Velrith Descends
"There are flames that warm, and flames that remember.Crownfire is neither.It is the fire that forgets what mercy was."
They watched from across the realm.
From the shivering peaks of Severance Choir's dead monasteries,to the deep bloom-cities of Verdant Halo,to the ruins where old sects sleep in ash—
The Crownfire Mantle burned.
A column of roaring gold split the sky,spiraling upward, carving the clouds apart like paper.
"He's moving," said Seyara.
"Velrith walks again."
Only once before had the Flame-King himself taken to the field.
The Eclipse Rebellion, five hundred years ago.
The world still bore the scars.
Within the Mantle
Velrith wore no armor.
He did not need it.
The Crownfire Mantle wrapped his body in braided brands—living laws of fire, stitched into his bones, pulsing with ancient flame-seals.
His eyes were smoldering pits of command.Not hate. Not cruelty.
Just judgment.
"They let the Tenth breathe," he murmured.
"So now I bring the answer."
His Mantle-General, Eron Vahl, marched beside him.
"The Hollow's power is unranked.It violates Sovereign structure.The Dreamsovereign may not submit."
Velrith raised one finger.
"Then she will be removed."
Location: Outer Realm Border – 2 Days from the Hollow
Villages emptied.
Mountains cracked open to flee.
The sky dimmed where Velrith walked—not from shadow, but because the sunlight dared not compete.
Kaien felt it from the Hollow.
Not through sigil.Not through flame.
Through blood.
"He's here," Kaien said.
"He's really coming."
Hollow Citadel – Council of Flame Response
Kaien gathered his disciples, his lieutenants, Seren, Cael, Rin, Veyra, and the Old Masters who had pledged since the Hollow's rise.
"We do not have the strength to kill him," Kaien said plainly.
"But we can withstand him."
"Long enough to show the world something stronger than judgment."
"Memory. Unity. Echo."
Seren, her flame now blooming into her veins, stood beside him.
"He comes to erase."
"Then let us teach him what cannot be forgotten."
System Update:
✦ Incoming Threat: Velrith Crownfire✦ Tier: True Sovereign – Flame Mandate Absolute✦ Command Authority: Entire Mantle of Judgment✦ Estimated Arrival: 48 Hours✦ Survival Probability: < 10% (Direct Confrontation)✦ Strategic Option Available: Spiral Gate Unseal
In Secret – Kaien and Seren
They met in the Root Chamber, beneath the Spiral Tree's heart.
Seren traced a sigil only the Tenth Flame knew.
A gate pulsed into view—half-grown, half-sung from memory and seed.
"If we open it," she said, "we leave this world."
"But we survive."
Kaien stared into the spiraling flame beyond.
"We could escape him."
"And let the Hollow die?"
Seren shook her head.
"Or we could awaken something worse by surviving."
"Not all flames are meant to flee."
Meanwhile – The Realm Reacts ✦ Sovereign Seyara of Verdant Halo
"If Velrith kills them, the Spiral dies.And with it, all balance."
She gathers her elite.
"Send envoys to the Hollow. Quietly."
"If we cannot stop the Crownfire King, we must at least witness what he destroys."
✦ The Severance Choir (Silent Chamber)
An assassin-priest whispers to his superior.
"What happens if Velrith fails?"
"Then we bury him next," said the superior.
And smiled.
Closing Scene: The Ash Horizon
From the edge of the Hollow's protective flameward, the sky splits open—
And Velrith's Mantle arrives.
Golden banners made of lawlight ripple like punishment through the air.
At the center walks the Sovereign himself.
The last judge.
His voice is not shouted.It arrives in every ear, every mind.
"Bring forth the Dreamsovereign.""Or I burn the Spiral from your bones."
Kaien does not flinch.
Seren breathes once, steady.
And Cael steps forward beside them.
"Then come take her."