The world was on the brink of breaking.
Elyra stood at the edge of the cliff, looking down at the chasm that separated them from the last of their hope. The wind howled around her, wild and unforgiving, as if the very elements themselves were grieving for what had been lost. Below her, the blackened landscape stretched out, a wasteland where the remnants of their battles still smoked and festered.
She could hear Kael behind her, his footsteps heavy on the ground, but it was as if the weight of everything—the past, the betrayals, the loss—had crushed them both into silence.
"You know what comes next," Kael said, his voice low, tinged with a bitterness that made Elyra's heart ache. He was already standing at her side, staring into the abyss with a resigned intensity.
Elyra swallowed, her throat tight. The war had led them here. Their decisions, the alliances they'd forged and broken, had led them to the edge of everything. There was no going back. Not now.
"I'm not afraid," she whispered, though the lie tasted bitter on her tongue. Fear gripped her heart like a vice, but it wasn't the kind of fear that made you retreat. No, this was the kind of fear that drove you forward, even knowing the cost.
Kael's hand brushed against hers, a fleeting touch, barely more than a ghost of warmth. But it meant everything. "You should be," he said, his voice raw.
Before them, the Pale Flame stood, towering and terrible. The last of their enemies. The final threat that had haunted them through every chapter of their journey. And yet, there was no more hatred in Elyra's heart. No more anger. Just exhaustion. A weariness that had settled into her bones, one that no amount of fire or fury could burn away.
"I don't have anything left to give," Elyra said softly, looking at Kael, her voice trembling, cracking like old stone. "What if we've already lost?"
Kael's gaze was empty for a long moment, and then his lips twisted into a faint, bitter smile. "Then we'll burn together."
And they would. They had to. The world was ending. They were ending. Everything they'd fought for, everything they'd bled for, it all led to this final stand. Their bodies would burn. The world would burn. The Pale Flame would consume it all.
But in that moment, there was one last thing, one last ember of hope between them. A promise. A vow. A moment of peace before the chaos consumed them both.
With trembling hands, Elyra reached for Kael, pulling him close. Their foreheads touched, and for the briefest instant, she allowed herself to feel the warmth of him, the life they still had. It was everything. And it was nothing.
The Pale Flame's voice echoed through the air, dark and guttural. "You think you can stop me?"
Kael's eyes burned with fury, but his hand was steady on her cheek. "We can't stop you. But we can end this."
The ground beneath them shook, and the winds howled in a furious crescendo. And then, without another word, they stepped into the flames together.