In the underground abyss, the gray flame heart pulsed ever faster, as if it would swallow the entire royal capital.
The figure emerging from the fire was identical to Ilea.
Only, her eyes glowed with a frigid ashen hue, and the smile on her lips held allure and disdain.
Ilea stiffened, her oath mark throbbing sharply in her chest.
Lucian stepped in front of her, his sword tip pointing at the gray shadow's incarnation, his voice low with suppressed fury: "Don't get close to her."
"Heh..." The gray shadow smiled, her voice nearly identical to Ilea's tone. "Why so tense? I am her."
She lifted a hand, her trailing through the air, and gray flames danced in its wake.
"I am the power she craves but dares not touch, the darkness buried deep in her heart. You know this, Lucian—her flames are not pure."
Ilea ground her teeth, her voice trembling with anger: "Be silent! I am not you!"
"Not me?" The gray shadow chuckled, appearing suddenly before Ilea, her finger brushing Ilea's cheek. "Then why do you call to me again and again in your dreams? Why do you see my shadow whenever desire and pain intertwine?"
Ilea trembled, her eyes reddening. Her soul seemed to split in that instant.
Lucian suddenly swung his sword, flames driving the gray shadow back.
He pulled Ilea into his arms, roaring: "Don't listen to her! She only wants to destroy you!"
The gray shadow laughed softly, her gaze lingering on their intertwined figures, her tone growing more seductive: "Oh... such fiery love. Pity— the brighter your flames burn, the stronger I grow. Her oath mark has long since cracked."
The gray flame heart shuddered violently, and hundreds of trapped souls wailed in unison.
Ilea's face turned ashen, barely able to stand.
Lucian murmured in her ear: "Look at me. Don't fall into it."
His voice was fiery and steady as he gripped her shoulders. "If you must fall, I'll fall with you."
Tears slid down Ilea's cheeks, only to burst into blazing light the next moment.
"I will never be your puppet."
Her flame sword blazed with golden-red Phoenix fire, aligning with Lucian's blade.
The gray shadow's smile turned cold. Gray flames gathered around her, forming another flame sword identical to Ilea's.
"Then come. Let us see who is the true Phoenix."
With a roar, gray and golden flames collided in the abyss of the dream tide.
Firelight illuminated the three figures—a fated duel, now begun.