Chapter 76
The world didn't greet them with thunder when they returned.
It greeted them with quiet.
Soft rain kissed the cracked earth of the Flamebound Kingdom.No fire raged.No gods loomed.
Only people.
Rebuilding.Remembering.Waiting.
Kael stood at the edge of the city, his cloak heavier than before—not with weight, but with everything it now represented.
He had faced the void.He had denied the gods.He had chosen himself.
But the world had changed while he was gone.
And it didn't quite know what to make of him now.
Eliendara walked beside him, fingers loosely laced with his. The crown she once wore sat in a box tucked beneath her arm.
Neither of them spoke of thrones anymore.
Not now.
The streets they walked had grown quiet at their approach.
Some bowed.Some turned away.Some simply stared—unsure if he was savior, survivor, or something in between.
In the central square, a child approached.
Dirt-streaked face. Bare feet. Fierce eyes.
She looked up at Kael and asked plainly, "Are you still on fire?"
Kael blinked. "No. Not right now."
The girl squinted, nodded once, and handed him a crumpled flower.
"I think you should be, though. You're better that way."
Then she ran.
Kael stared at the wilted petals in his hand.
Eliendara smiled gently.
"Maybe the world doesn't need gods," she whispered."Maybe it just needs someone willing to stay when it burns."
That night, they sat beneath the fig tree again.
No stars tonight. Just clouds.
But that was okay.
Kael watched the sky and said, "I'm scared."
Eliendara leaned her head on his shoulder. "Of what?"
He held up the flower.
"That I don't know how to live without fighting anymore."
She closed her eyes. "Then we learn. Together."
Deep beneath the palace ruins, where the roots of the fig tree touched stone and secrets, something shimmered.
Not flame.Not void.
A third spark.
Unclaimed.Unseen.Waiting.
The fire had chosen life.
But magic…magic had just begun to awaken.
🔮 Next Chapter Preview – Chapter 77: The Root of Magic
A forgotten power stirs beneath the palace—neither god-born nor fire-forged.
As Kael and Eliendara try to build a future from ash,new dreams begin to form.
But not all sparks are gentle…And not every root grows upward.