The wind howled through the broken sky as the Pale King descended, wreathed in ancient power. His skeletal wings spread across the firmament like a death shroud, casting long shadows across the broken city of Nareth.
Below, the ground split.
The old Citadel, buried since the First Era, rose like a corpse from its grave. Spires of obsidian and bone clawed toward the heavens, crowned by a throne that bled smoke.
And upon it, he sat.
Valec stepped forward, flame swirling at his fingertips. "You shouldn't be here."
The Pale King tilted his head. "I was invited."
Amina's breath caught. "No…"
Behind them, Ashar turned pale. "Who—?"
Valec didn't look away. "I know that voice."
Because it was Amariel's voice.
Twisted.
Echoing.
But beneath the Pale King's hollowed armor, where a heart should have been, her flame pulsed.
"He took it," Amina whispered, horrified. "He took her soul."
---
Memories in Ash
In the hollow between moments, time cracked.
Amina saw flashes—Amariel, chained to the Throne of Embers, her scream torn across the cosmos. Valec weeping as her light dimmed. Kai watching it all from afar, eyes unreadable.
The Pale King had not killed Amariel.
He had become her prison.
"I should have died," Valec whispered. "Instead, I created him."
---
Kai's Choice
"I know what I have to do," Kai said, stepping forward.
Amina grabbed his arm. "No."
"She gave everything to protect the balance," he said. "And I've done nothing but run from my past."
He drew his blade.
It shimmered with a power that didn't come from the Ember—but from Kai himself.
"I will not be the mirror. I will be the fire that breaks it."
He leapt.
The Pale King raised a hand—and Kai vanished into a swirl of black glass and smoke.
Amina screamed his name.
But no one answered.
---
Ashar and the Fire Chain
In the silence that followed, Ashar fell to his knees.
"I see it," he said. "I see it now."
He reached into the earth, summoning a glowing chain—the same chain once used to bind Valec.
"I swore never to wield it again."
He looked at Amina.
"But I swore something else first. To protect you."
Amina's hands trembled. "This is all wrong. It wasn't supposed to be like this."
Valec placed a hand on her shoulder. "Destiny isn't prophecy, Flamebearer. It's choice."
And above them, the sky cracked a final time.
The Pale King rose from his throne.
"Then choose."
---
The Shattering
Amina raised her hand—and the Ember inside her blazed. It formed a spear of living flame, braided with Amariel's memory, Valec's regret, and Kai's defiance.
"I choose light."
She hurled the spear.
It struck the Pale King square in the chest.
The throne exploded.
Fire and shadow collided.
And as the world shuddered…
Amina vanished into the inferno.