The capital was dying.
What had once been a city of light now looked pale and sick, as if the life had been slowly drained from its veins. The floating lanterns that once hovered proudly above the streets flickered weakly, many crashing to the ground and shattering into dull shards. Crystal towers dimmed, their radiant glow fading into cold stone. Even the air felt heavy, thick with exhaustion and quiet despair.
Elara walked beside Kael through the broken streets, her heart tightening with every step.
Citizens collapsed along the roads, clutching their chests as faint traces of light leaked from their bodies like dying embers. Some leaned against walls, too weak to stand. Others knelt in silence, staring at their trembling hands, confused and terrified by the sudden loss of their magic. Parents held crying children whose glows had dimmed into barely visible sparks.
A woman reached out toward Elara, her voice shaking. "Please… help us. The light is leaving us."
Elara froze, guilt crashing over her like a wave. She wanted to help, but she didn't know how—not yet.
Kael clenched his jaw, his fists tightening at his sides. "He's draining them," he said angrily. "Every drop of magic, feeding that artificial star. He's stealing their lives just to keep his throne shining."
Elara looked up at the palace towering above the city. Dark energy pulsed around its highest spire, where the artificial star burned unnaturally bright, sucking power from the streets below like a hungry parasite. She could feel it pulling at her own chest, tugging at the embers within her, trying to consume even her forbidden fire.
Her hands trembled.
Fear whispered inside her mind, urging her to run, to hide, to survive.
But then she looked around again.
At the collapsed children.At the exhausted elders.At the fading light of an entire kingdom.
Something hardened inside her.
Elara clenched her fists, feeling the Mortal Fire respond to her resolve. Warmth spread through her veins—not wild, not destructive, but steady and strong.
"Then I won't run anymore," she said quietly.
Kael turned to her, surprise flickering across his face. "Elara… once you step into that palace, there's no turning back."
She lifted her head, her eyes burning with determination. "I've spent my whole life being invisible. Being afraid. Being told I don't belong. If this power exists for a reason… then it's for this moment."
She took a slow breath and stepped forward.
"For them," she whispered.
And with the dying city behind her and the burning palace ahead, Elara walked toward her fate.