Chapter Sixty: City of Ghosts

Eliles, standing beneath Skywatch’s starry expanse, battles self-doubt after weeks of failing to replicate the Face’s shape-shifting abilities, despite mastering Elemental surges to test others. Seeking clarity, she uses Skywatch to locate key figures, first seeing Ivin in a grand southern city, Endelêun, near a pyramid, Tomarok, bustling with activity. Solineus and Lelishen appear at a smaller, ruined pyramid, Green Mountain, while Meliu is at Tomarok, confirming its holy significance. Pikarn’s presence in Istinjoln shocks her, raising questions about his survival. Temeru’s arrival interrupts, and Eliles tests her with Elemental energies, finding no trace of the Face. Engaging Temeru, Eliles learns her mother, Tuluth, lives near the Eleris Edan, offering a moment of shared humanity. Announcing Reinus’s public trial in two weeks, with Jinbin as arbiter, Temeru as prosecutor, and herself as defender, Eliles aims to expose the Face by leveraging a translated God Wars text and public opinion, despite Temeru’s confidence in Reinus’s guilt. Temeru’s taunt about the Salty Frog fire and the trial’s stakes—Eliles’s credibility as queen—heighten the tension. Alone again, Eliles seeks Dareun, stunned to see him alive in Istinjoln, sharing a fleeting, tearful connection before he departs. Leaving Skywatch, Eliles carries renewed hope from Dareun’s apparent survival, fueling her resolve to face the trial and unmask the Face, though uncertainties about Skywatch’s visions and her strategy linger.