The silver cube had been waiting for him.
Kye sat cross-legged in the sealed chamber beneath the Ember Corps' tower, the cube placed before him on an ancient bronze plate etched with binding runes. Around him, a circle of **six Ember Judges** stood in silence, each cloaked in black with veiled faces and hands clasped behind their backs.
This was not a classroom.
It was a crucible.
A final filter for those daring—or cursed—enough to awaken what should have stayed buried.
Velden, now cloaked in formal red robes, stood just outside the circle. He gave Kye one nod.
"When the cube opens, the sealed fragment within will try to bind itself to your soul," Velden said. "You must resist it. Not reject it—resist. There is a difference."
Kye licked his lips. "And if I can't?"
Velden didn't blink. "Then we scatter your ashes in the Garden of Remorse. Quietly."
Comforting.
> **\[Paradox System: Trial of Fragment Initiated]**
> *Target: Witchfire Accord – Level I*
> *Warning: Memory Bleed and Soul Sync risk – High.*
> *Minimum sync threshold to survive: 60%*
Kye placed both palms on the cube.
The bronze plate hissed. A pulse shot through the floor like a heartbeat.
The cube **melted**—not into liquid, but into **smoke**, rising and curling into a spiral flame sigil between his hands. Red, purple, and sickly gold.
And then—
It entered him.
---
The chamber vanished.
Kye stood in a **different place**.
Dark sky. Ashen ground. Flames hanging upside down in the air like dying stars. A world of silence and whispers.
A voice boomed:
> *"Welcome back, Kael."*
"No," Kye said. "I'm not—"
> *"You are. Whether you remember or not."*
A figure stepped from the swirling ash.
It wore Kael's body.
Not Kye's version—the **real** one.
Older. Sharper. Cloaked in burning silk and armor laced with runes that glowed like embers. His eyes weren't just red—they were hollowed out, glowing with internal fire. His expression was cold.
Unfeeling.
**This was Kael, the Overlord.**
And this was his memory.
---
"You want to survive?" Kael asked.
Kye said nothing.
"Then learn the truth," Kael whispered, raising his hand—
—and the world shattered.
Images exploded into Kye's mind.
Not memories.
**Commands.**
Screaming sigils written in languages Kye didn't recognize. Flames tearing through cities. An empire bowing to Kael—not because he was noble, but because he was **necessary**.
A war mage born in blood. A traitor to gods. A man who **burned fate itself** to stay alive.
> *"Witchfire is not power,"* Kael's voice said. *"It is **choice**. And once chosen... it never leaves you."*
Kye stumbled.
The ground shifted beneath him.
Kael raised his hand—and a spear of crimson fire exploded toward Kye's chest.
He barely raised his arms in time—**but it didn't strike him.**
It entered him.
And suddenly, he wasn't standing in Kael's world anymore.
He was standing in **his own flame**.
---
The real world returned like a slap.
Kye gasped, falling to one knee as the bronze plate beneath him cracked. The air shimmered, runes flickering and bending around him.
Velden stepped forward, eyes wide.
Around the circle, two judges stumbled back, clutching their veils.
Kye's body pulsed once—**heat radiating off his skin**.
> **\[Paradox System: Fragment Integration – 64% Achieved]**
> *Witchfire Fragment I: "Bloodbrand Flame" acquired.*
> *Effect: Marked targets burn for every lie they tell.*
> *Side Effect: Passive Aura – truth becomes pain.*
Velden's voice came out as a whisper.
"You survived…"
Kye stood, barely.
"I don't feel like I did."
Velden looked stunned—but something else crept into his expression.
**Fear.**
---
**Later, alone in the Ember infirmary…**
Kye sat on the bed, shirt off, watching the glowing **red sigil** now etched over his heart like a tattoo made of embers.
It pulsed every time he lied to himself.
And when he thought of Kael… it burned hotter.
> *"Witchfire is choice."*
He didn't choose this path.
But maybe, just maybe…
He'd **finish it**.
On his terms.