Chains of Divinity

The war room in the Hidden Sanctum defied normal geometry. Shadows pooled in impossible corners, and reality itself seemed to breathe with contained tension. Selene stood at the center, her divine armor bearing the subtle marks of her long vigil at Vael'thar.

Valeria Nightfall positioned herself strategically, her own corrupted divine armor catching light in ways that made the void-touched veterans uneasy. Where others might have seen two divine warriors, her presence spoke of something more complicated.

Varok's scarred hand never strayed far from his weapon. Lady Seraphine's blades hummed with quiet menace, ready to strike at the slightest provocation. Lord Drenmir's scholarly demeanor couldn't mask the predatory calculation in his eyes.

"I do not seek your trust," Selene began, cutting through the rising tension. "I seek to help Kael remember."

Valeria stepped forward. "She speaks truth," she said quietly. "The memories aren't a prison. They're part of him. But only part."

"Explain," Varok demanded, his voice as hard as forged steel. "And choose your words carefully."

Selene met his gaze without flinching. "The divine energy isn't erasing or replacing his memories. These are genuine experiences - moments of simplicity, of a life lived quietly. But they are incomplete. A single thread in a tapestry far more complex." She produced a crystalline object that seemed to shift between transparency and solid form. "I can help him see the larger pattern. But only if he chooses to look."

Lord Drenmir's arcane instruments began to pulse, responding to the energy in the room. "And if he does not choose?"

"Then he remains as he is," Selene replied simply. "Trapped not by falsehood, but by incompleteness. Unaware of the full depth of his existence."

Lady Seraphine's blades caught the strange light, casting shadows that seemed alive. "Why would you help us? You were their guardian. Their most loyal servant."

A bitter smile crossed Selene's face. "I was a prisoner," she corrected. "Bound by laws that claimed to protect but truly only controlled. Kael represents everything I came to understand about true freedom."

Thrain, silent until now, spoke from near the chamber's entrance. His legendary shield hummed with protective energy. "What guarantee do we have?"

Valeria answered before Selene could. "No guarantees," she said, her voice carrying the weight of her own transformation. "Only choices. Kael himself taught us that."

The war room filled with a tense silence. Varok exchanged looks with the others - a communication born of countless battles and shared traumas. Every movement, every breath was a calculation.

"We will discuss," Varok said finally. "Privately."

Selene nodded, understanding this was no simple agreement. This was a negotiation for Kael's very existence.

Unsaid but understood: one wrong move, and she would not leave the room alive.

The real battle for his survival was about to begin.