Jackson took one cautious step backward, his boots scraping against the stone. “You’re dead,” he muttered under his breath, as if saying it out loud might make it truer, might make the glow behind those empty sockets fade for good.But the flicker of red light lingered a moment longer. It was faint, defiant, almost sentient — before finally winking out.Jackson’s mouth had gone dry. He forced his feet to move, inching closer again. The rope creaked with every breath of air, the body turning ever so slightly, revealing more of the chest — and the faint burn pattern there. A mark scorched into the flesh, half-buried under layers of decay.Jackson brought the flashlight closer. The shape was unmistakable.It was the Flameborn sigil.But beneath it — a second symbol had been branded overtop, darker, twisted, like a serpent devouring its own tail.His stomach turned. The same pattern. The one he’d seen glowing on the defaced wall.Two legacies. Intertwined. Fighting for dominance.He stepp

“The future that’s already unraveling,” Jaqueline said, her eyes shimmering like molten glass. “The one you’ve been trying to fix without realizing that every move you make only tightens the knot — the closer you get to saving them, the faster the threads of fate burn away.”Jackson’s pulse throbbed in his throat. The wind around them picked up, carrying faint whispers — voices that hadn’t been there a moment ago. Familiar ones. His father’s deep tone. Elara’s silken murmur. Trey’s bitter laughter. Even Bella’s soft cry, echoing faintly in the distance as if calling him from another world, begging him to turn back before it was too late.Jaqueline turned toward the horizon, where the sand met the dying light, her form glowing faintly against the fading sun.“Everything that’s happening — Victor Vaughan, Primis, the relics, even the awakening of the Flameborn — it’s all connected to the fracture that began the moment our lives split in two. You and I were supposed to balance the flame

Hailey’s pulse quickened as Andrew’s words hung in the air. The warm, tranquil glow of the riverside lanterns suddenly felt colder, as if the world itself had tilted toward something darker.“What do you mean ‘not good’?” she pressed, though her voice was already carrying the weight of a guess she didn’t want to make.Andrew shook his head, his gaze fixed on the restaurant entrance. “If James didn’t want to say it on the phone, it has to be serious. He sounded… off.”The waiter appeared beside them again, oblivious to the tension building between them. “Would you like anything else, sir? Ma’am?”Hailey offered a polite, distracted shake of her head. “Just the bill, please.”As the waiter walked away, Andrew pulled out his phone again, staring at the darkened screen as if expecting another call. The seconds dragged, filled only by the muted chatter of other diners and the soft rippling of the river.Fifteen minutes later, headlights swept across the far end of the outdoor patio. A dark

The storm had become a living thing.Red lightning had begun to fork across the blackened clouds, each bolt followed by a low, trembling hum that seemed to echo from the earth itself.Mr. Copper stood near the glass railing, his coat whipping against his legs from the strange wind leaking through the cracks of the sealed room. Yvonne Tween clutched a file of trembling papers, her eyes darting between Copper and Whitaker, who stood beside her with his usual mask of composure though the deep line in his face betrayed his concern.James, Hailey, Andrew, and Nancy huddled near the elevator doors, eyes wide as the strange light flickered across their faces.“It’s the red eclipse,” Copper said at last, his voice almost drowned by the rising hum. “It has finally begun, and this time around, it's here to unleash its full wrath."Hailey frowned. “You’re saying this storm… is alive?”“In a way,” Copper said grimly. “It’s responding to something — or someone.”He turned toward the storm again,

“For what?” Samantha snapped, though her voice had lost some of its bite. She may not have been a fan of Jackson and Emily back then, but everyone on campus had known that Jackson and Emily had dated, and that the relationship hadn't ended well because of Tyler.Now, seeing the two of them coming to her that they were both looking for Jackson, just didn't seem to make any sense to her, and so, she wanted to know just what had changed.“Why are you guys looking for Jackson?” Samantha added.Emily glanced at Tyler, who had folded his arms and was leaning against the doorway as if the act of standing was an effort. For some reasons, he was now looking older than his years—hair limp, face hollowed, eyes ringed with shadows. When he spoke his voice was paper-thin."I guess you've heard about Victor Vaughan?" Tyler asked."Yes, I have. What about him?" Samantha asked."Victor Vaughan has been on my back for a week,” Tyler said. “He wants what he believes Jackson has. He thinks he’s the fu