Aurora’s scream echoed through the abyss as the chain yanked her downward. The silver links were massive, each one the size of a house, glowing so bright it burned her skin. The chain coiled around her arms, her waist, her legs, pulling her into the darkness like a serpent. “Mason!” she cried, her voice raw.He was bound beside her, his body battered, blood dripping from countless wounds. The chain wrapped him tightly as well, but his silver eye blazed brighter than ever.“I’m here!” His voice cracked, but his gaze locked onto hers. “Don’t stop fighting!”Aurora thrashed, her fire bursting from her body in violent flares. But the chain absorbed the flames, drinking them in until her light sputtered and died. She gasped, panic twisting in her chest. “It’s… eating my fire…”Mason’s body jerked as he struggled, silver cracks spreading across the links near him. “Then I’ll break it. I have to.”But before he could finish, the chain dragged them both into a blinding silver light.When Auro

The light burst outward, swallowing the ruins in a blinding wave. Aurora shielded her eyes, fire flickering instinctively around her arms. But even through the blaze, she felt it, the heat, the pressure, the unbearable weight of Mason’s power flooding the broken world.When the light finally dimmed, she lowered her arms. Her heart froze.Mason was standing at the center of the ruins, his body trembling, his silver eye blazing brighter than it ever had before. The glow spread through his veins like molten silver, crawling across his skin.Every breath he took seemed to tear him apart. Aurora stumbled forward, panic gripping her chest. “Mason, stop! You’ll burn yourself away!”He glanced back at her. His brown eyes were filled with pain, but also with a strange, calm determination. “Aurora… this is the only way.”She shook her head violently, tears spilling down her cheeks. “No! Don’t say that! There has to be another way!”But Mason turned back toward Vazquez. The shadow-monster stag

Aurora’s flames roared out of her, brighter than they ever had before. They were wild, violent, and desperate. They wrapped around her arms, her body, her hair, burning so hot the air cracked. She screamed as she hurled them forward, not at Vazquez, but at the blackened trunk of the Root of Souls.The great tree shuddered. Its roots twisted, groaning as cracks spread across its bark. A chorus of millions of voices cried out, echoing in the hollow. “Child of fire! Stop! End us and you end yourself! No return, no memory, only silence!”Aurora’s tears streamed, her throat raw from screaming. Her fire burned harder. “Then so be it! If it’s the only way to stop him, then I’ll burn everything!”A shriek cut through the fire. Vazquez lunged from the shadows, his jagged wings scraping across the hollow. His clawed hand slashed toward Aurora’s chest, aiming for her heart.She barely turned in time, flames bursting from her shoulder. The claw tore through her arm instead, blood spraying into t

Aurora’s breath came in short, broken gasps. She lay on the scorched ground, her body weak, her flames flickering like dying embers. Her skin was burned, her arms bleeding, her throat dry from screaming. She forced her eyes open.The Root of Souls was gone. Where the massive blackened tree had once stood, there was only emptiness, a hollow, endless pit stretching downward into nothing. The walls of the cavern still trembled, cracks spreading like spiderwebs, and Mason… Her heart squeezed painfully. He was gone too. Not even his fading silver glow remained.Aurora’s hand trembled as she reached toward the empty space, her voice a hoarse whisper. “Mason…”No answer came. Only silence. Her tears streamed down her face, dripping onto the scorched floor. She curled into herself, clutching her arms tightly. Her whole body shook. “I did it,” she whispered. “I chose. But why… why does it feel like I lost everything?”At first, all was quiet, then, whispers. Aurora froze, lifting her head s

The smoke thickened around Aurora, black and heavy, curling like snakes across the ruined field.She staggered back, coughing, her fire flickering faintly in her palms. Her body trembled with exhaustion, her skin burned raw, her heart pounding as though it might tear itself apart.And then she heard it. That laugh. Low. Cruel. From the heart of the smoke, the sound spread like a sickness. “You cannot kill me, flame. Not while you carry them.”Aurora’s eyes widened, her breath caught in her throat. “No…”The smoke parted. Vazquez rose again. His form was sharper now, more solid. His broken wings had reshaped into jagged silver blades, his claws gleamed like obsidian. And in the center of his chest, a faint glow pulsed, not shadow this time, but fire. Her fire. Aurora’s stomach twisted. Her flames flared in panic. “That’s mine… you stole it…”Vazquez’s grin stretched wide, his silver-and-fire eyes burning bright. “I did not steal it. You gave it to me. Every time you burned, every time