They say people break in silence.
I broke with a scream.
It happened the next day, in the middle of class—because the universe apparently has a sick sense of humor.
I hadn't slept. Not a wink. My head was spinning from last night: Aria's warning, my mother's sword, the word heir still burning behind my eyes.
I sat in third period math, fingers tapping out a frantic rhythm on my desk while Mr. Kado droned on about logarithms.
And then… the heat started.
It began in my chest—a flicker, like someone had lit a candle behind my ribs.
I gritted my teeth.
Not again. Not now.
I clenched my fists under the desk, willing it to stop.
But it didn't stop. It grew.
The warmth swelled, crawling up my throat, down my spine. Every heartbeat felt like a drum of war, booming inside me. My skin prickled. My vision blurred. And under it all, I heard it again:
A whisper. Deep. Ancient. Familiar.
"Burn."
"Mr. Vale?"
I blinked. Mr. Kado stood over me, frowning.
"Are you alright? You're sweating like crazy."
I looked down.
My hands were shaking. Tiny curls of smoke rose from my fingertips.
The entire class stared at me.
I bolted.
I didn't remember running through the halls.I barely remembered bursting through the back doors and into the field behind the school.
All I knew was that I had to get away before someone saw what was happening.
Before I hurt someone.
The heat kept rising. My chest felt like it was about to explode. My fingertips glowed with a dim, angry red, like coals beneath the skin.
Then I heard the scream.
Not mine.
Someone else's.
I turned.
And saw it.
A creature stepped out from behind the trees—tall, gaunt, wrapped in shadow like a tattered cloak. Its eyes burned like dying stars, and its mouth was a jagged split that stretched ear to ear.
Its voice wasn't sound.It was pressure.Like it pressed against reality just by existing.
"Heir."
I couldn't move. Couldn't breathe.
It raised a hand, and the air around it twisted, black veins lashing toward me like snakes.
Then a voice cut through the chaos.
"Get down!"
I dropped just in time to see a streak of light flash above me—sharp and fast like lightning made of glass.
The monster shrieked and reeled back, half its face seared off.
Aria stood between us, hand outstretched, eyes glowing with divine fury.
"Stay down, Kai," she said, calm but deadly. "This isn't your fight."
I stood anyway. My body was shaking, but not from fear.
From something else.
Something inside me… was waking up.
The creature hissed, lunging again, its claws aimed for Aria's throat.
She moved like a blade—dodging, slashing, her fingers weaving sigils of light mid-air. Runes burst around her, singing the air, slicing through shadow.
But the thing didn't stop. It didn't bleed. It just kept reforming, like smoke given hunger.
"I can't kill it here," Aria gritted out. "The veil's too thin—"
Suddenly, the monster lashed out with a second set of limbs. Too fast. Too wide.
I saw it coming for her.
Something in me snapped.
Time slowed.
Heat flooded my veins—not like before. Not flickering, not unsure.
This was a surge.A roaring, violent tide of fire that swallowed hesitation and doubt.
I raised my hand without thinking.
And everything ignited.
Flames burst from my arm—not red, but white-hot, like the surface of a star. The fire didn't burn me. It welcomed me. Bent to me.
It wrapped around the creature mid-strike and detonated.
The thing screamed as it was flung backward, its body scorched and twitching. Its shadow-form flickered wildly, unable to hold shape.
I stood there, panting, hand still glowing, fire dancing across my skin like a living thing.
Aria stared at me.
"You're… awake," she whispered.
"I don't know what I am," I said, voice trembling. "But I'm done running from it."
The creature didn't die.
It melted into black mist and fled, hissing a single word into the wind:
"Soon."
Aria didn't chase it. She turned to me instead, eyes still glowing faintly.
"That thing was a Hellspawn," she said. "It was drawn to your awakening. They'll keep coming now."
"Let them," I growled.
She looked at me with something between awe and concern.
"You burned it with Hellfire, Kai. That's not magic. That's not even demon blood. That's… primal. Only royalty wields it."
"I didn't even try," I said. "It just… happened."
"That's the problem," she muttered.
We walked in silence after that.
The sun was setting. The school behind us had no idea what just happened.
I couldn't stop staring at my hands.
They looked normal again. No burns. No marks.But I could still feel the fire curled beneath my skin. Waiting.
"Why didn't you tell me sooner?" I asked Aria. "Back in the courtyard. You knew everything."
"I was told not to interfere," she said. "Only to watch. Report. Let you awaken on your own."
"And now?"
She looked at me.
"Now I'm breaking the rules."
When I got home, Mom was waiting with her coat on and a sword at her side.
"Where is it?" she asked.
"It's gone," I said. "Aria helped."
Her eyes narrowed. "So she showed up."
"She saved me."
"She's still dangerous."
"So am I," I said.
She didn't argue.
Instead, she walked over, placed her hand gently on my cheek, and said, "I was afraid this would happen."
I looked into her eyes. "Why?"
"Because once you start down this path, there's no going back."
That night, I didn't dream of fire.
I stood in a vast throne room made of obsidian and bone.Flames crawled along the ceiling. Shadows bowed around me.
And on the throne ahead—empty and silent—waited a crown of horns.
I reached for it.
And something behind me whispered:
"Soon, my son. Soon."