Setting: Temple of Virell — A forgotten sanctuary where two flames once burned together
Theme: Reunion, revelation, prophecy's second verse, the cost of power
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[Scene 1 – The Temple Stirs]
The Temple of Virell had no worshippers left.
Only stone guardians and walls scorched by forgotten wars remained.
Kaelrin stood at the center of the ruined sanctum, hands resting on the hilt of his blade.
Beside him: Thorne, silent, watching the altar flicker with unstable flame.
Then… light pierced the shadow.
Lyra arrived.
She wore a cloak of twilight silk, her steps echoing power.
But her eyes — they were different. Deeper. Wiser. Fractured.
Kaelrin's voice trembled as he stepped forward.
> "You remember."
> "I remember everything," she said softly. "The pact. The lie. The first flame."
Silence.
Then she added:
> "And… you."
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[Scene 2 – Reunion and Reckoning]
They faced each other — Kaelrin, flame-bound guardian of Velaris… Lyra, bearer of the eternal flame, and now, heir to forgotten truth.
> "They made us forget," she whispered.
> "Because we were too strong together," he said.
Thorne watched from the edge of the broken altar, jaw clenched.
> "This temple… it was yours," he muttered.
> "No," Lyra said. "It was ours. Mine and Kaelrin's. Once."
Kaelrin turned to her, voice low.
> "The prophecy… it had another line, didn't it?"
She nodded. Then recited it:
> "Two flames shall rise when the stars forget their names —
But only one shall remain… to carry the flame."
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[Scene 3 – The Choice of Flame]
The ground began to quake — not from Selaria's forces, but from within the temple itself.
Relan appeared in a burst of glyphfire, robes scorched.
> "They've activated the Emberheart beneath Velaris. If it breaches, the flame will consume both nations."
Thorne cursed. "So this was her endgame."
Lyra looked toward the altar.
> "There is one way to stop it."
> "No," Kaelrin said instantly. "You're not sacrificing yourself."
> "It's not a sacrifice… It's a choice," she said. "The flame demands one bearer. Not two."
The temple responded — the flames split into two spectral forms:
One pale-gold, calm and bright.
The other scarlet-red, wild and devouring.
Kaelrin and Lyra stepped forward.
> "Choose," Relan said, "before the flame chooses for you."
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[Scene 4 – The Past Repeats]
Visions assaulted them both as they stepped into the fire:
Lyra, kneeling before the First Flame, promising to protect love over duty.
Kaelrin, burning a city to stop a god, his scream silent as his soul fractured.
A past life. A shared vow. A betrayal no one remembered — until now.
And then…
> "One must burn," said a voice ancient and deep, "so the other may live."
The flames pulsed, as if awaiting decision.
Lyra reached for the golden flame.
Kaelrin stepped toward the red.
But Thorne — silent till now — screamed:
> "NO!"
He dashed forward…
And threw himself into the red flame.
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[Scene 5 – The Consequence]
The temple cracked.
The flames collided.
And when the dust settled…
Only one flame remained — golden, steady, and bound to Lyra.
Thorne's body lay near the altar — burnt, but… smiling.
> "He took the choice from us," Kaelrin said, voice raw.
> "He gave us the ending we couldn't write," Lyra whispered.
And as the first light of dawn hit the Temple of Virell —
The last barrier between Velaris and Selaria fell.
War would begin at sunset.
But the fire…
Had chosen its queen.
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To Be Continued in Chapter 37: "Ashes Before Dawn"
Coming Soon:
Velaris prepares for war
Lyra's full power awakens — but at a cost
Selaria makes her final move
A forbidden resurrection attempt changes the board