Kaelen's chest heaved as the relic seared deeper into his hand, its threads of light splitting in two. One toward the King. One toward the fragile candle-bearer.
Lyra's scream cut across the battlefield. "Kaelen! The flame—if it dies, we all die!"
The eye above pulsed, its whisper dripping with hunger.
"The King ends the game. The flame only delays it. Choose power, or choose chains."
Kaelen's breath trembled. He had never been so close. The fractured crown glowed like an open wound in the void, a target he had dreamed of striking since this nightmare began. But behind him, the candle-bearer stumbled as serpents closed in, flame flickering violently.
And then—Lyra's voice, softer now. Not desperate. Steady. "Kaelen. You know who you are. Don't let it make the choice for you."
The visions surged—ghosts of players past, all lunging for the King, all failing, all consumed. He saw himself among them, erased from existence, his love, his fight, his humanity gone.
Kaelen clenched his jaw. Not me. Not her. Not us.
With a guttural roar, he turned away from the crown.
The forbidden path bent beneath his feet as he forced it toward the candle-bearer. The relic screamed in his hand, furious at being denied, but Kaelen poured every drop of his will into it.
The path snapped into place. He surged forward, cutting through the void like lightning, appearing between the serpents and the trembling bearer.
His relic struck the ground. A wave of light exploded outward, disintegrating the serpents in an instant. The bearer's flame steadied, glowing brighter as if relieved.
Lyra exhaled, a laugh of disbelief. "You insane, stubborn fool… you did it."
But Kaelen barely heard her. His knees buckled, the relic still burning in his palm. The King's hollow laughter rumbled across the board, slow and taunting.
"You turn from victory. You choose weakness. The game is endless. And still, you will break."
Kaelen forced himself upright, chest heaving, fire burning in his eyes. "I'd rather break protecting a flame… than crown myself in ashes."
The relic pulsed faintly, as if agreeing. Or warning.
The tiles shifted. The board reset again, but this time—Kaelen noticed something new. The flame in the bearer's hands wasn't just steady. It was stronger. Brighter. Almost defiant.
Lyra's gaze locked with his. "You changed the rules, didn't you?"
Kaelen managed a broken smile. "Maybe… just maybe… we're not the only ones learning."