Clarissa's scream echoed through the chamber, the kind that made even walls flinch.
Sweat glistened on her brow, her knuckles pale as she gripped Zephyr's hand. Her back arched as another wave of pain surged through her body, ripping a gasp from her lungs. Around her, the eleven queens moved with precision—no fear, no panic, only purpose.
Aelira's voice hummed softly from her place at the chamber's edge. "The divine barrier holds. No trace of external force has breached us yet."
Zahra paced outside the door, blade drawn, her flames restrained but ready. "Let any god try," she muttered. "I'll cut their name off the wind."
Inside, Eluriah stood over Clarissa, hands glowing as she channeled healing and energy through ancient rites. Her golden strands floated weightlessly around her head, eyes deep in focus.
"She's nearly there," Eluriah said, breath steady. "The child's aura is... not entirely human. Not entirely divine either. It's... something else."
Zephyr nodded, his face pale but calm. He wasn't afraid. Not anymore. He'd walked through worse fires than this.
He brushed the damp strands from Clarissa's forehead.
"You're doing so well," he whispered. "I'm here. Always."
Clarissa opened her eyes, hazy with pain and effort. "You better not faint."
"I'll wait until after."
They both laughed. Even in the midst of chaos, they still found each other.
Then suddenly—the room changed.
The candles flickered. The air itself bent inward like it was holding its breath.
And Zephyr felt it.
[System Alert]
– Flameborn Entity Detected
– Unique Soul Signature Confirmed: {Zephyr Thorn + Clarissa Altheia}
– Trait: Godless Origin
– Classification: Unbound Divine-Class
– Threat Potential: "Incarnate of Free Will"
– Authority Response: Pending…
The words seared across his vision like a silent whisper in his skull.
She was coming.
Not just a child.
A force.
Clarissa let out one final cry—raw, thunderous, filled with everything that had led them to this moment.
And then… silence.
Followed by the first breath of a new voice.
A tiny wail.
Not divine. Not monstrous.
But power.
Living, breathing, naked power wrapped in a child's cry.
Zephyr caught her in his arms.
Small, flushed, wet with life—
But her eyes… her eyes burned like molten gold.
And she was already looking straight at him.
Not with confusion.
Not with weakness.
With awareness.
"She's…" he began, but he couldn't even speak.
Eluriah was already casting healing spells across Clarissa's body, gently weaving her magic to ease the shock of childbirth. Clarissa lay back, exhausted but alive, her chest rising and falling as she tried to catch her breath.
Zephyr held the baby against his chest, the tiny heartbeat strong and steady. "She's perfect."
Clarissa smiled faintly, eyes glassy. "Let me see her…"
He laid the child beside her, and Clarissa traced her daughter's cheek with trembling fingers. The girl's golden eyes fluttered closed, content to feel warmth and love before anything else.
> [System Message – Soulbind Registered]
– Designation: Flameborn Heiress
– Primary Attribute: Willpower (Divine-tier)
– Subtrait: Lust Immunity | Desire Anchor | Sovereign Breaker
– Status: Imprint Established
– All Eleven Queens Linked
– Warning: Entity cannot be classified. Authority Council has been notified.
Zephyr stared down at his daughter, emotion rushing through him so fast it felt like drowning.
Not even during war had he felt like this.
Clarissa smiled sleepily. "She's going to change everything."
Zephyr kissed her brow. "She already has."
Outside the chamber, Aelira stiffened. The pressure in the air thickened again—this time, not from the child.
It was something else.
Watching.
"Something has shifted," she said calmly.
Zahra turned, eyes narrowing. "What do you mean?"
Aelira's eyes glazed with divine focus.
[System Update – External Influence Detected]
– Source: Council of Supreme Order
– Intent: Observation / Preliminary Assessment
– Status: Non-Intrusive… for now.
"Eyes are on us," Aelira whispered. "The gods are watching her birth. Not interfering—but preparing."
"Preparing for what?" Zahra asked, hand on her blade.
Aelira stood, her grey cloak billowing behind her. "For the next phase. The birth of the Flameborn marks a new Age. And they will want to control it… or extinguish it."
—
In the days that followed, word spread like wildfire across the realms.
They called her many names:
Daughter of the Unbroken Flame
Heir to the Sovereign's End
The Willborn Star
But Zephyr didn't care what they called her.
To him, she was just Aeris.
His daughter.
And the reason he'd burn heaven if they ever came for her.
One evening, as the twilight draped over the Sanctum, Zephyr stood alone in the nursery. The child was sleeping, her little fingers curled around a flame-shaped pendant—a gift from Zahra, forged from the same steel she once used in battle.
Behind him, Aelira approached.
"She's already reshaping the fabric of power," she said quietly.
"I know," Zephyr replied. "And I don't know how to protect her from all of it."
Aelira placed a hand on his shoulder.
"You don't need to. You only need to raise her with truth. She'll protect herself… and possibly, all of us."
He nodded.
But then—his system buzzed again.
[Urgent System Broadcast – New Faction Detected]
– Classification: Orderborn Sentinels
– Intent: Flameborn Surveillance / Potential Containment
– Estimated Arrival: 7 Days
– Recommend: Prepare Sanctum Defenses
Zephyr's eyes narrowed.
"Seven days," he whispered. "That's all the time we have."
"Until what?" Aelira asked.
"Until they decide she's a threat worth erasing."
He looked down at his daughter.
And made a vow—not with magic, not with the system.
Just with his soul.
"If they come for her…
they'll have to go through all of us."