POV: Kairo
She looked like her.
Standing there by the window — hair tangled, eyes glowing faintly from the moonlight — she looked exactly like the girl from my visions.
The one who burned the world.
And she didn't even know it yet.
Lyra's hands were trembling when I stepped into the room. But she didn't move. Didn't flinch. She just watched me like she wasn't sure if I was friend or threat.
I wasn't sure either.
"I felt it," I said.
She didn't answer.
So I moved closer.
"I lied to you."
That got her attention.
She blinked slowly, and her voice cracked when she finally spoke. "About what?"
"The prophecy," I said. "The one I told you was just about a bond. About obsession. That wasn't the full truth."
I stopped a few steps from her.
"The original prophecy was written in fireblood," I continued, my voice lower now. "It didn't just talk about love… it talked about rebirth. Destruction. A cycle that repeats every few generations. A flame… and a key."
"Flame and key?" she echoed.
I nodded. "The flame destroys. The key unleashes it. Together, they have the power to bring down kingdoms. Or save them."
Her breath caught. "And which one am I?"
I stared into her eyes. "You're both."
She took a step back.
"You were Emberlyn," I said, finally saying the name aloud. "You started it all. You ended it too. You fell in love with a man who was never meant to hold that much power. A man who gave up everything for you — even his soul."
"And you think I'm her?"
"I know you are."
She shook her head, laughing bitterly. "I don't even know who I am anymore, Kairo. You kept this from me. You let me think I was just… broken. Just haunted."
"I wanted to protect you," I said, the words falling too fast. "You weren't ready."
"Maybe I was never supposed to be."
Her voice dropped. She looked down — and that's when I saw it.
She was holding the blade.
Bare hands. No fear.
The metal should've burned her, but instead… it was glowing.
Golden. Alive.
"I touched it earlier," she whispered, not looking at me. "And something inside me… woke up."
I felt the air shift.
Then I felt her.
Not Lyra.
Not Emberlyn.
Something older.
Something that remembered pain. War. Love. Betrayal.
And it was looking through her eyes.
She raised her gaze to mine. "Kairo?"
"Yes?"
"I'm scared I'm not going to come back."
Then the blade lit up in flames — and her body collapsed.