The episode opens in the past.

Proxus recalls the final night of his childhood, a quiet evening before he was meant to accompany his father on his first hunt. His mother, a scholar devoted to researching the Three Heroes, fills their home with knowledge of a past Proxus never fully understood.

That peace does not last.

Without warning, the village is attacked.

The threat is unclear, unseen, something that moves through fire and chaos without ever fully revealing itself. As panic spreads, Proxus’s parents make a desperate decision. They send him away with the other children while they remain behind to defend the village.

It is the last time he sees them.

The memory fractures there, incomplete and unresolved.

Back in the present, Proxus admits he doesn’t remember the name of his village. Only the fire, the fear, and the certainty that something was wrong. What he does remember is his goal, to uncover who was responsible.

Elsewhere, within the Temple of Solthren, the High Priests convene in secret. Reports of missing clerics have begun to surface, and what disturbs them most is the absence of struggle, no signs of battle, no bodies, only disappearance.

A letter arrives from the Magistrate of Veynar, requesting additional healers to assist with a rise in bandit attacks. While some see it as routine, others are not convinced. One High Priest warns that the disappearances may be connected to something far more dangerous.

Something tied to the Luminare itself.

That night, Kairios dreams.

He stands before a door, now open. Visions flash before him, the Three Heroes releasing the Luminare into Aureth. But the vision twists. The light fades, replaced by a massive, bleeding eye staring back at him.

A voice echoes:

“Finally… the door has opened.”

Kairios wakes, shaken. He looks toward the door in his room, half-expecting something to be there, but finds nothing. Dismissing it as a dream, he tries to move forward, unaware of what he has just witnessed.

The following morning, reality resumes.

Kairios and Proxus cross paths again, discussing the caravan set to depart for Veynar. Proxus makes a simple, practical observation, if Kairios intends to continue his pilgrimage, he’ll need coin. And if there’s work to be done, Proxus will join him.

The two begin taking on small jobs around the city, establishing the start of their partnership.

One such job takes an unexpected turn when a distressed woman asks for help recovering her missing piglets. What begins as a simple task quickly becomes chaotic, as the animals cause havoc throughout the area. Despite the absurdity of the situation, Kairios and Proxus manage to track them down and return them safely.

It’s a small victory, but an important one.

They earn enough coin to secure their place with the caravan heading to Veynar.

As the episode closes, a darker thread emerges.

In a distant location, a man in white robes speaks of progress, mentioning that new research will soon be available for Dr. Ethos. Beside him stands a woman, calm, composed, and hauntingly familiar.

She bears a striking resemblance to Proxus’s mother.

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