The rift tore wider, jagged edges of crackling energy slicing through the still night air. The cloaked figure stepped forward, his boots silent against the cold stone floor of the palace courtyard.
Aric stood at the window, heart hammering in his chest. Voidflame flickered faintly in his palm, ready but restrained.
The figure slowly raised a hand, revealing a symbol burned into his palm a dark sigil that pulsed with malevolent energy.
"I am Kaelen," the voice echoed, deep and cold like winter's bite. "Bearer of the Broken Flame, and harbinger of what is to come."
Selene stepped beside Aric, her stance defensive.
"Kaelen," she hissed. "You dare bring your darkness here."
Kaelen smiled, but there was no warmth in it.
"This world owes me a reckoning. The Voidflame was stolen used and abused and I've come to reclaim it."
Cobard appeared behind them, sword drawn.
"Not while I still breathe," the emperor declared, his voice steel.
Kaelen laughed, a sound like shattering glass.
"You and your empire have no idea what you've awoken."
The ClashMagic flared, and the courtyard erupted into chaos. Kaelen summoned shadowy tendrils of flame, twisting and curling like serpents.
Aric summoned his own Voidflame, the black fire dancing wildly but controlled, a stark contrast to Kaelen's burning chaos.
The two powers clashed, a storm of light and darkness, fire and ash.
Selene fought off Kaelen's summoned beasts, while Cobard protected the fleeing attendants.
In the midst of battle, Kaelen's voice cut through the noise.
"You think you understand the Voidflame? Foolish boy."
He raised his palm again, and from it, a glowing shard appeared a fragment of something ancient and broken.
"This shard… it contains the essence of the original flame. The true power. Not some diluted ember like what you wield."
Aric's eyes widened.
"Then what… what is this?" he demanded.
Kaelen's grin turned cruel.
"It's a curse, a legacy, and a chain. You were never meant to control it."
Suddenly, the shard shattered.
A blinding explosion of light and darkness enveloped the courtyard.
When the light faded, Kaelen was gone.
Aric fell to his knees, breath ragged.
Selene's eyes scanned the horizon.
"We're just getting started."