Chapter 89
Smoke curled skyward like prayers lost in wind.
The battlefield had gone still, but the air still trembled with tension.
Kael's armor was scorched, one gauntlet shattered.Eliendara's braid was undone, streaks of ash smeared across her cheek.
And in the center of it all—the boy.
Kneeling.
Breathing.
Shaking.
But alive.
Kael approached slowly, kneeling beside him.
"You held the fire back."
The boy looked up, eyes filled with fear—and something else.
Strength.
"I didn't want to hurt anyone," he whispered.
Kael nodded. "And you didn't. That's what makes you stronger than the gods ever were."
Behind them, Eliendara walked among the fallen enemies.
Most had vanished into shadow, melted away.
But one remained.
A masked warrior, pinned beneath a half-burnt branch.
Still alive. Barely.
Eliendara yanked the mask free.
Her breath caught.
"…No."
Kael turned. "What is it?"
Her voice shook.
"It's someone who should have died with the old world."
The woman beneath the mask coughed blood, but managed to smile.
"You thought your choices didn't leave echoes?"
She turned her gaze toward the boy.
"He isn't the first. He won't be the last."
Kael stepped forward.
"What do you mean?"
The woman's eyes glazed over as she whispered—
"The fire left seeds in more than one soul…and not all of them… will choose peace."
Her body went still.
The last spark of life faded from her skin.
And the shadows around her retreated.
Eliendara didn't speak for a long time.
Then finally, she looked at Kael.
"There are more like him."
Kael nodded.
"And not all of them will want the world we're building."
Above them, the wind shifted.
Carrying the scent of something distant.
Not war.
But possibility.
The child clutched Kael's cloak.
"Will I have to fight them?"
Kael crouched and met his eyes.
"Only if they try to burn what you're trying to protect."
The boy nodded slowly.
Then looked to the sky.
And somewhere far away, in a land untouched by their flames…
another child opened their eyes—
and theirs did not burn with warmth.
🔮 Next Chapter Preview – Chapter 90: Ashes of the Forgotten Flame
While Kael and Eliendara begin to rebuild,a new fire rises in the ruins of a forgotten city.
But this flame does not seek peace—it seeks vengeance.
And its bearer remembers everything Kael tried to leave behind.