The air in the hall grew heavier with every flame dancing across the walls. The smell of smoke seeped into their lungs, as if the palace itself was beginning to suffocate. The Emperor stood tall, hand on the hilt of his sword, eyes darting between Frank, Dan, and Barnila, searching their faces for the hidden treachery.
The scream that echoed from outside the hall was not a simple call for help. It was a tolling bell, a herald that something was no longer in its place. The soldiers rushed through the doors but froze mid-stride, as though an unseen barrier had snatched their breath at the threshold. The fire itself seemed to guard the entrance.
Dan raised his black dagger, a cold smile carved on his face:
> "Your Majesty… don't search for treachery in shadows. It stands before you—alive, burning. The gate you denied has been opened, and none of you can close it now."
Frank clenched the glowing stone. Green light seeped between his fingers, blending with the torch's flame, as though the stone itself fought against something trying to consume the hall.
Barnila stepped back, her eyes fixed on the dagger's carvings. Memories surged—of that ancient night, when the same symbols burned across the temple wall. She whispered, almost to herself:
> "That dagger… it was never forged by our hands. It was brought from beyond the sea."
---
1. The Wall Screams
Suddenly, a sound echoed—neither human nor beast, but stone itself groaning. The eastern wall of the palace shuddered, glowing cracks snaking across it. But these were no ordinary fractures; they were words, burning themselves into the stone:
> "He who betrayed the first gate… shall be judged at the second."
Silence drowned the room. Even the Emperor froze in place. The words weren't carved—they were being written before their very eyes, fire etching each letter into existence.
From the shadows, Brand Al'Fryk, who had watched in silence, raised his voice in anger:
> "Your Majesty! This is no ordinary sorcery. It is a curse bound to blood… the blood of one among us."
His gaze swept over the three standing accused. Then he added:
> "One of you did more than betray… one of you gave their blood to open the path."
Frank's grip tightened on the stone, his chest heaving:
> "Enough riddles! If we don't stop this now, the palace will collapse upon us all!"
But Dan, with killing calm, replied:
> "Let it collapse. Ruin speaks truer than a throne built on lies."
---
2. The Fracture of Allegiance
The Emperor raised his sword, his voice like thunder:
> "Dan! Do you confess—you are the one who lit the fire?!"
Dan's smile widened slowly, and he answered:
> "I did not light the fire… I only opened the path for it."
Rage burst from the Emperor as he lunged forward, but Frank moved swiftly, lifting the stone against the dagger. Green light clashed with black metal, bursting into a shower of sparks that blinded them all. The ground trembled, fragments of the ceiling crashing down.
Barnila cried out:
> "Stop! Every drop of blood you shed feeds the curse further!"
But no one listened. The clash had begun.
---
3. A Memory of the Past
Amid the chaos, Barnila pressed her hand to the glowing wall. In an instant, her vision was pulled inward—back twenty years.
She saw the burning temple. A younger Frank, clutching the same stone, fighting desperately to hold back the flames. She saw Dan slipping into the shadows with a black dagger, smiling the same cruel smile. And she saw herself… paralyzed, silent, unable to act.
She returned gasping, tears streaming down her face. She whispered:
> "We were all there… we are all guilty."
The Emperor turned sharply to her, fury in his voice:
> "You too?! You were part of this treachery?!"
Barnila trembled, but lifted her chin:
> "I did not betray… but I stayed silent. And silence… is betrayal."
---
4. The Fire Takes Form
As their conflict raged, the flames outside began to gather at the gate, twisting into a human shape. A being of fire, with distorted features and eyes glowing like twin embers, stepped forth.
A soldier screamed and fell to his knees; the others recoiled. The fiery figure raised its arm, its voice like walls speaking:
> "He who opened the gate… surrender me his blood."
Everyone froze. Dan smiled wider, lifting his dagger high:
> "Then come and take it."
But before the entity could move, Frank stepped forward, raising the stone. Green light surged as he roared:
> "You shall not pass!"
Stone and flame collided, bursting in a blinding flash. When the light dimmed, Frank knelt, his hand bleeding from the cracks in his skin. The stone flickered weakly, but the fiery entity staggered back, as though struck.
The Emperor shouted:
> "It weakens! Strike it now!"
But Brand lifted his hand in warning:
> "No! This is no enemy of swords. It is a reflection… a reflection of our betrayal."
---
5. The Unveiling of Secrets
The burning wall inscribed new words:
> "The blood lost in the past… now demands its owner."
Frank raised his pale face, whispering:
> "It means… my brother."
Barnila gasped:
> "Your brother…? But you said he died that night!"
Frank shook his head slowly:
> "He didn't die. The flames swallowed him. And now… he returns through them."
All eyes fixed on him in shock. The Emperor gripped his sword tighter, roaring:
> "So it is you! Your brother… your curse… has brought this ruin upon us!"
Frank shouted back, voice breaking but fierce:
> "I never chose this! I tried to save him! It was Dan who pierced the seal with the dagger, Dan who lit the first flame!"
Dan twirled the dagger, his voice calm, deadly:
> "And do you think anyone will believe you now? All the Emperor sees is fire… and it surrounds us all."
---
6. The Breaking Point
Tension reached its peak. Soldiers stood torn between the Emperor's wrath and the fire's terror. Brand watched with wary eyes. Barnila, torn between confession and fear. Dan smiled with his weapon. Frank bled but stood defiant.
Then, suddenly, a massive chunk of ceiling collapsed, revealing the night sky. But the light that streamed in was no moonlight—it was a strange, green celestial glow.
The fiery being turned its gaze upward and screamed, a sound that shook every heart.
Barnila whispered, trembling:
> "This… this isn't just a gate. It's the second gate."
Frank steadied himself, raising the fading stone toward the heavens:
> "If it opens… nothing will remain. We must close it—now."
Dan laughed, almost mad:
> "Close it?! Let it open! Let the past consume this false present!"
---
7. The Decision
The Emperor's heart warred within him. His eyes darted between the torn Frank, the smiling Dan, and the trembling Barnila. Finally, his voice rang, ironclad:
> "I will not allow another gate to open… not while I live."
He strode toward Frank, placed his hand upon the stone, and locked eyes with him:
> "If you are truly innocent… then close it with your blood, before me."
Frank lowered his gaze, then raised it again with a bitter smile:
> "If that is the price… I will pay it."
But Dan screamed, charging forward:
> "No! This fate is not yours alone… it is mine!"
They clashed in the center of the hall—stone against dagger. Green light burst against black steel, flames surged anew, and the palace walls wailed, truly crying this time, as if the palace itself was dying.
---
8. The Cliffhanger
Barnila screamed:
> "Stop! Both of you will open the gate instead of closing it!"
But it was too late. The sky above split open, a pillar of green light descending upon the palace. The fiery entity knelt, as though bowing to whatever would emerge.
For the first time, the Emperor's voice trembled:
> "He has… returned."
---
Curtain falls on Chapter Twelve:
The palace shakes, the sky splits, and betrayal is no longer hidden. The fire is not the only enemy… but what comes through the second gate.