One Week Later – Reclaimed Valley of Screams
The mines were no longer silent.
Where there was once the clang of chains and screams of slaves, there were now hammers ringing against steel, architects sketching with magical quills, and smiths forging weapons glowing with both ancient runes and modern alloys.
The Forgotten Flame was rising.
And so was hope.
Arjun stood at the edge of a scaffold overlooking the entire operation. Wooden beams being reinforced. Guard towers now bearing his new banner—red and gold, a phoenix wreathed in starlight. Soldiers trained below, sparring with precision. Children played beside old warriors who once only knew war.
It was, finally, a beginning.
Yet peace was never silent for long.
Kavi approached him from behind, holding a sealed message scroll.
"It's from the Sky Spire."
Arjun frowned. "The old capital?"
"No. The new Sky Spire," Kavi said grimly. "The one built by the Bannerless Alliance after our kingdom fell."
Arjun took the scroll and broke the seal. A symbol appeared, etched in black: a broken crown over a burning field.
The letter inside was short.
"To the Flame-Bearer,We have observed your actions.Withdraw from the valley immediately.Reclamation will be seen as rebellion.
Submit, or face extermination.– Supreme Marshal Volkov, Bannerless Alliance"
Arjun's grip tightened.
The war was no longer a whisper in the dark.
It was coming in daylight.
Elsewhere – Forbidden City Fracture, Central China
Liu stood at the edge of a broken bridge within the Forbidden Archives of Beijing. Under her were rivers of energy—ley lines exposed from the explosion of the Eastern War. The stones floated in segments, held aloft by gravity magic long lost to humanity.
Beside her stood a quiet, graceful woman with violet eyes and golden robes—the High Oracle of the Han Skyblood Clan.
"You have the key," the Oracle said.
Liu nodded. She pulled the dragon-leather book from her pack and opened it. This time, the pages glowed with an inner fire.
"To awaken the Sky Battalion,one must spill blood beneath the Star Gate.Not in war, but in vow."
The Oracle tilted her head. "You intend to raise a legion forged of gods?"
"I intend to give this world back its spine."
The Oracle laughed softly. "Be careful, little phoenix. Not every army born of gods remembers mercy."
As Liu turned to leave, the Oracle whispered something strange.
"Your flame... once burned brighter than a sun. But you are afraid to let it reignite."
Liu paused.
And for a moment... she felt it.
That something ancient was inside her.
Watching.
Waiting.
Back in the Valley – Command Tent
Arjun spread the map on the central table. Around it gathered the growing core of his council.
Liu returned not long after—her face unreadable.
"The Alliance knows," Arjun said, voice firm.
"They won't wait long," Kavi added. "Volkov is a warhawk. A proud one. The moment he sees a phoenix, he'll try to crush it."
Lady Miren spoke next, sipping from a copper flask. "Then we show him that this phoenix is made of iron and lightning."
"Logistics?" Arjun asked.
Tharaka grinned, tossing a modified radio core on the table. "Signal towers online. Forge line stable. Drones repairing outposts east and west. We're weeks from being ready for siege—but we're getting there."
Arjun turned to Liu. "And you?"
She slowly placed a relic key carved in black crystal onto the map.
"Sky Battalion wakes tomorrow."
Everyone fell silent.
Even Kavi—who had seen legends rise and fall—was solemn.
"The Sky Battalion were a myth," he muttered. "Aerial warriors fused with energy spirits. They leveled fortresses in seconds."
"They were real," Liu said. "And now they're ours."
Arjun stared at the map, then met their gazes.
"No more hiding. No more waiting."
He pointed to the western pass.
"We take Fort Silan. Then we ride for the Sky Gate."
Later that Night – Moonlit Balcony, Outer Walls
Arjun found Liu watching the stars again, her white cloak flowing in the wind.
"Do you miss it?" he asked.
She didn't look at him. "Miss what?"
"Normal life. Simpler times."
She sighed. "I don't think I ever had them. I've always been running. First from memories. Then from fate. Now… toward something I don't even fully understand."
He leaned on the railing beside her.
"I was never meant to lead," Arjun said. "In my time, I followed orders. Saved people. Fought wars I didn't question."
"And now?"
"Now I have to choose which wars matter."
Silence again.
Then Liu turned to him, her expression unreadable.
"Do you ever think about how this ends?"
"All the time."
"And?"
"I think we either change this world… or die trying."
She nodded.
Then did something unexpected.
She leaned forward, resting her forehead against his.
Not a kiss. Not yet.
But something more raw. More human.
"Don't let me fall alone," she whispered.
"You won't," he promised.
The Next Day – Star Gate, High Himalayas
A stone archway rose from the frost-covered cliffs like a throne half-buried in the sky. Carved into its surface were runes of a forgotten language that shimmered when sunlight hit them.
Liu walked to the center, barefoot, her robes fluttering in the freezing wind. In her hands, the relic key pulsed with ancient fire.
Behind her, Arjun and the others watched in silence.
"I offer not command," Liu said, voice echoing across the mountains, "but purpose."
She cut her palm and let her blood fall upon the central stone.
The moment it touched the rune, the entire archway screamed.
Winds howled.
Flames burst from the carvings.
And then... silence.
One by one, figures began descending from the sky—like falling stars.
Warriors in silver armor, faces masked, wings of light trailing behind them.
Each landed with thunderous grace.
And knelt.
Arjun stepped forward.
A woman among them removed her helmet, revealing eyes like blazing ice.
"We are the Sky Battalion," she said. "Our sleep ends by oath. Whose will do we now serve?"
Arjun didn't hesitate.
"You serve no king. You serve the people who need you."
The warriors rose.
And the world trembled.
At the Bannerless Alliance – Sky Spire Command
Volkov crushed the edge of his wine glass as the transmission came through.
"Sky Battalion... has awakened," his aide whispered.
The old general snarled. "So the game begins."
He turned to the massive map that dominated the room.
"Send word to the West. Activate Project Ragnarok. And summon the Crimson Tsar from Moscow."
"Sir?" the aide asked.
Volkov's lips curled into a cold smile.
"We're going to burn the phoenix out of the sky."