The silence after the firestorm was worse than the chaos. Smoke choked the sky. The earth was black with ash. Bodies didn’t move. Fires still flickered in every direction. But at the center of it all… hovered a child wrapped in a blazing sphere of golden flame. His tiny eyes glowed with ancient fire. His lips parted. And in a voice that did not belong to any child, he spoke again. “Yah’thel voran… ven sarthor du’mir!” The words cracked the air like thunder. Soldiers fell to their knees not from force, but fear. “What… what did he just say?” Evelyn whispered, backing away as the heat grew near unbearable. No one answered. Not even the old scholars at her side could make sense of it. They scribbled and stared, eyes wide with helplessness. “He’s not speaking any known language " one stammered. “This… this is not in our books " Then came another whisper shaky, hoarse from Adrian, standing in the back, face pale. “No... it’s not our language. It's older. I’ve seen these words befor

Smoke coiled around the battlefield like hungry snakes. The flames had finally died down, leaving behind blackened soil and shattered stone. Elara stood frozen before the child the Phoenix Prince. His fiery aura had dimmed into a soft golden glow, wrapping around him like a second skin. He looked up at her, eyes ancient and knowing, though his body was still that of a baby. Behind him stood Leona, calm and poised. Her robes were untouched by ash. Her hair flowed like molten copper. “Elara " Leona said gently. “You feel it, don’t you? The pull. The bond " Elara’s lips trembled. “He’s... my brother?” Leona nodded slowly. “Not in the way you’ve been taught to think. You are two halves of one soul. Born through flame and ritual. One to end. One to begin " Elara shook her head. “That doesn’t make sense. I was born in the palace. My mother is Evelyn " “And yet you burn " Leona whispered. “You survived the crown’s fire. You hear him in your sleep. Evelyn raised you, yes... but your b

Evelyn conceals the obsidian blade and requests a private meeting with Elara.The night air was hot, too hot. It wasn’t natural. Flames hadn’t touched this part of the citadel, yet the stones sweated like they feared what was coming.Evelyn walked down the dim corridor alone. Her dress dragged behind her like shadows, and inside her cloak, her fingers gripped the weapon wrapped in black silk. The obsidian blade. Forged in forgotten fire. It didn’t just cut skin. It cut the soul.She stopped in front of the tall doors leading to Elara’s chambers. Two guards stood there, uneasy.“I want to see her. Alone " Evelyn said, her voice sharp.The guards looked at each other, but said nothing. They stepped aside.Evelyn entered.Inside, Elara stood near the balcony. She didn’t turn around.“I knew you’d come tonight " Elara said. Her voice was calm but tired. “The fire in the air whispered it "Evelyn closed the doors softly behind her. “You’ve been...changing "Elara turned. Her eyes glowed fa

The scream came not from any throat but from stone.The sacred temple exploded outward in a column of black fire.Marble cracked like eggshells. The ground split beneath the palace. Runes meant to seal and protect twisted into serpents of molten light, curling around the baby like guardians.Elara had barely made it up the temple stairs when she was thrown back by a pulse of heat so fierce, it peeled the air from her lungs. Her knees slammed into the floor. Her fingers, scraped and trembling, reached out too late.She saw him through the smoke.The baby floated above the altar, small arms spread wide. Flames wound around his body like serpents dancing to a forgotten rhythm. His eyes glowed not gold, but ember-white, and the rune-stone below him began to crack and rise, chunks of it fusing into his skin like living armor.He wasn’t crying.He was singing a wordless hum that shattered the sconces in the wall.Leona turned toward the temple, her lips parting in horror. “No " she whispere

The sky was burning.A deep red glow filled the clouds, and fire rained down like a deadly storm. Ash fell from above like snow, covering everything in gray dust. The strong walls of the capital, once thought unbreakable, now lay in ruins. Screams echoed through the air. The streets were filled with fire, panic, and pain.From the body of the divine child, something terrifying had risen a monster made of fire and fury. The flame beast let out a roar so loud it shook the ground. Its cry was filled with rage, pain, and something ancient. Every time it moved, buildings cracked, and the earth split apart beneath its feet. Lava poured through the streets like rivers from hell, melting stone and turning metal into puddles.On the edge of a crumbling old bridge stood Elara. Her long hair blew around her face, and her golden eyes stared into the firestorm. The crown on her head, now fused into her skin, pulsed with heat so strong it should have burned her but it didn’t. She felt the heat, but