The inferno at the western gates roared through the still night, a vicious blaze lighting up Salverdine's ancient stone walls. Soldiers scrambled, shouting orders amid the chaos, but the surprise attack had already sown confusion and fear.
Aric thundered through the palace corridors, his breath ragged, the crystallized ember against his chest burning hotter with each step. The war horn's call echoed, warning of the breach, but deeper than the alarm was the cold shadow twisting inside his mind betrayal.
"Aric! To the gates! We need every able hand," Cobard's voice rang through the chaos as he mounted his horse, already commanding from the front lines.
Selene appeared beside Aric, her eyes aflame with determination. "We can't let them take the city. Not now."
The courtyard was a maelstrom of clashing steel and roaring magic. Flames licked at the wooden scaffolding, while Voidflame rebels surged forward like a tide of black fire. Their weapons shimmered with a sickly dark glow that burned at the edges of reality itself.
Aric gripped his sword, the ancient blade humming as the ember flared. He could feel the power within him raw, dangerous, but necessary.
He leapt into the fray, cutting down rebels with precision, each strike fueled by the fury of protecting everything he loved.
Beside him, Cobard fought like a storm unleashed every movement deadly, every swing a command for victory. Yet, even the emperor's legendary skill struggled against the relentless tide.
Ash the battle raged, Aric's mind kept returning to the whisper the chilling hint that someone inside the palace had betrayed them.
"Someone opened the gates," he muttered between breaths.
Selene's eyes darkened. "There are eyes everywhere. We must find the traitor before it's too late."
Cobard's voice cut through the din. "We need to hold the inner keep. The child must be protected at all costs."
Aric nodded. "I'll take a group to secure the vault."
Insde the palace's shadowed halls, Aric led a small band of trusted warriors and mages toward the child's chamber. The air was thick with smoke and tension, each step echoing in the eerie silence between the battle's roars.
As they approached the vault, Aric's senses sharpened something was off. The wards flickered weakly, as if someone had tampered with them.
"Someone's been here," he whispered, his voice tight with anger and fear.
The heavy stone door was cracked, smoke curling from the edges. Inside, the chamber was a scene of chaos scrolls scattered, protective charms shattered.
And the child's cradle stood empty.
The Vanished Flame"No!" Solinine's cry echoed as she burst into the room behind them, her face pale but fierce. "The child… taken?"
Aric clenched his fists, his heart pounding with a mix of rage and desperation. "We need to find them now."
Solenine's eyes filled with tears, but her voice was steady. "The child is the key. Without protection, the Broken Flame will be lost to darkness."
Back at the throne room, Lord Varren stood calm amid the chaos, but his eyes glinted with something colder than fear calculation.
Cobard confronted him, sword drawn, rage in his voice. "You led them here. How deep does your betrayal run?"
Varren smiled thinly. "The empire is weak, your reign faltering. The Voidflame offers a new order a chance for true power."
"You've doomed us all," Cobard spat, ready to strike.
But before the emperor could act, guards seized Varren, dragging him away as the traitor hissed, "This isn't over, Emperor. The flame you cherish will burn you."
With the child missing and the traitor captured, the empire was thrown into turmoil. Aric, Solinine, and Cobard convened in the war chamber, faces etched with determination and exhaustion.
"We must find the child before the Voidflame does," Solinine said, her voice breaking with urgency. "The balance depends on it."
Aric turned the crystallized ember over in his hand. "The shards will guide us. Their power is linked to the child's."
Cobard nodded. "Gather our fastest riders. We leave at once. No time to waste."
As the search party prepared to depart, Aric lingered, eyes scanning the darkened corners of the throne room.
The golden eyed woman from before had vanished as mysteriously as she'd appeared. Her warning echoed in his mind ancient forces beyond the Voidflame's reach, hungering for the Broken Flame.
He knew this battle was far from over.
The Child's WhisperMiles away, in the dense forests beyond Salverdine, the child floated peacefully in the arms of a cloaked figure. The infant's golden pupils blinked open, and a faint glow pulsed from within, casting flickering shadows on the leaves.
A whisper, barely audible, drifted on the wind.
"Father…"
The figure's grip tightened, eyes flashing with a dangerous light.
"You are the flame the world fears and the hope it needs."
The wind howled through the trees as the darkness closed in.