Chapter Six – The Prophecy's Chains
The crimson glow of the Blood Moon refused to fade, even as dawn should have touched the horizon. Its light clung to the forest, bathing every tree in scarlet. The rift still pulsed behind Selene, though it had shrunk to a restless wound in the earth.
Kael steadied himself on Aria's shoulder. His body felt strong—unbreakable, eternal—but his mind was fraying like old rope. Every whisper in his skull clawed at him, urging him to surrender, to embrace the endless power and become more than mortal.
Selene's eyes lingered on him with both awe and pity. "The prophecy spoke of you long before your birth. When the Blood Moon bleeds thrice, the Infinite shall awaken. The Order will rise, and the key will decide—salvation or dominion."
Serin frowned, hand tightening on his sword. "That doesn't sound like a choice. It sounds like a trap."
"It is both," Selene replied. "The Order's magic was never meant to be wielded by men. They fractured it into pieces, bound it with blood and shadow. But Kael…" She turned her gaze back to him. "You are the vessel of it all. The first and last bearer of the Infinite Flame."
The words hit Kael like a hammer. His chest tightened. A memory—not his own—flashed before his eyes: ancient robed figures chanting beneath a blackened sky, pouring fragments of their souls into a single vessel. A child. Him.
He stumbled, clutching his head. "No… I wasn't… I can't…"
Aria gripped his hand tightly. "You are not their creation, Kael. You are you."
But her words were drowned out by the forest shuddering. A low hum filled the air, rising to a roar. Black sigils burned into the ground in every direction, spreading like wildfire.
Lyra's eyes went wide. "They've marked us! The Order's already here!"
Figures emerged from the trees—dozens of cloaked wraiths, their bodies seething with shadow, their faces hidden behind bone masks. At their center stood a man cloaked in crimson, his eyes glowing like molten iron.
Selene's voice sharpened. "A High Inquisitor."
The Inquisitor raised a hand, and the wraiths surged forward. Their shrieks tore through the air.
Kael's instincts ignited. Energy surged from him in waves, bending the very air, and in an instant the first line of wraiths disintegrated into ash. But as their bodies fell, he staggered. The whispers grew louder, drowning out even the screams of his enemies.
More… more… give us everything…
Aria rushed to him. "Kael, stop! Every time you use it, you lose yourself!"
"I have to!" Kael roared, his voice layered with infinite echoes. His eyes glowed, stars swirling in their depths. He raised his hand, and reality itself bent, warping the battlefield into a twisting nightmare of stone and flame.
The Inquisitor laughed, unshaken. "Yes… show me. Show me why you are the key."
Selene leapt into the fray, her blade cutting through shadows like silver lightning. Serin and Lyra fought at her side, steel and magic clashing against the wraiths. But Kael… Kael was becoming something else entirely.
The whispers inside him grew into a chorus. He could feel himself unraveling, his will dissolving into something vast and merciless. For a moment, he wasn't Kael anymore. He was infinite.
Aria threw her staff to the ground, a circle of light forming beneath them. She screamed his name, pouring every drop of her magic into the bond that tethered them.
"Kael! Come back!"
Her voice cut through the storm, pulling him back from the brink. His power snapped inward, collapsing into silence. He fell to his knees, gasping, his body trembling though unbroken.
The Inquisitor lowered his hand, watching with a smile. "You see now? The prophecy was never a lie. You are the Infinite Flame, Kael. You cannot escape it. You can only choose… whether to burn the world, or bind it."
With those words, he vanished into smoke, leaving the battlefield littered with ash.
Silence followed, broken only by Kael's ragged breaths. His friends gathered around him, their eyes filled with fear, anger, and something worse—doubt.
Selene's voice was quiet, but unyielding. "The Blood Moon has bled once. Twice more, and the prophecy will reach its end. And when it does…" She looked directly at Kael. "You will have to decide who you truly are."
Kael clenched his fists, staring at the blood-red sky. His heart thundered with rage and dread.
"I won't be their weapon. Not ever. If this prophecy wants me to choose…" His voice hardened into steel. "Then I'll break it."
The Blood Moon burned above, as if mocking his defiance. And somewhere in the shadows, the Inquisitor's laughter lingered.