Nova — The Price of the Forge
The Heartforge light dimmed.
Not extinguished — restrained.
Nova staggered forward as the red-gold glow drained from his veins, leaving a deep, aching cold behind. His breath came in ragged pulls, every muscle screaming as if he'd forged himself upon the anvil instead of steel.
Theta lay embedded in the shattered bridge, pale flame sputtering and unstable.
The assassin pushed himself upright slowly, one knee cracking as it bent.
"...Confirmed," Theta said hoarsely. "Heartforge integration successful."
Nova raised his blade on instinct — then nearly dropped it as his arm trembled.
Kira was at his side instantly, gripping his shoulder.
"Hey. Stay with me. Don't you dare collapse now."
Her voice wasn't sharp this time.
It was scared.
Nova forced himself to meet her eyes.
"I'm... still here."
Theta laughed quietly — a broken, humorless sound.
"You shouldn't be."
He lifted two fingers to his temple. A sigil burned bright, then dimmed.
"Report transmitted," he said calmly. "The Crown knows."
Raze swore under his breath.
"How long until reinforcements?"
Theta smiled — thin, satisfied.
"Soon."
Then his body ignited in white flame and collapsed inward, dissolving into ash that scattered into the magma below.
Silence fell.
Only the Heartforge's low, distant pulse remained.
Kira exhaled shakily.
"He... he just killed himself."
"No," Raze said grimly. "He left. That was an extraction protocol."
Nova closed his eyes.
The Crown knew he lived.
Knew he'd awakened the forge.
And they would not stop now.
Sorra — Crossing the Burning Sky
The wind screamed around Sorra as she tore through the clouds, stormfire trailing behind her like a comet's tail.
Her mana burned hot — unstable, overflowing.
She didn't slow.
Didn't think.
Only felt.
Nova's presence pulsed faintly now — weaker than before, like an ember buried beneath ash.
"Hold on," she whispered. "I'm coming."
Below her, the mountains split open with ancient scars — old forges, ruined strongholds, buried secrets.
Then she saw it.
A pillar of faint red-gold light fading into the sky.
Her heart lurched.
"That's him."
She dove.
Nova — An Oath in the Ruins
They regrouped deeper in the forge chamber, away from the shattered bridges.
Kira helped Nova sit, her hands lingering longer than necessary as she checked him for burns.
"You're an idiot," she muttered.
He smiled faintly.
"Yeah."
She didn't pull away.
Raze knelt before the Heartforge, head bowed.
"Nova Grey," he said solemnly, "you've done what no one has in centuries. You've awakened the forge... and survived."
Nova stared at the ancient anvil.
"At what cost?"
Raze didn't answer.
Because the answer was already written across Nova's veins — faint lines of red-gold light that hadn't fully faded.
Power always demanded payment.
Kira followed his gaze.
"...You don't regret it," she said softly.
Nova shook his head.
"No. I regret waiting so long."
He stood — unsteady, but determined.
"The Crown will come again. For me. For Sorra. For anyone tied to House Grey."
Kira met his eyes.
"Then we stop running."
Raze placed a hand over his heart.
"The Ironbound will stand with you."
Nova looked up at the Heartforge, feeling its pulse answer his resolve.
"I swear," he said quietly, voice steady as steel,
"no one will ever burn my family again."
Far above the forge, the air shifted.
A storm approached.
And Sorra Grey was racing straight toward it.