Time: 09 // 11 Fade (The Dusk)

Location: The Jinded Idwe / Approaching the Coast of Mmirabe

The flight path took them over the vast, churning grey of the Jinded Idwe.

Behind them, the golden continent of Kjihan and Tsujan faded into the amber haze of the setting suns. Ahead, the horizon was swallowed by a wall of purple fog.

Mmirabe. The Broken Necklace.

From the air, Val could see why the maps painted it in soft greens and teals. It wasn't a single landmass, but a fractured archipelago of swamp-islands and sunken atolls. Massive, moss-covered mountains rose straight out of the water, their peaks shrouded in eternal mist.

"It's... humid," Wren whispered, looking at the condensation already forming on the cockpit glass. "It feels like the air is sweating."

"This was the Garden of the Tides," Romar said softly, initiating the landing sequence. "Before the Great Dry, these waters connected the world. Now, they're just a graveyard for ships and memories."

Val felt that pull again—the magnetic hum of their blood calling out to the land beneath them. It was a heavy, mournful song, vibrating in the marrow of their bones.

I know this place, Val thought, their heart aching with a grief that wasn't theirs. I know where the temples used to float.

"We need a place to set down," Gwen said, scanning the thermal scopes. "Somewhere with cover. If Kaelen has satellites looking south, we'll stick out like a flare on a dark ocean."

"There," Ouhan pointed to a massive, hollowed-out ruin on the largest island. It looked like the ribcage of a leviathan, made of white stone and overgrown with bioluminescent vines. "The acoustics there are strange. It scatters radar."

Time: 09 // 45 Fade

Location: The Ruins of the Sunken Spire (Mmirabe)

The Kjisugi touched down on a moss-slicked stone platform rising above the black swamp water.

They stepped out into the damp, heavy air. It smelled of wet earth, salt, and decay.

"Stay close," Gwen ordered, her rifle raised. The jungle around them was silent, save for the dripping of water.

"You are loud," a voice echoed from the mist.

Gwen spun around.

From the water itself, figures rose. They weren't soldiers. They were ghosts—ragged survivors dressed in woven reeds and dark leviathan leather. Their skin was tan, their eyes wide and dark, adapted to the gloom of the fog.

An old woman stepped forward, leaning on a staff made of driftwood. She looked at Romar, then at the weapon in Gwen’s hand, dismissing them both. Her gaze locked onto Val.

Her eyes widened. The staff fell from her hands.

"The Return," she breathed, falling to her knees in the mud. "The water has returned."

Around her, the dozen other figures knelt instantly, their heads bowing to the wet stone.

"Get up," Val said, rushing forward, their boots splashing in the puddles. "Please, don't bow."

The woman touched Val's face with trembling, cold hands. "You have her eyes, child. You have Li's eyes. We felt you the moment you crossed the Jinded Idwe. The water... it sang."

"You knew my Tama?" Val asked, voice trembling.

"We hid her while you were still in her belly," the woman whispered. "When she passed and we were forced into hiding, we didn't know where you and Selon had went. Of course later to find him with the Light."

Romar stepped up gently. "We are looking for Emerjn. We were told he holds the key to the Heir's training."

The woman nodded gravely. "Emerjn is not here. He guards the Deep Archive in Ramide—the Frozen South." She pointed out toward the open ocean, where the dark waves grew choppy.

"Then we go now," Gwen said, stepping forward.

"No!" The woman grabbed Val’s arm. "You cannot. The Fade & it's Moons are approaching. The crossing to Ramide is death tonight. The water between here and the ice shelf freezes the air itself. Your fire-kin..." She gestured to Wren and Romar. "...their hearts will stop before you see the shore."

She looked at Val with desperate intensity. "Stay. Rest. We have food. We have warmth. When the suns rise, the air will thaw enough for the crossing."

Time: 10 // 45 Fade (The Silence)

Location: The Mmirabe Catacombs

They huddled around a low, smokeless fire in a dry cavern beneath the ruins. The resistance shared what they had—dried kelp bread and bitter tea.

Val sat apart from the others, leaning against a damp wall. The humidity was comforting, but the anxiety was a coiled snake in their chest.

"You should eat," Saje said, sitting beside them.

"I can't," Val murmured. "It feels wrong to stop. Every second we sit here..."

"Rest is a weapon, Val," Saje said, his voice firm. "Even the ocean sleeps between tides."

Val sighed and closed their eyes. Just a moment. Just one moment.

The darkness took them instantly. But it wasn't sleep.

SNAP.

The humid cave vanished. The smell of ozone and sterile air filled Val’s nose.

The High Council Chamber.

Standing by a holographic map was Vaelor. He looked exhausted, his uniform unbuttoned at the collar.

Facing him was Councilor Kaelen, the Head of Intelligence.

"They aren't in the desert," Kaelen said, her voice smooth and terrifying.

"We have reports of a thermal anomaly in the Jinded Idwe," a technician called out. "A displacement wave heading South-East."

Kaelen smiled. She tapped the map, her finger landing squarely on the green cluster of Mmirabe.

"They are running to the ghosts," Kaelen said. "Burn it."

Vaelor stiffened. "There are refugees there."

"There are traitors there," Kaelen corrected. "Deploy the Skimmers. Incinerate the sector. If the Heir is there, flush them out. If not... burn the history anyway."

GASPPPP.

Val jolted awake, scrambling backward so hard they hit their head on the stone wall. What felt like seconds seemed to have been much longer.

"Val!" Saje grabbed their shoulders.

"We have to go!" Val shouted, eyes wild. "Now! They're coming!"

"Val, breathe," Gwen said, standing up. "Who is coming?"

"Kaelen," Val gasped. "I saw them. They know we went South. She's sending the Skimmers to burn the swamp. If we stay, everyone here dies!"

The old woman, watching from the shadows, didn't ask how Val knew. She saw the purple in Val's eyes flashing with panic and understood.

"Need not worry about us dear. Why do you think we still stand today? They know we're here, yet they can not burn the waters. We reflect the light! We calm the heat! But you... you must fly," she said. "But the cold..."

Val looked at Wren, who was already shivering in the damp cave. The flight to Ramide would kill her.

A look of surprise came upon Val. "Teach me," Val said, turning to the woman. "I don't remember everything exactly but I know before we had our frozen kin we all lived in the waters. How did our people survive the Great Freeze? How do you live in the water without freezing?"

The woman stepped closer. "It is not about fighting the cold, child. It is about becoming the water that moves. Standing water freezes. Moving water holds heat."

She placed her hands on Val’s chest, right over the heart.

"Cycle it."

"Close your eyes," she commanded. "Feel the blood. It is our river. Spin it. Create friction. Do not push the heat out—pull the cold in and churn it until it boils."

Val closed their eyes. They visualized the water in the air, the water in their blood. Instead of the stillness of the Void, Val pushed for chaos. Spin. Move. Faster.

The more Val focused, the more they could see the threads of water everywhere.

A hum began to radiate from Val’s chest. The air around them shimmered, not with fire, but with kinetic warmth.

"I have it," Val whispered, sweat beading on their brow despite the chill.

"Go," the woman urged, pushing them toward the ship. "Save the future. We will scatter into the deep swamps. We will prepare, and ensure they will not find us."

Time: 01 // 11 Fade (The Void Hour)

Location: The Frozen Sea / Approaching Ramide

The Kjisugi screamed through the dark, its engines pushed to the breaking point.

Below them, the ocean had turned to a solid sheet of white. They had crossed the threshold. This was the southern cap. Ramide.

The temperature outside was Absolute 11. The wind was a physical hammer against the glass.

Inside, frost was webbed across the controls.

"Hull integrity dropping!" Ouhan yelled, his voice cracking. "The glass is becoming brittle! We're losing cabin heat!"

In the back, Wren was unconscious, curled into a ball, her skin grey. Gwen was shaking so violently she couldn't speak. Even Romar looked like he was fading.

Val stood in the center of the cabin.

Their arms were outstretched. Their eyes were glowing a fierce, blinding white-purple.

Val wasn't steering. Val was the heater.

Cycle, Val chanted internally. Cycle. Spin. Move.

She moved between everyone, commanding the waters that dared freeze within him. Val didn't even notice the cold, all they could focus on was ensuring warmth.

Val wrapped their mind around the fluids in the room—the blood in Wren’s veins, the moisture in the air. They forced it to vibrate. They spun the energy faster and faster, creating a pressurized dome of kinetic warmth inside the freezing ship.

It felt like holding up a collapsing mountain. Every second was an eternity of exhaustion.

"Visual!" Romar croaked. "I see the markers! Ramide Coast!"

"Land..." Val gritted out, blood trickling from their nose. "Land... now."

The ship slammed down onto the ice. It skidded sideways, metal screaming against permafrost, before coming to a halt near a massive, jagged glacier formation.

The airlock hissed open.

The cold rushed in like a physical beast, but Val pushed back. They threw up a dome of thermal energy, a shimmering bubble that protected the ramp.

"Move!" Val screamed. "Get them out!"

Saje and Ouhan dragged Wren and Gwen down the ramp.

From the darkness of the Ramide ice, figures emerged. But they didn't attack.

One figure walked through the snow, unbothered by the wind. He stopped at the edge of Val’s thermal dome.

He tilted his head, his blind white eyes reflecting the glow of Val's power. He listened to the hum of the Heir holding back the winter.

Emerjn.

"Enough, Heir," Emerjn whispered, his voice cutting through the wind. "You are safe. I have you."

Val looked at him. The safety in his voice broke the tension holding them together.

"I..." Val whispered.

The thermal dome flickered and died.

"I got them here," Val murmured.

Val’s eyes rolled back.

"Val!" Saje screamed.

Val collapsed forward into the snow. Emerjn moved with impossible speed, catching the Heir before they hit the ice.

"Sleep now, Little Ocean," Emerjn said, lifting Val into his arms as he turned toward the hidden entrance in the glacier. "The tide has finally come in."

He began to walk away from the others, holding the Heir over his shoulder. "Well, don't just freeze to death. My radius isn't large."

The others quickly followed behind, entering the opening within the cave. As they entered, a wall of frozen ice began to take its place behind them, sealing them in.

Time: 01 // 47 Fade

Location: The Ramide Frozen Caverns

"So, how does everyone know of Val?" Gwen asked, keeping a very watchful eye on her sibling.

"Well, Valode is a big name in the resistance. Li was a very prominent figure for us Water Ide. There was no one who could speak to the waters like she could," Emerjn explained, taking a sip from the hot mug he was holding.

"I actually knew Li," a voice called out from behind. "I got to touch the young tides while they were in the womb."

"And since Li's gift lives within Valode, we have hoped every single day that they would return to us, to restore our world, heal it as though their Tama would have," another figure entered the same. The large, dark-skinned Ide was clad in off-white animal furs, their clothes embroidered with intricate snowflakes and crystalized patterns.

"I'm Irame, and that's Emerjn."

"Irame is head of command here. He is our fearless, handsome leader," Emerjn went on, flashing a quick grin.

"Not in front of guests Emmie. Please," Irame covered his face in embarrassment, Emerjn laughing uncontrollably.

"Val will be fine, right?" Saje asked, interjecting into the conversation.

"Of course. The Light likes to convince Ide that this doesn't require energy, but if you run for a long time you will eventually need to rest. Val is just... resting from a long run." A gentle pause hung within the air. "When do they get to train?" Emerjn asked curiously.

"Train? We don't do that. It's illegal," Gwen admitted.

"Yeah sure, but doesn't Selon have some sort of secret resistance? Y'know, a small team or something like that?" Emerjn went on, his features growing more and more upset.

"Well... no." Gwen began. "The council would never allow such a thing. We abide by our rules. It can't be that bad as long as everyone just complies, no?"

"How typical..." Emerjn added. His fists now balled at his side.

"Emerjn, please. We don't know that he doesn't have a plan for us." Irame walked to Emerjn, sitting right next to him, taking his hand into his own.

"Our people are dying. Every day we lose more and more of our own. The world is out to get us. And now our own people are abandoning us for the reward of what? I bet he doesn't even talk about us there, advocate for us... does he?" Emerjn stared at Gwen, pain plastered all over his expression.

Gwen put her head down; no words could be spoken to make this right.

"Clearly Valode is not like that. They found us, even without knowing us. It only takes one person... And Valode has brought us several." Irame pulled Emerjn into a hug.

"I'm sorry..." Romar finally spoke up. "I knew of drying but I had no idea it was this bad. Even in my own home I am unaware of the true extent of the suffering. I want to help bring the Light back to the waters. My father always told me stories of water and light, yet today it seems the two could never be as close as we once were."

"Y'know, we water ide believe once, long ago, light and water were controlled by the same Ide. The same weavers who could bring the tides could also redirect the light. We've always complimented one another. It's saddening I haven't had the opportunity to experience that myself. All I can remember, for my whole life, is preparing for a battle that isn't our own. Now the light hates us because we now threaten their goals."

"The light doesn't hate you." Wren sat before Emerjn and Irame, crossing her legs over one another. "The light knows of your power. They even try to replicate it. But they know deep down they need you, that's why they want Valode. Harmony was never the goal for them."

Irame gave Wren a puzzled look, eyeing her features. "You're of the light? You feel colder than that," he pondered.

"I am... was... is. I don't quite know anymore. I feel like the Light, and the Void. When Kira is away I feel just as powerful. I don't know what the council did to me."

"You're part void?" Ouhan too joined Wren on the floor.

"Well... that's simply a theory I have. When they had me in the lab they did so many experiments. Invisibility, Illusion, but they were obsessed with time. The goal was to rewrite the timeline. If I could phase between the light in theory they assumed I would be able to move freely through time. They purged my body of all light, then forced the light back. For a while any light that touched me was vaporized. I lived in total darkness for months. 'Until you can bring the light back you will live in the void' they told me."

Ouhan lent a hand as well, comforting Wren. "I'm so sorry. I know how scary the darkness can be, how easy it is to consume the light. So... you no longer have that... gift?"

Wren took a deep breath before speaking. "Not exactly. I can still hear the whispers in the shadows, but now I don't even weave light. My power comes directly from Kira. I'm unstable because I'm drawing raw power from Kira every time. Our bodies were not designed for that. We use Kira's reflected energy, I use her directly. That I can't control. But, maybe Emerjn, you could cool me?"

"Actually..." Irame pointed at Val. "The one to do that is Val, not Emerjn."

The entire room looked at the still sleeping heir. "What do you mean?" Wren prodded.

"Emerjn felt it when you all left Mmirabe, and I felt it when I saw them. Val, unlike us all, also pulls directly from the elemental source. They passed out because they were using the raw waters. They would not only be able to help keep you cool, but they would be able to help you master that plasma. It's plasma right?"

"Yeah, it's plasma." Ouhan said quickly, a bit dismissive. "But... now that you mentioned it... when I met Val in the garden, while I was bending shadow it almost felt like when I touched them I could reach deeper in. I almost felt I could have spoken when we did. It was a feeling of the shadows I'd never felt. Like pure void."

"That's what it felt like for me. It felt like the light again. Not just heat but illumination. It felt so strongly. I couldn't feel Kira for Arks after leaving Val. If they can do more than just temporarily tame that..."

"I suspect Val will be filled with many surprises for us. We Ide don't have that inherent connection anymore. Rumor has it... once, back in time, all Ide could weave a bit of every element aside from their birthed gift. Val seems to have an innate ability to still feel those threads."

"I see why we all need Val," Gwen added. "I am not personally on board for my sibling being the savior of the world. That's a lot of responsibility to put on one Ide, but you're all right. When we were younger Val shot light from their hands. Selu saw before me, that's when the memory changing started. Selu knew neither he nor Li were of the light. There was no way Val could do it. Val has always been different and I was the one who kept that from them."

"What could you possibly be implying? Val is of the water and the light?" Ouhan asked.

"I'm saying I don't know. But I've seen Val weave more than just the elements they were gifted from our Selu and their Tama. That's what I'm saying. Val is undeniably the key to this all." Gwen continued.

At the conclusion of their statements the hero in question rose, their eyes groggy and completely black.