Venna's POV:

Now that stupid Kai had gone off on a mission without me, I quietly made my way to Miss Lyra's house—or should I call her by her real name now? Maldrith. The name still felt strange on my tongue.

I recalled my visit to her the day before. She had revealed some truths about my birth realm—Eldorem—hoping to answer some of my questions, but instead, I had a thousand more. I still couldn't stop wondering about the pesky little children she mentioned. Were they watching her now? And why would any kid want to spend their day bothering an old woman? Kids found joy in the weirdest things these days.

As I walked down the road from Kai's house toward Maldrith's, the familiar sights and sounds of the neighborhood provided a comforting distraction. I exchanged pleasantries with shopkeepers and elderly folks, trying to appear more cheerful than I actually felt.

My mind kept circling back to the Eldorem situation and the things Maldrith had told me last night, so much so that I almost missed the view of my own house. I was used to taking this route now; it let me glimpse how my life once was before I turned into Maldrith's cul-de-sac.

I stopped on Extension Road, the street that connected Kai's neighborhood to Maldrith's. From here, I could see the blackened walls of my two-story house, now hidden behind a chain-link fence. Plywood boards covered the windows, and orange construction fencing surrounded the perimeter, keeping intruders out.

The true cause of the fire still hadn't been found. I sighed and kept walking. Looking at the house didn't hurt as much as it used to, but I still wanted to know what really happened. I pushed back the thoughts of pain and suffering my mom must have endured before the firefighters arrived. If only—No.

I mentally scolded myself, refusing to go down that road of regret. I cast one last glance at the house before turning into Maldrith's cul-de-sac.

Remembering that Maldrith had warned me to be careful about being followed, I glanced around, checking to make sure I was alone. Satisfied, I walked up to the porch. I didn’t even get a chance to knock—the door opened on its own, just like last time. I stepped into the dark apartment.

"For Chrissake, Maldrith, it's probably like 8:30 in the morning, and your house is still this dark. Do you have a thing against light or something?" I shouted, standing alone in the room, even though I knew she was probably watching me from somewhere. I shuddered at the thought.

I heard the sound of footsteps descending the stairs, and I knew it was Maldrith. The woman had a knack for being creepy—imagine if she had grandkids; they'd be in for a scare on Halloween.

"I bet you're thinking I'd make a creepy grandma, aren't you?" Her voice echoed before the lights flickered on, revealing her standing behind me. I turned and flashed her my biggest smile.

"What? Pssh, no. I think you'd make a lovely grandma," I said, blinking innocently.

She laughed, heading back toward the stairs, and I followed close behind. "You might be a lot of things, Venna, but a good liar isn't one of them."

I couldn't help but smile to myself. I was really getting fond of this woman. "So, what are you going to teach me today?" I asked eagerly as we reached the top of the stairs.

Maldrith gave me a quizzical look as I quickened my pace to walk beside her. "Teach?"

"Yeah. About Eldorem customs, what really happened in the Great War, why you've been hiding your existence... You barely told me anything last time because I came late, but now I'm here early, so I figured we had time."

As we walked, I realized we'd been going longer than usual, but before I could ask, Maldrith chuckled.

"It seems you haven't learned anything since you started visiting my house."

"But—" I began to protest, but she shook her head.

"No 'but.'" She stopped us in the middle of a hallway that seemed to stretch on forever and turned to face me. "I'd like to see what you've learned in the short time you've been coming here. Come on, lesson one?"

I looked around, confused. She hadn't taught me anything—what did she mean by lesson one?

"Never... break into a stranger's house again?" I offered, shooting her a small smile.

She laughed, shaking her head, then quickly nodded to correct herself. "Yes, actually, that's a lesson too. But if there's anything my house should've taught you by now, it's that things change—and so do people. You can choose to run from change because it isn't something you're used to, or it doesn't make sense to you, or..." She gestured toward a door that hadn't been in the middle of the hall before, nodding in its direction, "...you can choose to find out why it's happening and decide whether you want to accept it or not."

I stood there, my mouth agape. "Is that...?"

"Yes. The fact that you kept coming back here, even when it creeped you out, because you felt you could find answers, showed me you'd got guts. And for that, the Eternals have chosen to show you the truth of what really happened in the realm of Eldorem years ago."

"That... that's the door I saw the other day. I could still hear the crashing of waves," I said with a laugh. "I knew I wasn't crazy."

"You weren't. You just happened to stumble upon it by chance because I wanted to see how you would react to certain situations."

"So it was kind of like a test?" I arched an eyebrow at her.

"Yeah, you could say that." She gave me a short clap and rested a hand on my head. "Congratulations, you passed, child."

I forced a smile, feeling a bit uneasy. "What was that, by the way? It seemed like a creepy hole. Outside, I could hear the sound of waves, but when I pushed the door open, it was just this large, eerie-looking hole standing alone in the middle of the room, with the cries and wailing of people. It seemed like they were calling for me. I could... I could almost see them, but when I went to bring the others, the door was gone."

"That 'creepy-looking hole' you're referring to is a gateway leading to the actual realm of Eldorem. Think of it as an inactive portal—that's why it seemed so eerie. And the sound of waves is from the Sea of Eldorem, a void that connects Eldorem to Earth."

"Okay, that's... crazy," I said, rubbing my temples.

"You know, since we have a little more time, how about I tell you how Eldorem came into existence? Or at least the story that's been passed down to us since we were kids. It explains why humans don't know about this realm. Except for one human—which was a mistake on my part, but we'll get to that later."

"Okay... Do we get to sit for this?" I asked, glancing around the hall, searching for the room she mentioned the other day—the one that held the history of Eldorem.

"Yeah, but only if you can guess the right door," she replied with a smirk as more doors began to materialize.

"Ugh, why do adults have to be so difficult?" I groaned.

"You wanted me to teach you, and now I am. So go on, pick one."

"Fine."

I surveyed the hall. Fourteen doors now lined the walls, and I vaguely remembered the door being the second one on the right last time. I headed back toward the stairs, then turned around as if I was just coming up and gave her a confident smirk as I walked to the second door on the right.

"Are you sure about that? Once you open a door, you've lost, and then we'll end up standing throughout my story. And I warn you, my story might be a bit long," she teased, her tone sing-song, as she finished and studied her nails innocently.

I narrowed my eyes at her. "Last time, the door was the second one on the right, so it should still be the same, right?"

Maldrith shook her head pitifully. "It seems like we are going to be standing after all. Child, by now I would have thought you'd realize that my house is something that undergoes constant change. But who knows? It might just be the same door."

"Oh, come on. Don't I at least get a hint or something?"

"Nope."

"But that's unfair," I muttered, folding my arms across my chest.

Maldrith laughed. "Life's unfair, sweetheart; I'm sure you know that by now. Besides, this is pretty simple. You should be able to tell the door just like you can tell the door to your bedroom. Why don't you try to look for markings or details you might have noticed that day?"

"But I wasn't paying attention that day! How am I—"

"Ah, ah, ah, not with that attitude," she interrupted, wagging a finger at me.

"Ugh, maybe I'm not so interested in hearing your story anymore."

"Fine," she shrugged and began to walk further down the hall.

"Wait!"

She turned. "Yes?"

"I'll find the stupid door," I sighed in resignation, and Maldrith smiled.

"Close your eyes and try to recall anything you might have noticed yesterday," I muttered to myself as I closed my eyes tightly, but nothing came to mind.

I opened them and let out a deep breath. I was already getting tired of this.

"Sometimes we might miss something with our eyes, but that's why we have other senses. What we miss with our eyes, our nose can pick up, and what we miss with our nose, our taste can detect, and what we miss with our—"

"Okay, I get it!" I yelled, cutting her off, which only made Maldrith laugh louder.

"This seems like it's going to take a while. I should have brought my cane. It's not good to keep an old lady standing for too long," she smirked, and I shot her a look.

I walked to the first door and stared at it for a while until I heard Maldrith cough.

"Standing there staring won't give you X-ray vision to suddenly see inside the room, you know," she remarked, her laughter echoing through the hall.

I ignored her and moved to the next door. I stared at it for a moment, but it was the same as the first—no scratches, no markings, nothing. I was tempted to pry it open and take a quick peek inside. I stretched out my hand and rested it on the wood, running my fingers over it as I tried to decide if I should just push it open and accept whatever happened. Maybe it could be the real door, I thought.

My fingers glided over the old maple wood, but suddenly, something rough caught against the middle of my palm. I pulled my hand back, bending closer to examine the door, but it appeared smooth. Hesitant, I placed my hand back on the wood, and the roughness returned.

I retraced my steps to the previous door, running my hand along its surface. It was just as smooth as it looked—nothing unusual. I returned to the second door and glanced back at Maldrith.

"I was right; it's this door. The second one on my right."

"Are you sure, child? Just because this one feels different from the first doesn't—"

"Yes, I'm sure. Besides the texture, I can sense it, and my gut tells me it's this door." Without waiting for her reply, I pushed the door open.

The familiar walls greeted me, carved with the stories of Eldorem, and I smiled. I turned as I sensed Maldrith behind me. She gave me a pat on the shoulder.

"Well done. I hope you've learned that not everything is visible to the eyes. Just because you can't see something doesn't mean it isn't there. I'm glad you trusted your instincts. In situations like this, with little or no hints, it's always good to rely on your gut, though it's important to seek out facts or clues before doing so."

"And the feeling I had—was it because this room holds Eldorem's history?" I asked, stepping inside and kneeling on the smooth floor tiles in front of the crystal-like orb at the room's center, the cool surface shimmering under the dim light.

"Yes. Eldorem is your birth realm, so it will always call out to you when you're near. It isn't like this for everyone, but I believe you can sense it because you're the supposed Mark of Eldorem." She joined me, kneeling on the opposite side of the orb, her eyes reflecting the gentle glow.

"Yeah, about the Mark of Eldorem—can't you tell me more? You were one of the Rabnahs who delivered the prophecy."

She shook her head, a hint of regret in her gaze. "Even if I wanted to, I couldn't. Honestly, we Rabnahs don't even know what it is. The Eternals revealed the prophecy to us, and we spoke it to the king. It's not our place to uncover what it means—that's your journey. Even if I did know, telling you would only make you complacent."

"What? No. If anything, it would make solving this mystery and saving Eldorem faster," I argued, rubbing the orb, feeling its strange warmth seep into my fingers.

Maldrith laughed softly. "Do you know the enemy? If I told you what the Mark of Eldorem was, how would you know how it was supposed to help save the realm and Earth?" I bit my lip, falling silent. "Exactly. The quest to uncover the prophecy and piece together the meaning of the Mark of Eldorem isn’t just to pass time. It js meant to build you, to prepare you as you face different challenges."

I snorted. "Yeah, like attracting monsters and letting them slaughter people before we can stop them."

Maldrith tilted her head to one side, her expression one of genuine curiosity. "What do you mean?" she asked.

"You know what I mean," I replied, exasperated. She shook her head, clearly unconvinced. "Using our powers attracts monsters. So when we go on missions that require us to use our powers, we end up endangering ourselves and the people around us. Isn't that what you meant by it building us up as we face different challenges?"

"Who told you that?"

"Who told me what?" I asked, frowning in confusion.

"That Eldorians using their powers attracts monsters."

"Um, the others—Ikzar, Benkrat, and Elmz."

"Hmm. This was one of the many examples of what I meant when I said yesterday that whatever they told you might not be entirely accurate."

"How?" I asked, curiosity now piqued.

"First of all, monsters aren't attracted to other Eldorians using their powers, only to you and, I'm sure, to your twin—"

"But I remembered times when none of us used our powers, and we were still attacked," I interrupted.

"You didn’t let me finish," she said, giving me a pointed look. I quickly averted my eyes, feeling the heat of embarrassment rise in my cheeks.

"Sorry," I mumbled, bowing my head.

"It’s okay. As I was saying, you don’t have to use your powers to attract a monster. Sometimes, it could be something like that necklace I saw on your neck when you first came here."

"Yeah, you told me not to wear it."

"Yes, I said not to wear it in public because that necklace was made by one of my husbands, Yedah. He crafted it for the king when he heard the twins were born. It serves as protection for you and your twin. When the necklace senses you are in danger, it either helps or rather summons monsters to protect you."

"Protect me?"

"Yes. The kingdom of Tierlin was one of the most powerful in Eldorem, which is why the remaining Eldorians are likely from Tierlin. Though I can’t be certain, I don’t know if other lands performed the reincarnation spell. But to stay on track, the king of Tierlin had the ability to control monsters to some extent, even the most difficult ones, because he fed them and ensured no one harmed them. In return, they offered him their services. The necklace allows the monsters to recognize you as a descendant of the king of Tierlin, so they are inclined to protect you."

"Well, they sure didn’t look like they wanted to help—more like they wanted to kill us."

"Are you sure? Think back to those times you thought you were attacked. Did it really seem like an attack to you?"

I hesitated, searching my memory. "Okay, what about the attack on Emberfall High? What do you say to that?"

"Like I said, the monster was trying to protect you. It probably mistook the people around you for captors and started killing them to get to you."

"No way. The monster nearly killed Kai. It was chasing after him."

"Are you certain about that? I was convinced it was chasing him to take him to a safer place. But Kai, thinking it was a threat, ran—and so the monster followed."

"Fine, what about the Vulraq?"

Maldrith’s eyes widened with disbelief. "You were attacked by a Vulraq?"

"Yes! And it nearly killed us if Benkrat hadn’t banished it."

Maldrith chuckled, shaking her head. "I don’t think you fully understand. To others, a Vulraq would be a threat, but to you and your twin? It likely meant to save you. Something—perhaps your necklace—triggered it. If your power calls to them, sometimes it makes it harder for them to recognize you. That’s why you wear the necklace."

"Then why did you tell me to take it off?"

"Because I didn’t think you two were under any immediate threat. And wearing it in public, when you still knew so little about Eldorem, was dangerous. When your emotions surge—whether from anger or intense happiness—the necklace might detect it as fear and summon a creature. Especially now that you are of age but still haven’t mastered your powers. The monsters would answer the call, and without understanding its intent, you might want to attack the poor creature before it starts killing those around you. Do you understand now?"

"Oh," I said, nodding slowly as the pieces began to fall into place. "But what about my mother?"

"The Queen?"

"No, I mean my Earth mom. She died in a house fire, which I don’t believe was an accident. My mom was always extremely careful, and she hardly had any friends, let alone enemies. So I thought the fire might have been caused by Kai’s flame."

Maldrith hummed thoughtfully.

"Yeah, but it was just a tiny flame, and Kai kept it under control... I thought," I added as I waited for her reply.

"From what I saw on the news, you weren’t home when the fire started, right?"

"Right."

"So if we assumed it was Kai’s powers that summoned a monster, it wouldn’t have come to your house. It would have tracked you to wherever you were."

I straightened up, still kneeling, my hands resting on my thighs as a chilling realization dawned on me. "Wait, are you saying this was... planned?"

"Oh no, dear. But isn’t it possible your mom could have caused it by mistake? And haven’t the police solved the case? Didn’t they give you the cause of the fire?"

"Actually, no. The last I heard, I overheard them talking to Kai’s foster mom. They said they didn’t think the fire was accidental. They couldn’t find any evidence of a cause, so they believed someone set the house on fire from outside. But they’re still investigating."

Maldrith’s brow furrowed, her voice turning serious. "If someone had set it from outside, they should have found the culprit by now."

"Exactly!" I exclaimed, relieved that someone finally understood. I saw the thoughtful look on her face and suspected she knew something. "Maldrith, is there something you’re not telling me?"

She hesitated before speaking. "Your house fire... it got me thinking. Maybe it was planned. I have a theory—and remember, it’s just a hypothesis. I'm thinking the  same person who fed you those stories about monsters being drawn to your powers might be the one who summoned a Dragonith to burn your house down. That could also explain why the fire didn’t activate your sprinklers and alert the local fire department. Your folks had them installed, didn’t they?"

My eyes widened as the realization sank in. "I hadn’t thought of that. Now that I think about it, our sprinklers actually didn’t go off, meaning it either didn’t start as a small fire or someone was able to disable it." Maldrith nodded, and I felt tears welling up in my eyes. I quickly turned my head away so she wouldn’t see them fall. But then, I heard her gasp, and I looked up.

A tattoo on her neck, one I hadn’t noticed before, suddenly began to glow with an intense blue light. At the same moment, the intricate carvings on the walls ignited with the same hue, the light rippling through them as if it were alive, moving from image to image in a mesmerizing dance. The once-still carvings now seemed to pulse with energy, their shifting forms casting eerie shadows across the room.

A sense of foreboding tightened around my chest as Maldrith raised a trembling hand to touch her glowing tattoo. The atmosphere in the room thickened, the air charged with an otherworldly energy. The crystal orb between us flared to life, its light blindingly bright, forcing me to shield my eyes. The sound of crashing waves from the previously dormant gateway roared loudly, the noise swelling until it was nearly deafening.

"Maldrith, are we supposed to hear—"

"Leave," she ordered, her eyes focused on something far away.

"Maldrith?"

"Someone activated the gateway, and it isn’t safe for you to be here right now."

"But you said—"

"I know. Not now. I’d find you when it was time. Just hurry up and leave," she insisted, her gaze shifting to meet mine, and the fear in her eyes chilled me to the bone. "Run if you have to. And don’t come back looking for me. I’d find you myself."

Without another word, I scrambled to my feet, heart pounding, and without looking back, I dashed for the stairs.