It began just before dawn.
Ashun's flame pulsed as usual—his breath drawing faint spirals in the air.
Renn sat nearby, her self-named glyph hovering peacefully over her hand.
The sparkless boy breathed slowly, quietly.
And then—
One of the flames went still.
It belonged to a girl named Kelra.
Her flame had always flickered like wind in stone—resistant but constant.
But now—
It did not flicker.
It did not pulse.
It simply…
Stopped.
Not extinguished.
Just silent.
Renn noticed first.
She rose, flame hovering protectively.
"Kelra?"
Kelra sat cross-legged, eyes closed. Calm. Present.
But her spark was no longer glowing.
No light.
No rhythm.
No resonance.
Just stillness.
Ashun's voice was quiet.
"Is it gone?"
Tenji shook his head.
"No."
"It's resting."
Then, something strange happened.
The other flames began softening.
Not shrinking.
Just matching her silence.
Like a lake mirroring the sky when wind finally stops.
Even the seventh flame—the formless breath-spark—drew closer to Kelra, not to reignite her, but to be near her silence.
The sparkless boy nodded gently.
"She doesn't need to burn right now."
"Her truth is still here."
And then—
A warmth filled the circle.
Not from heat.
Not from light.
But from acceptance.
Flame did not demand she speak.
It simply sat beside her stillness.
In the skyfar temple, a seer wrote:
"Witnessed: Flame without motion."
"Result: No failure. No loss."
"Designation: Resting Spark."
Wei Lin, seeing the report through the soulstream, whispered:
"We've taught flame how to fight, to speak, to shine…"
"But maybe the strongest flame is the one that knows when not to."
Back in the circle, Kelra finally opened her eyes.
She said nothing.
But her lips curved.
And the others said nothing back.
Because now they understood:
Not all sparks express.
Some just remain.
And the Fire That Waits whispered:
"Now they know what I knew…"
"Flame does not always move."
"And still—it endures."