Chapter 33
She looked like Eliendara.
Same silver hair.
Same violet eyes—except dulled, lifeless, like twilight after a war.
But when she stepped from the shadows, her footsteps cracked the floor with every stride. The Hollow of Names trembled as if it remembered her, feared her.
Kael stepped between them. "Who are you?"
The girl—woman—creature tilted her head. Her smile was thin and brittle, like a blade honed on madness.
"I'm the version they buried," she said. "The first Gate. The original container before they tried to refine the flame into something… pleasant."
Her eyes met Eliendara's.
"You wear it well. The crown. The grief."
Eliendara's voice was quiet. "What do you want?"
"To take back what they stole from me."
She stepped closer. Her skin shimmered—not like magic, but like glass catching broken light. Beneath it, flames pulsed… raw and unstable.
"You were made to seal the Eighth Name," she said. "But I was the one who was the Eighth. The mistake. The prototype. The unrefined truth."
She pointed to Eliendara's heart.
"I burned out trying to hold it. But I didn't die. They locked me here. Split my soul across this Hollow."
Kael raised his blade. "Stay back."
The girl ignored him.
Her gaze never left Eliendara.
"You don't know what it's like to remember being erased. To know every version after you was made better—stronger—prettier. You're a polished lie."
Eliendara's breath shook. "I didn't choose this."
"No," the girl said. "But now you have a choice."
She raised her hand.
Flames curved around her like living serpents.
"Give me the crown."
"Or I'll break you… and take it."
Ravien stepped forward now, shadows curling at his feet. "You try, and I'll burn every shard of you left."
The girl's eyes flared.
"Oh, brother," she purred. "You of all people should know… the crown doesn't belong to her. It belongs to the first spark."
Kael looked at Eliendara.
"What do we do?"
She stared at the girl—the twisted reflection of what she could've been. Or might still become.
And then, for the first time since she'd worn the Scorched Crown…
She took a step back.
Not out of fear.
Out of choice.
"I won't fight you," she said softly.
The girl snarled. "Weakness."
"No," Eliendara replied. "Understanding."
She reached for the mirror-pool's edge and dropped her blade into it.
The reflection shattered again—
But instead of breaking the space…
It split the Hollow.
A corridor opened behind her. Gold light pulsed from beyond it. Familiar. Safe.
"My gate," Eliendara whispered. "My soul."
The girl flinched, as if the light hurt her.
"You still have your gate intact," she growled. "I never did."
"Then come with me," Eliendara said. "We'll fix it. Together."
But the girl just laughed.
A broken, bleeding laugh.
"You still don't get it."
She lunged.
Fire roared.
And Kael was too slow.
But Ravien—he didn't move.
Because Eliendara raised her hand first.
And caught the flame.
With her bare palm.
No magic. No spell. Just will.
The Scorched Crown ignited. The Hollow cracked.
Eliendara's voice rang like thunder.
"I am not the lie. I am the flame that survived it."
The girl screamed.
And burst into embers.
Not killed.
Returned.
To the fire that birthed her.
Back into Eliendara.
Back into the whole.
🔮 Next Chapter Preview – Chapter 34: The Fire That Remembers
With the first version of herself absorbed, Eliendara gains memories and power long denied—
But it comes with a price:
A prophecy written in the original flame.
One that says:
"If the Gate remembers itself fully…the world will forget all else."