There had always been four sparks of divine blood running through Eldaris, the chosen lineages of Humans, Elves, Dwarves, and Demons. Each had proven its worth in fire, shadow, and sacrifice.
But deep in the heart of Veyrium, beneath the shattered throne, lay a fifth chamber. Unseen, unspoken, sealed not by magic, but by choice.
Alden stood before it now.
The Custodian bowed low. "This vault holds the truth that was erased not by fate, but by fear."
The chamber's seal bore the mark of five overlapping circles forming a single star, the symbol of balance, unity, and forgotten power. At Alden's touch, the chamber opened.
Inside lay a pool of starlight.
"It's not water," Elira whispered, kneeling at its edge.
"No," said the Custodian. "It is Remembrance the First Memory."
Alden looked into it and saw himself, but not just as he was now. He saw countless versions: a tyrant crowned in obsidian, a wanderer lost to time, a unifier reborn in flame, a child holding a sword too large for his hands.
Each was real. Each was possible.
One figure stood apart.
Not older, not younger; but truer.
It had Alden's face, Ardent Kael's eyes, and something else entirely: a mark glowing on his chest, the Fifth Spark, burning gold.
The Custodian spoke solemnly. "The Fifth Spark is not a power. It is a memory that never was, waiting to be chosen."
Alden reached into the pool.
The memory entered him.
He awoke to blinding light.
Around him, the chamber had changed. It was no longer made of stone and dream, it pulsed like a heartbeat.
Elira gasped. "Alden… your eyes…"
They now glowed with dual colors: the silver of the stars and the golden hue of the First Flame.
"I saw him," Alden whispered. "Velkaron… not as a monster. Not even as a king. He was one of us. One of the Five."
Elira frowned. "Then why did he fall?"
"Because he wanted a world without endings," Alden said. "And the others… were afraid."
The Custodian nodded. "And now, you have inherited his choice."
Far to the north, in Ironspine, Queen Freya stood in the Rune Vault, where ancient relics from before the First War were kept sealed beneath chains of soulmetal. Myrin, her chief rune-caster, finished his latest translation.
"It's no longer theoretical," he said. "The Fifth Spark… it binds fate to will. Whoever holds it can resist even the Convergence."
Freya folded her arms. "Then Alden is no longer just a king. He's the balance itself."
Myrin's eyes darkened. "But if he fails, he'll become the Echo—the very thing Velkaron turned into."
In Sylvaran, Kaelen knelt before Queen Selene as she read an ancient prophecy.
"It says the Fifth shall walk between worlds, but only those who remember the truth shall follow him."
Kaelen looked grim. "Velkaron's Heralds have already begun spreading false memories. If people forget the Four Kings, forget Ardent Kael… Alden will be alone."
Selene stepped forward. "Then we must remind them. Prepare the Crystal Archives. The world must remember."
In Netherhollow, the demon clans fractured again. Some believed Alden's transformation was a lie, a trick to claim the power Velkaron once held.
But General Vharzak had seen the signs.
He knelt before a flaming mirror and whispered into it.
"The Fifth Spark burns again. Should we follow him, or destroy him?"
The mirror responded with a single word:
"Decide."
Back in Veyrium, Alden sat at the broken throne.
He could feel the memory now. Not just in dreams, but in the very bones of the world. Rivers twisted their paths to align with the Fifth Sigil. The wind whispered not his name, but his choice.
Elira placed her hand on his shoulder. "What will you do with the Spark?"
He looked at her, and in his eyes, she saw every possible future at once.
"I won't rewrite the world," Alden said softly. "I'll remember the one we were meant to be."
Behind him, the broken throne began to hum.
And piece by piece, it began to reform.