The inside of the Ashen Crown's fortress was nothing like Kaelen remembered from the outside.
It was alive.
The walls pulsed faintly with heat, veins of glowing crystal running through dark metal like molten blood beneath skin. Every step Kaelen took echoed unnaturally, as if the fortress itself was listening—watching—judging him.
His boots hit the floor in a roll as he landed inside a broken balcony. Behind him, the storm raged, but inside the air was suffocatingly hot. He straightened, skyblade drawn, its starsteel edge reflecting the orange glow of the Stellar Flame embedded into the walls.
"So this is where you hide her…" Kaelen muttered.
A sharp whistle cut through the air.
Kaelen twisted just as a spear of condensed flame slammed into the wall where his head had been a moment earlier. He sprinted forward as armored figures emerged from the corridors—elite Ashen Crown enforcers, their armor glowing with burning sigils.
"Kill him," one barked. "The Captain wants him alive."
Kaelen's lips curled into a grim smile.
"Bad choice."
He surged forward.
Steel met flame in a violent clash. Kaelen ducked beneath a sweeping halberd, slammed his elbow into a guard's chest, and drove his blade upward. The armor cracked, releasing a burst of unstable fire that consumed its wearer from within.
Another guard lunged. Kaelen kicked off the wall, flipped over the attack, and landed behind him. One clean strike. Down.
But more kept coming.
Kaelen's breathing grew heavier as the corridor filled with smoke and scorched metal. His arms burned from repeated swings, but his mind was sharp—focused on one thing only.
Lyra is here.
He could feel it now. Not magic. Not power. Something deeper. Like a pull in his chest guiding him forward.
The corridor opened into a vast chamber supported by floating platforms and rotating crystal rings. At the center stood a towering pillar of pure Stellar Flame, rising all the way into the fortress ceiling.
And beside it—
Kaelen froze.
Lyra stood at the edge of the platform, her back to him.
Her armor was sleek and elegant, forged from glowing embersteel. Flames drifted around her like living wings. She looked stronger… untouchable… and impossibly distant.
"Lyra," he said again, louder this time.
She turned.
Her eyes locked onto him, burning gold and crimson. The air trembled as her power reacted to his presence.
"You shouldn't be here," she said coldly. "Leave. Before I end you."
The words hit harder than any blade.
"…It's me," Kaelen said, lowering his weapon. "Kaelen."
Something flickered in her expression. A fracture. A hesitation so brief it might've been imagined.
But then the flame surged.
"I don't know that name," Lyra replied. "I serve the Ashen Crown."
Kaelen took a step forward. "They took you. Twisted you. This isn't you."
Her hands clenched. The Stellar Flame roared higher behind her, responding to her rising emotions.
"Stop," she snapped. "You're lying."
Another presence entered the chamber.
Slow, deliberate footsteps echoed as Valarion, the leader of the Ashen Crown, emerged from the shadows. His cloak flowed like living fire, his smile calm and cruel.
"Ah… the lost lover," Valarion said. "You arrived faster than expected."
Kaelen didn't look away from Lyra. "Let her go."
Valarion chuckled. "She is free. More free than she's ever been."
Lyra's jaw tightened.
Kaelen finally raised his blade again—not at her, but at Valarion.
"This fortress," Kaelen said, voice steady despite the chaos inside him, "will fall."
Valarion spread his arms. "Then burn with it."
Flames exploded outward.
Lyra moved first.
She vanished in a flash of fire and reappeared before Kaelen, her blade blazing. Their weapons collided, sending shockwaves through the chamber.
Kaelen staggered back, eyes wide—not from fear, but from pain.
She was holding back.
Even if she didn't remember him… some part of her still couldn't strike him down.
As they clashed again, Kaelen realized something terrifying and hopeful all at once:
This wasn't just a battle for revenge anymore.
It was a battle for her soul.
And Kaelen would burn the skies themselves before losing her again.
END OF CHAPTER II..
COMING UP
ACT I - CHAPTER III : WHEN FIRE HESITATES
Images flooded Lyra's mind without warning.
Twin moons reflected in crystal fields.
Laughter echoing through the wind.
A boy reaching out his hand and promising he would never leave her.
TO BE CONTINUED...