The next night came without dreams.
For the first time in weeks, Aarohi slept — deeply, soundlessly — and woke to a room that felt different.
The cracks in the mirror were gone.The black feather had turned white.And the mark on her throat — the one that burned like a secret — had spread faintly across her collarbone, its veins glowing beneath her skin like threads of fire.
Something inside her had changed.She could feel the air now — the pulse of life in the walls, the hum beneath the ground.The world was no longer quiet; it was whispering to her.
The Invitation
When she stepped out of bed, a folded note waited by the window.No one could've entered — but she didn't need to guess who it was from.
The handwriting was elegant, familiar.
Follow the shadows. I'll be waiting.— A
She hesitated only a second before stepping outside.
The street was empty. The city slept beneath the weight of fog, and every light she passed flickered once, as if acknowledging her presence.
And then she saw it — black feathers scattered in a line leading toward the edge of town, where the old abandoned church stood.
The Training Ground
Inside the church, the world shifted.It wasn't ruins anymore — not completely.
Candlelight filled the aisles, and strange symbols burned faintly on the stone floor. At the center, Arin stood waiting.
He looked different — his coat gone, his shirt rolled at the sleeves, the mark of some ancient sigil glowing faintly across his wrist.
"You came," he said quietly.
"I didn't really have a choice, did I?"
His lips curved into a faint smile. "You always have a choice. You just never take the safe one."
She crossed her arms. "So what now? Another riddle? Another warning?"
He stepped closer, his presence almost magnetic. "Training."
"Training for what?"
"For survival."
Awakening the Flame
He circled her slowly, his voice low and calm.
"The Flame is power born of emotion. It doesn't obey control — it obeys truth."
"Truth?" she echoed.
"You want to understand it? Then stop lying to yourself."
Aarohi frowned. "I'm not—"
Before she could finish, Arin lifted his hand. Shadows rippled beneath her feet, rising like tendrils. She gasped, stepping back, but they followed her — whispering, clutching, pulling her down.
"Arin!"
"Don't call me. Command it," he said sharply.
"I don't know how!"
"You do. You always did. Feel it — not with fear, but fire."
The shadows rose higher, cold and suffocating. Her heartbeat thundered. She wanted to scream, to run — but instead she felt something ignite inside her.
A heat that wasn't fear.It was defiance.It was hers.
Her hands burst into light. Not pure gold — but crimson, alive, burning like dawn.The shadows hissed and retreated instantly, dissolving into nothing.
She fell to her knees, gasping, the flames fading to a soft glow around her fingers.
When she looked up, Arin was smiling — a rare, quiet pride in his eyes.
"You remembered."
Aarohi's voice shook. "What… what was that?"
"The Flame. Your truth. You've only touched a fraction of it."
The Confession
As the last of the shadows faded, she stood, brushing her hair back."I saw something," she whispered. "A place… when it happened. Like a memory."
Arin tilted his head. "Where?"
"A field of red flowers. You were there. And I said—" she stopped, her throat tightening. "I said I'd find you again."
He was silent for a long moment before replying.
"You always do."
She met his eyes. "And then what happens?"
"Then you forget. And I lose you."
The sadness in his voice broke something inside her. She took a step closer."You could've let me stay gone."
"I tried."
He looked away, as if ashamed.
"But every time I see fire, I see you. Every time I close my eyes, I hear you. Even death got tired of separating us."
Her heart raced — not out of fear, but something deeper.
"Then maybe," she said softly, "it's time we stop running from it."
For a moment, the world stood still.No shadows. No curses. Just the quiet between two souls who had burned the world once — and might do it again, just to be together.
Arin smiled faintly. "Careful, Flame. You're starting to sound like the woman who doomed us."
Aarohi's lips curved. "Maybe she was right."