The sky above the Fortress of Ash fractured like glass beneath pressure. Where a star had once burned, an obsidian eye now stared, unblinking—alive. The gate hadn't just cracked. It had called.
Seraphina clutched the window frame, her knuckles pale. She felt the child stir within her again, but this time it wasn't from power—it was warning.
"It sees us," she whispered.
Ravon stood behind her, cloak rippling with heat. "It was bound to awaken."
"No," Seraphina said, her voice trembling. "It was waiting."
---
Beneath the earth, the hooded figure reached the heart of the Under Flame—a hollow chamber where the last essence of Ravon's immortal soul pulsed like a dying ember, sealed in a crystal coffin.
She unsheathed the blade made of his past.
"Forgive me, Demon Lord," she murmured. "But the realms need a weaker version of you."
She raised the blade—
And the flame fought back.
A pulse of rage, of memory, of Seraphina. The fire didn't just burn. It remembered.
The blade shattered.
The hooded figure screamed, clutching her face as fire etched a mark across her cheek.
"She has awakened the bond…" she hissed. "The child protects even his father's flame…"
---
Meanwhile, in the war room of the fortress, demon generals gathered. Some bowed. Others trembled.
"The gate is watching," said Vareth, Ravon's war-brother. "And the old beasts stir beneath it. The Cradle Keepers aren't just guardians anymore. They are scouts for what lies beyond."
"Then we bring the war to them," Ravon said coldly.
Seraphina touched his hand. "No. We bring the truth."
Ravon looked at her, confused. "What truth?"
She turned, her eyes glowing with silver light—the light of the child.
"The realms are not meant to be ruled by fear. The child… our child… carries a will. Not just power. And that will is choice."
---
Suddenly, the walls of the fortress trembled. A voice rang out—not spoken, but heard in every heart.
"Vessel. Fire. Heir."
The voice was old as creation. And it was coming from the gate.
Ravon bared his fangs. "Let it come."
But Seraphina stepped forward, one hand on her womb, the other held high.
"No. Let it speak. Before we end it."
The eye above the sky blinked—once.
And then the gate… began to open.