The sky over Neralith cracked like broken glass.
Storms of flame tore through the firmament as the seal between realms weakened. The veil that separated the mortal plane from the void grew thinner by the heartbeat.
On the battlefield below, chaos reigned.
War horns blared across the broken hills. The Coalition of Emberborn, once fractured, had reunited under a singular banner: The Flame of Amina.
Kai stood on the cliff's edge, blade humming with runes older than the gods themselves. His cloak flared in the wind as he watched the sigils in the sky shimmer—Amariel's tree blazing with defiance against the darkness.
Behind him, Lumeah emerged from the shadows, her white eyes narrowed.
"She's awakening it," she said.
"The Covenant Flame?" Kai asked.
Lumeah nodded. "It hasn't burned in centuries. If Amina succeeds, the balance will tilt. But if she fails…"
Kai didn't need her to finish.
If she failed, the entire continent would collapse into eternal night.
Deep Within the Void
Amina floated at the core of the unraveling dimension.
The chains had begun to fade, each link she touched sparking memories into existence. Her power was not just growing—it was remembering. The lives of all her past selves, all the fallen warriors that had carried Amariel's light, now pulsed through her blood.
"I see them," she murmured. "The women. The fighters. The broken… and the brave."
From the darkness, a single figure approached—no illusion this time.
Valec.
The real one.
Eyes rimmed with torment. Chest rising and falling with labored breath. Not as a god. Not as a monster.
As a man.
"Amina," he said quietly. "You shouldn't have followed me here."
She didn't flinch. "You left no path but through the fire."
He exhaled, pain lacing every word. "This place… it feeds on who we were. It makes us think we're monsters."
"You were never the monster," she said. "Only a boy betrayed by gods."
Valec looked down. "I did terrible things, Amina. I killed without mercy. I struck deals with shadows. I wanted to destroy the world just to make it feel what I felt."
"And now?" she asked softly.
Valec's voice broke. "I want to take it all back."
Amina stepped forward, flame-light wrapping around them both. Her hand reached out—not to fight.
But to forgive.
Then the Void screamed.
From its heart, a monstrous figure erupted—a twisted amalgamation of the gods who betrayed Valec and the shadows he embraced. A beast with no name, known only as The Forsaken Flame.
It surged toward them.
And in that instant, Amina understood—
This was the trial.
This was the judgment.
This was the final chain.
She gripped Valec's hand. "Then let's end this together."
Outside, in the Mortal Realm
The ground split. The rivers boiled. The sky rained ash.
But from the heart of Mount Velora, the once-dormant Covenant Flame ignited—a tower of pure golden fire that shot into the sky, piercing the heavens.
Across the realm, every being—mage, warrior, child—felt the pull of something ancient stirring.
Lumeah dropped to her knees. "She did it…"
Kai turned to her. "No," he said, eyes burning with resolve. "She started it."
Back in the Void
Amina and Valec stood side by side as the Forsaken Flame charged.
Together, they raised their hands.
Golden fire met dark flame.
Pain met truth.
And from their union—
A nova of light exploded, ripping through the darkness with a soundless scream that echoed through eternity.