The air was thick with tension, a heavy silence that clung to the room like a veil. Elyra's chest heaved, her breath shallow, her hands trembling as they gripped the hilt of her blade. Kael stood before her, his figure rigid, his eyes narrowed with something too cold to be mere resolve.
"You have to be lying," Elyra's voice wavered, the words caught in her throat like daggers.
Kael didn't answer. He didn't have to. The truth hung between them, undeniable, as the echoes of the Pale Flame's whispers filled the space like a sinister song.
"I trusted you," she continued, the heat of betrayal burning in her chest. "You were supposed to protect me, to stand by me. But all along—all along—you were hiding this from me?"
Her pulse hammered in her temples. The weight of the revelation was suffocating, and for a moment, she wondered if the ground beneath her would simply swallow her whole. It was too much. Too much to bear. The Pale Flame wasn't just some distant threat, some far-off enemy. No, it was inside them now. Inside him.
Kael's jaw clenched, but his gaze never wavered. He stood unmoving, a dark figure against the backdrop of the flickering flames, his eyes cold, unreadable.
"Do you really think I had a choice?" His voice was low, controlled, but there was something sharp underneath, like a blade pressed against her skin. "Do you think this is something I wanted? No, Elyra… it's what I was born into. It's what you were born into."
Her head spun, the weight of his words pressing on her like a vice. "Born into?" she repeated, disbelief dripping from her tone. "So you're telling me you chose this? Chose to be the Pale Flame's vessel?"
The words stung more than she expected. She had always believed Kael was better than this, that somewhere deep inside him was a shred of humanity that would fight against the darkness. But now, standing before her, he looked like nothing more than the embodiment of that very darkness. Cold. Unyielding.
"You don't understand," Kael said, taking a step toward her. "I didn't choose this—none of us did. It's a curse, Elyra. A necessary curse." His eyes flashed, and for a brief second, she saw something more than ice in his gaze. Was it regret? Desperation? "You think I wanted this? To be nothing more than a tool for a power that was never meant to be controlled? A monster trapped in a cage of my own making?"
Elyra's heart twisted, but she could feel the anger rising in her chest once more. "Don't you dare pretend that you're the victim here, Kael!" she spat. "You have no idea what it's like to be the one who's been betrayed. To have someone you love—someone you trust—turn into a stranger before your very eyes. I thought you were on my side. But you've been playing me the entire time."
"I never—"
"You lied to me," she cut him off, the words burning in her throat like acid. "You told me we were fighting for something greater, that we could change everything. But now I see it, Kael. All of it. Your grand plans, your secrets… they were never for me. They were always for you."
Her voice cracked as the weight of those words crushed her spirit. Every moment they had shared, every promise, every touch—it was all a lie. All of it.
Kael's expression faltered for the briefest of moments, and it was enough to make her hesitate. She saw the flicker of something deeper, something he'd kept buried. The remnants of the Kael she once knew. The Kael who wasn't just the Pale Flame's puppet.
But then, the coldness returned. His shoulders stiffened, and he shook his head. "You have no idea what you're talking about, Elyra. If I could've chosen another path, I would've."
But his words rang hollow, empty, as if they were the echoes of a man who had long since abandoned hope. And maybe, just maybe, that was the worst part of all. That Kael, the man she had loved—who she thought could change—was already gone.
"No." She shook her head violently, tears stinging her eyes. "You chose this path, Kael. You chose it when you decided to embrace the Pale Flame's power. Don't you dare act like you're some victim in this. You are the one who turned your back on us. On me."
The silence that followed was deafening. It wrapped around them, a thick, suffocating fog that made it hard to breathe. Kael didn't move. Didn't speak. He just stood there, watching her with an unreadable expression.
"I… I can't," Elyra whispered, her voice barely audible, as if the words had to fight their way out of her chest. "I can't look at you anymore. I can't be a part of this. Not like this."
For a long moment, it felt like time itself had frozen. Elyra didn't know whether to run, to scream, to fight, or to collapse. The world around her felt so far away, distant and broken.
Kael didn't stop her as she turned away, her back to him, her heart shattering with every step she took.
"Elyra," Kael's voice broke through the thick silence, sharp and desperate. "Don't leave me like this."
She paused, her heart twisting at the raw pain in his voice. But she didn't turn around. She couldn't. If she did, she was afraid she might never be able to walk away.
"I'm sorry," Elyra whispered. "I wish things were different."
And with that, she was gone.