Everything happens at once.

The explosion came from the merchant district—you can see the smoke rising over the rooftops, black against the morning sky. Fire follows, orange flames leaping between buildings. Screams echo across the city.

The ceremony dissolves into chaos.

Citizens stampede toward the exits. Parents grab children. The carefully arranged tiers of seating collapse as people push and shove. Someone falls, is trampled, is pulled up by strangers.

The gem-born scatter. Some run toward the flames. Some flee toward the edges of the city. Some stand frozen, overwhelmed.

Sera grabs your arm. “What’s happening?”

“I don’t know. The explosion—”

Another blast. Closer this time. The ground shakes.

The Purple Gem flickers violently. Its light, which blazed so brightly moments ago, now sputters like a dying flame. Each flicker is accompanied by a sound—a low, resonant moan that seems to come from everywhere at once.

The Elder is shouting orders, but his voice is lost in the chaos. His attendants try to protect him as the crowd surges around them.

You see Tommin fighting through the crowd toward the flames, his warrior’s instinct overriding his fear.

You see Neve, the copper-haired girl, helping fallen citizens to their feet.

You see—

A shadow.

Not a person’s shadow. Not the shadow of a building or a banner.

A shadow standing in the middle of the chaos, completely still while everything moves around it. A shadow shaped like a man in armor, watching the destruction with what might be satisfaction.

And as you watch, the shadow turns its head.

It looks at you.

Your blood freezes.

Then another explosion rocks the square, and when you look again, the shadow is gone.

The Elder appears beside you, grabbed by guards who are trying to pull him to safety. His clouded eyes find yours.

“The temple!” he shouts. “Come to the temple! I must tell you—”

He’s pulled away before he can finish.

Kira—a young guard you recognize from the merchant district, barely older than you—runs past, her face smeared with soot. “Fire’s spreading! We need every able body to help evacuate!”

You stand at the crossroads.

The temple, where the Elder waits with answers.

The burning district, where people need help.

You have to choose.