The sky had stopped pretending to be sky.
It had become a wound — deep and glowing, stitched with light that refused to hold.
The realms were folding in on themselves, their edges curling and burning as the ancient seams tore apart. Mountains breathed fire, rivers turned to mirrors of molten glass, and the air carried the taste of endings.
I stood at the center of it all, suspended between the pulse of two worlds. One beating inside me. The other breaking around me.
The Flame burned without mercy now. It wasn't something I could call or command; it was me. Every breath exhaled light, every tear turned to ash before it fell. And through it all, I could feel Kael — faint but constant, his heartbeat threading through the chaos, calling me home.
You are the bridge.
The voice wasn't outside me anymore. It lived in the hollow of my ribs, in the rhythm of my blood.
If the realms reunite, so will their memory. But bridges burn when they're crossed.
I closed my eyes. The Flame pulsed in answer.
I could see Kael on the other side — kneeling in the ruins, his hand pressed to the ground, the mark on his chest glowing through the torn fabric. He was whispering something I couldn't hear, but I didn't need to. His words carried through the bond, carved into the spaces between my thoughts.
Don't let it take you.
Too late for that.
The world shuddered. The boundary cracked wide, spilling both light and shadow into the void. Shapes began to form — remnants of old gods and long-dead sorcerers, drawn to the power like moths to flame. Their forms wavered, their eyes hollow, their voices unified in a single, terrible sound.
Return us.
I raised my hand. The fire gathered, curling around my fingers, spiraling outward in ribbons of red and gold. My veins burned, my skin seared, but I didn't stop. The Flame wasn't destruction — it was remembrance. It was the forgotten thread that once tied everything together.
If I could guide it, I could mend the tear.
If I failed, I would end everything.
Through the glare, I saw him — Kael stepping through the fire, his body shuddering as the energy tore at him. His eyes found mine, steady even as his breath faltered.
"You shouldn't have come," I whispered.
"I promised I wouldn't leave you."
"You'll die."
He smiled faintly. "Then we'll burn together."
The bond between us flared — gold and crimson twisting, merging, becoming one. The world tilted, and for a heartbeat, everything aligned — flame, blood, and breath in perfect unison.
The gods screamed. The light folded inward.
And then—silence.
The Flame vanished from my skin.
The air stilled.
Kael's hand found mine in the dark.
The realms had stopped fighting. Whether that meant I'd saved them or doomed them, I didn't yet know.
But for the first time since the awakening, the fire inside me felt… still.