Alden slipped away from the group as dusk settled, seeking a quiet corner against the high colosseum wall. The noise of the stands was a distant roar. He pressed his palm against the rough stone and closed his eyes. Tiredness pulled at his limbs, but sleep would not come. Instead, an old voice echoed behind his lids.
He saw her: a girl without a name. In his memory she was as real as the torch in his hand — a scruffy commoner with dirt-stained hands and eyes that would not bow. He remembered the heat of afternoon light on her face as she roared defiance at a packed arena that had jeered at her coming. She had no noble line to boast, but that did not stop her. Alden remembered how he had felt then: powerless and angry, yet stunned by her courage.
She had wrenched his world open. In that past life, Alden had been a street urchin hungry for a cause. She gave him purpose. She showed the weak how to stand tall. He could feel her hands on his shoulders, lifting him up when he faltered. She made promises with her words, and he believed every one. Together they had dreamed of changing the world, believing justice could live in her hands.
He still remembered the crown's moment: golden light across her smile as she became the Phoenix before him. But even as he cheered, he saw the darkness gathering. Envy and fear had turned old allies into assassins. Alden felt the nightmare of that betrayal in vivid detail: the blade's gash, the crimson pouring into the sand, the silence after her voice was cut off. She had won the contest of blades and hearts against all odds, but it was her death that echoed louder in Alden's soul — how much blood had been spilled to take her down.
Alden opened his eyes, heart heavy and hands trembling. The sky was deep indigo now, lanterns flickering into life around the amphitheater. He had been changed once by the Phoenix; he would not shy away again. The memory faded like smoke, but the fire it ignited in him remained. For her sake and for all the innocents who fell because of her, he would honor every promise she inspired. The tournament still waited — but Alden would carry her voice with him as the battles started anew.