Helios and Skuld walked baerlin’s cottage uhe soft, golden light of the te m. The path was quiet, save for the faint rustling of leaves in the gentle breeze. As they ehe cottage, they saw Malefit seated he window, her elegant fingers ed around a por cup of tea. She g them briefly, her sharp eyes narrowing before she let out a soft scoff aurned her attention to her drink, clearly ued in their presence.

  Helios ignored her, walking straight to a chair by the firepd motioning for Skuld to follow him. Onside his room, he closed the door carefully and raised his hand, casting a silence hex over the room. A faint shimmer enveloped the walls, ensuring their versation would remain private. He set the chair down and took a seat, gesturing for Skuld to sit on the bed across from him.

  Skuld perched on the edge of the bed, her hands folded in her p as she looked at him expetly. “You said I could ask questions,” she said softly, her voice a mixture of nervousness and curiosity. “I have so many, but… I don’t even know where to start.”

  Helios leaned ba his chair, his expression calm but focused. “Take your time. I’m not going anywhere,” he said. “Start with whatever’s on your mind.”

  Skuld thought for a moment, her brows furrowing. Finally, she asked, “Who am I?”

  Helios gave a small nod, as though he’d expected this question. “That’s a long story,” he began, his voice steady. “You’re a keybde wielder from an a era—a time long before this world, called the Age of Fairytales. In that era, there was a camity caused by darkness—a devastati that threateo destroy everything. Keybde wielders were charged with fighting it, but ultimately they failed. To save yourself and the future, you and four of your closest friends were sent forward in time.”

  Skuld’s eyes widened, her lips parting as she struggled to process his words. “The Age of Fairytales… the future…” she murmured, her voice trailing off. “I… don’t remember any of that.”

  “That’s not surprising,” Helios said gently. “Although I’m not too familiar with the methods of time travel moving through time affect people. In some cases, the jourhrough time erase memories. Your memories will probably awaken only when you receive a strong stimulus.”

  To illustrate his point, Helios summoned his keybde, the shimmering on materializing in his hand. Its intricate design glinted in the dim light, and Skuld’s eyes widened in awe.

  “This,” he said, holding the on up, “as I told you yesterday is a keybde. It’s not just a on—it’s a very special tool, ected to the heart of its wielder. Not just anyone use it, even other keybde wielders.” He tossed the on to her, and it instantly dematerialized, only to reappear in his hand a sed ter. “See? The keybde only ao its chosen wielder.”

  Skuld stared at him, a mixture of wonder and fusion on her face. “But… I have ooo, don’t I?”

  Helios nodded. “You do. It’s part of who you are. Try summoning it. Remember what I said, hold out your hand and call to it with your heart.”

  Skuld hesitated for a moment before extending her hand, mimig the gesture she’d seen Helios use. At first, nothing happened. But then, as she closed her eyes and focused, a faint shimmer of light appeared. The light grew brighter until, with a burst of brilliance, her keybde materialized in her hand—the Starlight keybde. Its elegant silver bde and gold star-shaped key shone as if they had been waiting for this moment for turies.

  Skuld’s eyes lit up with astonishment as she gazed at the on. “I… I did it!” she excimed, her voice filled with excitement and pride.

  Helios smiled faintly, g softly. “Good. This means your heart still remembers. That keybde is proof of that.”

  Skuld turhe on over in her hands, marveling at its design. But her excitement was quickly repced by a look of uainty. “If I’m a keybde wielder… does that mean I have to fight? Do I have to fight the darkness?”

  Helios studied her for a moment before answering. “Only if you want to,” he said carefully. “The darkness will seek you out because of what you are, but if you stay with me, I shield your preseil you’re ready to decide for yourself.”

  Skuld looked down at her keybde, her grip tightening slightly. “Will you teach me?” she asked quietly, her voice tinged with both determination and fear.

  “As much or as little as you want,” Helios replied. “You’re not alone in this, Skuld. I’ll help you.”

  She looked up at him, her eyes brimming with gratitude. “Thank you,” she whispered.

  After a moment of silence, she asked another question. “You said I came to the future with four friends. Where are they? Do they… remember anything, like me?”

  Helios sighed, leaning ba his chair. “They were sent to the future, just like you. But you weren’t sent to the same time or pce. Finding them will be difficult, especially right now.”

  Skuld’s shoulders slumped slightly, disappoi flickering across her face. “So… they’re out there somewhere, but we don’t know where?”

  “Exactly,” Helios said. “But I’ll help you look for them wheime is right.”

  Skuld hesitated before asking her question, her voice soft and uain. “Helios… are you one of them? Are you one of the four I knew?”

  Helios shook his head, his expression serious. “No, I’m not. But I know about you and your friends. That’s why I wao help you.”

  She frowned, her curiosity growing. “If I’m from the past but you’re not, how do you know what happened back then?”

  Helios paused, carefully sidering his answer. “One of your friends—a boy named Ephemer—appeared in this world a long time ago. He spent ages searg for the rest of you but never found anyone. So he built a city called Sca ad Caelum, a pce to train new keybde wielders to fight the darkness. I’m from there.”

  Skuld’s eyes widened. “So… this Ephemer passed down stories about us? He wanted people like you to find us and help us?”

  Helios nodded, allowing a small smile to cross his lips. “That’s right.”

  Skuld’s expression softened as she looked down at her keybde again, her firag its intricate design. “I wish I could remember him,” she murmured. “I wish I could remember all of them.”

  “You will,” Helios said fidently. “In time, those memories will e back to you.”

  Skuld looked up at him, her face filled with hope. “Thank you, Helios,” she said quietly. “For everything.”

  Helios leaned forward slightly, his expressiole. “Do you have any other questions?”

  Skuld shook her head slowly. “I do, but… I ime to think. To uand everything you’ve just told me.”

  Helios gave her a reassuring nod. “Take all the time you need. I’m not going anywhere.” As she sat there, lost in thought.

  Helios had told her enough of the truth to gairust, but there were still pieces he had kept hidden—like the fact that the darkhat caused said camity was also in this very house. For now, gaining her plete was his priority, and everything else could wait.

  Rising from the chair, he dispelled the silence hex with a flick of his wrist. “Get some rest,” he said. “We’ll talk more ter.” Skuld nodded, a small smile on her lips as she watched him leave the room.