but never lost its steel. "The life you had was never who you were. The mark reveals truth, not destiny. But truth can be painful."
Lena looked up. "And what's the truth?"Winter stepped forward and gently placed a hand over Lena's heart. "That something in you has always been different. The universe didn't make a mistake bringing you here. It responded to a part of you that longed for more."
Lena's eyes stung with emotion she hadn't realized she'd been holding back. "So what happens if he finds me?"
Winter's expression hardened. "He will try to bind you to his realm. Through magic… or through something deeper."
"Deeper?" Lena whispered.
Winter's eyes narrowed slightly. "Kairos is not ruled by cruelty, but by desperation. If he believes you're the only way to keep the realms from crumbling, he won't let you go. Not even if it destroys him."
A chill ran down Lena's spine.
"Then tell me how to stop him."
Winter sighed, as if the weight of centuries rested in her lungs. "You cannot stop a king who believes you are his salvation. But you can survive him. For now."
She reached into her cloak and produced a thin, silver vial etched in runes.
"Drink this when the mark begins to burn. It will suppress its signal for a time. It won't last forever, but it will give you a few days — perhaps more — where he cannot find you."
Lena accepted it, her fingers brushing Winter's. "Thank you."Winter turned to leave, her form beginning to dissolve into frost once more.
"Wait," Lena said quickly. "Will I see you again?"
Winter paused. "When the snow falls where it shouldn't… I'll be near."
And with that, she vanished — leaving behind only the faint glimmer of frost on the floor and a silence that pulsed with tension.
Lena sat in the dark, gripping the vial, her heart pounding.
The King was coming.
But she wasn't going to face him unprepared.
Not anymore.
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