Night fell over the northern borders.
At the edge of the Cracked Moon Wastes, the Royal Flame Army had secretly assembled. The main force of the Flame Capital advanced stealthily aboveground, yet the true battlefield had long since unfolded quietly in Evelynn's heart.
She knew: the three-night deadline would soon expire. The Bone King would use her flame core as the "kindling altar nucleus" to resurrect at the Altar.
And she must seize the moment before that—rewrite the altar seal with the "Self-Flame Blood Oath," reclaiming initiative.
Preparations Before the Flame Oath
Moonlight hung cold, and flame tents stood upon ice in the valley.
Evelynn, draped in scarlet silk, stood alone at the center of the spirit flame altar. The entire altar was forged from the remains of the old king's bones, its center etched with the residual patterns of Kazas's soul flame.
Lucian and Elea flanked her, one wielding a flame halberd, the other gripping the Silver Oath Sword.
"Tonight," Evelynn whispered, "I will use my body and soul flame to bind these two worlds as one."
"One is the Flame King's world; the other is my will."
She lifted her gaze, soft-voiced:
"You two—must share the flame seal with me, blood and flesh as covenant."
Lucian drew a deep breath, slowly removing his armor.
"Then let me be your final guardian, whether in hell or on the god's altar."
Elea fell silent for a long while before speaking softly: "You know my heart, my flame, my body… have never refused you."
Ritual of Spirit and Flesh
Flames rose, and the temperature of the entire altar surged.
Evelynn approached Lucian, her fingers tracing the unhealed scar across his firm chest, wilder in the firelight.
She reached to loosen her silk robe, her naked form emerging like a flame goddess descended.
Lucian wrapped his arms around her waist, lifting her gently at the altar's center. They merged intimately, flames coiling around them as she moaned softly at his entrance.
Fire patterns tangled across their skin, body and will fusing inch by inch.
Elea watched, fingers trembling, but finally closed her eyes and stepped into the flame circle.
She shed her silver oath robes, kneeling behind Evelynn, looping her arms around her bare back to press her forehead against the royal flame marks.
"Flame Lord above, flame oath enduring, I offer myself… to resonate with my king's heart."
Evelynn, bearing Lucian's intense thrusts, tilted her head to pull Elea into her embrace. Lips and tongues tangled, flame breath mingling, their consciousness burning in sync within the soul fire.
That night, they were no longer merely king, warrior, and oathbearer.
They were accomplices, prisoners of flame, lovers bound for ruin.
Royal Blood Sealing the Mark
At the ritual's climax, Evelynn plunged her right hand into her chest, tearing free a piece of searing fire core.
It was the deepest fragment of her soul—the heart of flame blood.
Gritting her teeth, she split the fire core into three, pressing one into Lucian's chest, another into Elea's.
"This is the final oath," she gasped. "If I become an altar vessel, use this mark to destroy me."
"If I transcend into royal soul… I will never betray you."
The moment the fire cores entered, flame heart patterns blazed on both their chests.
Lucian pulled her into his arms, flames cascading like falling stars.
Elea kissed her forehead, tears dripping onto the flame heart.
The altar erupted in flames, turning the sky bright as day.
From the direction of the distant Cracked Moon Throne, a roar shook the earth— sensing the preemptive counter-ritual.
The Bone King's dream had been awakened.
Countdown to the Divine Ritual
Dawn broke, and the three lay exhausted within the flame altar.
Evelynn smiled at the two beside her, fingers brushing the flame marks on their chests.
"Your hearts are now linked to mine."
She sat up slowly, wrapping the flame robe around her.
"Time to send him back to his bones."