"A spark ignored becomes a wildfire uncontained."
The sky bled crimson at dawn.
Smoke coiled upward from the mountain's lower edge, curling into the horizon like a serpent freshly stirred. Kael stood barefoot in the training yard, his body sore from last night's storm. His fists remained wrapped in cloth, stained from dried blood—not from combat, but from the claw marks he'd left in the shrine's stone.
It had been the worst transformation yet.
And the voice? It lingered.
Even now, in the chill morning air, it echoed inside him like a whispering ember refusing to die.
Let me out.
"Kael."
He turned. Master Jino approached, his footsteps slow. Behind him walked a stranger.
A girl.
Her robes were healer-white, laced with golden embroidery that shimmered like starlight. Long chestnut hair framed her soft face, and her silver eyes—strange, unblinking—locked onto Kael as though she had known him for lifetimes.
"This is Aira Ven," Jino said. "She has come from the Sanctuary of Lysari."
Kael blinked. "That's across the Whispering Dunes. That's... weeks away."
"And yet, here she stands," Aira replied, her voice soft but confident.
Kael lowered his eyes. The energy in her presence felt... familiar. As though sunlight wrapped around her.
"Why are you here?"
"To help you," she said.
Jino stepped aside. "You will train with her today. Not physically. Spiritually."
Kael frowned. "I don't need spirit talks. I need control. I need to beat the night back."
"And you shall," Aira said, already walking into the inner temple. "But only if you first learn to stop fearing your flame."
---
The temple's inner sanctum had long remained locked to Kael. Now, its doors groaned open, revealing a chamber lit by floating crystals that pulsed with warm, golden hues. Murals of the ancient Sun Wars lined the walls—heroes wielding radiant spears, monsters swallowed in holy fire.
Aira knelt at the center of the room.
Kael hesitated.
"Sit," she said, without looking at him.
He obeyed.
They sat in silence for a moment, facing one another.
"Close your eyes."
Kael did.
"Now... follow the flame."
Immediately, his chest tightened.
The fire inside him stirred like a sleeping beast. Warm at first. Then too warm. Then blistering.
He winced.
"Breathe," Aira whispered.
He tried.
"What do you see?"
"Light... heat... pain."
"Look deeper."
Kael pushed further.
The world disappeared.
He stood now in a realm of glowing ash. His own silhouette flickered, wrapped in fire. And across from him, in the same space, stood a second Kael—but darker. His eyes black. His hands clawed. The mark of the curse etched into his skin.
"You again," Kael muttered.
The shadow smiled. "You know I am you."
"You're the worst of me."
"No. I am the forgotten of you. The abandoned. The buried. But even buried things can bloom."
Kael clenched his fists. "I won't let you control me."
"Then stop pretending I don't exist. You want control? Accept me."
The shadow lunged.
Kael braced for impact—but instead, the scene shattered like glass.
He opened his eyes.
Aira was holding his hand.
"What did you see?" she asked gently.
He didn't answer.
But in that moment, he realized something.
The darkness inside him... it wasn't just a curse. It was a part of him. Not an intruder. Not a parasite.
It was a wound.
And wounds do not heal by denial.
---
That night, Kael stood again in the courtyard.
This time, alone.
He let the darkness come.
No chanting. No resistance. Just breath.
And for the first time, the transformation slowed.
His skin glowed gold, but no shadows cracked through. His eyes shifted but did not go black. The fire licked his veins, but it did not devour him.
He stood firm.
He was learning.
Then came the scream.
It echoed through the monastery like a jagged dagger in the wind.
Kael turned.
Jino was down. Blood pooled at his side.
Figures in black armor scaled the courtyard wall—eyes glowing red, masks carved like skulls.
The Reapers.
Kael ran.
His body blurred as he launched himself into the fray. His fist collided with one attacker, sending the Reaper flying into the wall. He spun, catching another with a kick that sent sparks through the air.
But there were too many.
Aira rushed from the inner temple, holding a staff glowing with sigil-light. She chanted in Lysari tongue.
Jino was down. Blood pooled at his side.
Figures in black armor scaled the courtyard wall—eyes glowing red, masks carved like skulls.
The Reapers.
Kael ran.
His body blurred as he launched himself into the fray. His fist collided with one attacker, sending the Reaper flying into the wall. He spun, catching another with a kick that sent sparks through the air.
But there were too many.
Suddenly—
A flash of silver and gold.
Aira burst from the inner temple, her staff raised high, glowing with sigil-light.
She closed her eyes, her voice rising in sacred cadence. The language that left her lips was not of this world—it rang with purity, a tongue forgotten by most but known in the deepest realms of light.
"Elyon'sa nareth úvale,
Shen'nai varo'tal en'mirien,
Lys'arion sepharah-telun,
Vareth il'canta, varael ishen.
Sol'enith arae miradion,
Ten'kai lorun val'shadrin,
Kaelarion vest'hera nual,
Na'shalen coreth verel'un.
Esha'nai talrien na'vahl,
Ferion ashal'ael virundar,
Thal'mora sylensar ethriem,
Core'nai ven'luminar!
Lumier'an valashien!
Yen'sael varon'tira!
Mireth sol'ira va'alorien!
Silanthus lys'themoré!
—Ly'ashar! Ly'ashar! Varan-tel!
Lumen Coreh—Arin'el shurai!"
Meaning
"By the blood of the flame unburnt,
By the silence of stars reborn,
Let the light of the Chosen awaken,
Let the void be banished once more.
From the sacred sunstone heart,
To the hidden river of shadows,
Let the heir rise from the ashes,
And summon the truth of fire.
I cast this veil against night,
I command the winds of mercy,
May the pure flame burn through darkness,
And let the Core reveal its light!
Shine forth, forgotten star!
Break forth, sacred word!
Ignite, chosen fire of old!
Deliver us from silence!
—Awaken! Awaken! Sacred flame!
Lumen Core—Reveal thy heir!"
The air pulsed with radiant power.
Circles of light erupted around her feet, blazing with symbols that only the Lysari priests could read. The Reapers shrieked as the spell took form.
A shockwave of golden energy burst from her staff.
Three Reapers were flung into the monastery wall, their bodies seared by divine fire. Others shielded their eyes and stumbled back.
"Get Master Jino!" she screamed.
Kael nodded, scooping up the fallen master.
A blast of light erupted, scattering several of the invaders.
"Get Master Jino!" she screamed.
Kael nodded, scooping up the fallen master.
Jino gasped. "They came for the Core... not you... not yet..."
"What?"
"They don't know. You're still safe."
From the shadows, a figure stepped forward.
He was cloaked in armor darker than night, etched with veins of pulsating red. His face was hidden beneath a dragon-shaped mask.
Kael didn't recognize him. But the aura was unmistakable.
The leader of the Reapers. A whisper of Malvorn's will.
The figure tilted his head. "Who protects the Lumen Core here?" he asked in a voice like cracking stone.
Kael stepped forward, hiding his glow, masking his flame. "No one. The Core isn't here."
The Reaper hesitated. "Then this temple is of no use. Burn it."
Kael set Jino down gently.
"No. You won't."
He raised his hand.
Just enough light.
Just enough power to make them fear what might come next.
The Reaper stared at him.
Something uncertain flickered behind the mask.
And then he turned. "Fall back."
The Reapers disappeared into the night.
Kael fell to his knees.
Aira ran to him.
"What just happened?"
"They don't know yet," Kael said. "But they will."
He looked to the mountains.
"And when they do... nothing will ever be the same."