-Ashes of

r thick with damp and secrets long buried. His boots echoed with every step, flashlight beam cutting throu

g else. Something older. The Cathedral seemed alive, whispering frag

ck One:

ckled in the hearth, casting flickers of gold across velvet drapes and polished mahogany. The M

wooden knight clasped t

n," Elijah ple

d so the knight lifted his sword,

avy. "When I grow up, I wa

's hair. "Then you'll have to learn the

urrowed. "Aren't

ted, his smile fa

. "One brings safety.

-

It had felt real. Too real. Like he'd stood in that room. Like

resse

ered the ground. Faint symbols etched into the stone glowed faintly in the wet air. His f

Two: Five

emonial masks and crumbling pillars. Elijah was older now-maybe sixteen. His fac

heavy with embroidery. The other culti

d close. "Why

le believe in balance. In structure. They

nd, unsettled. "The

t me to pro

ar you. And y

r's jaw t

nderstand," he said. "O

ck. "I'll never th

ther now-Elijah's, the Mayor's, his own. He turned a sharp corner an

hard, bre

orward into darkness, b

ree: The Nigh

nce. Smoke curling up through the marble

h was

tters in the other. Evidence. Truth. Proof of what

oice roared behind him.

et. Maybe it was chance. But as Elijah reached the back gate, a blas

watch-helpless-as his so

es pressing into him like weights. He slowed his steps, no

dn't always b

st somethi

loss... maybe

the tunnel's ceiling. The passage widened.

d through th

d against the openi

d. His coat hung heavy on his shoulders. Hi

sed the f

ne running

yor did

ry, Zion," he said quietly. "I

hen start talking. Because

or turne

led through the ruin

This was a man running from his own sins-and