Zephyr: "'Be strong. Be true. Become what I was too weak to be. And do not forget the tale I told you so many times -- it is more real than you know.'"

  Virno's eyes widened.

  He knew those words.

  Virno: "The tale..."

  Zephyr: "Do you remember it? The story of the sword -- wrapped in chains, cast into the deepest lake in the land, lost to time? Like all tales, it holds *some* truth... But chains alone do not keep the sword out of reach."

  Stepping to the water's edge, Virno peered at his reflection.

  And for the briefest moment -- he saw himself.

  A jolt ran through his body as the weight of possession lifted. Zephyr had relinquished control. The blindfold slipped from his forehead, and Virno found himself back in command.

  He glanced around.

  Virno: "This place... these woods... this lake...! I've seen them before. In dreams -- you showed them to me."

  He stepped into the lake.

  The water rippled around his boots, and with each step, he sank deeper and deeper.

  Virno: "No. This isn't how he did it, is it...?"

  Zephyr: "Not quite -- look inside your pockets."

  Virno reached into them and pulled out scraps of metal -- fragments Zephyr had collected from the wreckage.

  Virno: "What are these for...?"

  Zephyr: "Your father was more than an explorer. He was a scholar, a seeker of knowledge buried deep in time. Most who stumble upon the sword do so by chance... He found it because he knew exactly where to look."

  Virno clenched his fists.

  Virno: "Then why didn't he tell me...?"

  A warmth pulsed through his face.

  He didn't need a mirror to know -- his skin was burning with sigils again.

  Zephyr: "Because you don't need to know. You already have access to something that will show you."

  A pause.

  Zephyr: "Put the blindfold back on."

  Virno hesitated, then pulled it over his eyes.

  Darkness.

  Total and absolute.

  Virno: "... I see nothing."

  Zephyr: "The blindfold is not the answer, but it *will* lead you to it. Take one of the metal fragments and hold it before your eyes."

  Virno obeyed, gripping one between his fingers.

  The narrative has been taken without authorization; if you see it on Amazon, report the incident.

  Still -- nothing.

  Zephyr: "Now, summon the power. But do not let your body wield it. Redirect its flow -- let it pass through you and into the object."

  Virno inhaled deeply, focusing.

  The sigils burned around his eyes, pulsing like veins of light. He traced an invisible path in his mind -- down his throat, through his arm, to his fingertips.

  A flicker.

  A whisper of movement.

  Then -- Virno saw.

  Not through his eyes, but through the metal itself. The sigils drifted into it, glowing, waiting.

  Zephyr: "Your eyes are only one way to perceive the world... With practice, the very wind will whisper its secrets to you. But for now, let go."

  Virno released the fragment.

  It did not fall.

  It hovered before him, shimmering in midair, imbued with the sigils that once marked his skin.

  Zephyr: "By now, you should know what to do."

  Virno lifted the blindfold. His vision returned -- but the metal remained suspended, glowing with unnatural energy.

  Virno: "Ventus, tibi praecipio..."

  The fragment quivered.

  Virno: "Show mine eyes that which is seen by none."

  The glow intensified.

  Virno: "Fact ut impero!"

  The moment the incantation left his lips, the metal shot from the air like a bullet. It struck the lake's surface --

  CLANG.

  The sound echoed across the clearing.

  Yet the metal had not sunk.

  It rested upon something unseen. Something solid.

  As Virno watched, the scrap hovered on the water's surface, embedded in an invisible structure.

  Zephyr: "The power of wind knows the path by heart... Comes as no surprise, given how many times it has been released by those who came before you."

  Virno grabbed another piece of scrap and repeated the process. The second fragment struck another hidden structure -- not far from the first -- and remained suspended in place.

  Zephyr: "That's it..."

  Piece by piece, Virno carved a path into the lake, the metal marking each unseen step. With every flick of his wrist, the water rippled unnaturally -- pushing against an invisible force, revealing a secret no eyes could see.

  Then --

  One of the fragments did not fly towards the water's surface.

  Instead, it shot several feet into the air, striking something far above the lake. Yet the impact still rang, the same metallic clang as before.

  Virno froze.

  Before his eyes, the illusion began to crumble.

  Like ink washing off glass, the magic concealing the truth bled away, revealing what had been hidden all along -- a path of ancient, weathered stones stretching across the body of water. The scattered scrap metal embedded in them glowed faintly with his sigils, marking the way forward.

  And at the path's end --

  A monument.

  Ruined, but standing.

  Virno: "The entrance..."

  Zephyr: "Indeed... At last, you have arrived."

  Virno turned his head, looking back toward the forest.

  Zephyr: "Thinking of running away...?"

  Heat pulsed behind his eyes. The sigils flared again, and for a brief moment, he felt control slipping from his grasp.

  Virno clenched his fists.

  Virno: "Nghn -- no... I'm just... taking it all in."

  The glow faded. His body was his again.

  Zephyr: "... Taking it all in? Taking *what* in...?"

  Virno exhaled shakily, glancing toward the unconscious figure beneath the tree.

  Rotavitea still lay there, unmoving.

  Beyond her, the first rays of dawn broke over the horizon, casting the ruins in a golden glow.

  Virno: "Everything... Every. Thing."

  Tears welled in his eyes.

  Behind him, the sun continued to rise.

  Zephyr: "You humans... I struggle to understand you."

  Virno chuckled bitterly.

  Virno: "If I were locked away for as long as you have been, I guess I would too..."

  The weight of everything crashed down at once.

  His family.

  His friends.

  His limbs.

  All lost.

  Yet now --

  Now everything could change.

  Virno wiped his face, remembering the visions the obelisk had shown him. The wielders who came before. The impossible feats they accomplished. The power that could be his...

  ... Nothing could stand in his way.

  His breath trembled with anticipation.

  Virno: "Greed... Can I still fail? Can I still... die?"

  Zephyr did not answer immediately.

  Virno: "Or is the power as good as mine?"

  A pause.

  Zephyr: "What does it matter to you at this point, von Virtus? Not long ago, you sought to end your very life -- just to deny me my wishes."

  Virno gritted his teeth. His tears fell to the earth below.

  Virno: "That was before I saw them... before I saw what they could do with it. I must seize it. So, tell me..."

  Silence.

  Then --

  Zephyr: "... The sword will leave its resting place in the hand of its new wielder."

  Virno's breath hitched.

  His lips curled into a trembling, ear-to-ear grin.

  Virno: "G-good... Good...!"

  Tears still streaming down his face, he stepped forward.

  And entered the ruins.