The silence after the vessel fell felt heavier than the entire battle. The deep-blue fragment still pulsed within the containment spell Liriel had raised, and I could feel the flame inside me reacting to it in a way that was hard to explain — like recognition, but also repulsion.
Rai'kanna walked a few steps ahead, analyzing the cracked portal that still flickered at the back of the valley. The fissure seemed unstable; fringes of bluish energy spread along its edge like frozen roots trying to grip the air.
"It won't stay open for long," she said. "But it also won't close completely."
Vespera kicked a piece of black ice. "Great. So we have a portal that neither opens nor closes. A perfect dilemma for today."
Elara put away her bow. "If this is the work of the monsters' commander, we're dealing with something much more dangerous than we imagined."
Lyannis took a deep breath, still holding my arm. "We must return and warn the king."
Rai'kanna agreed. "Let's go. This isn't something we can face alone."
We started walking back, but something wouldn't leave my mind — the voice inside the flame. That guidance so precise, so calm in the middle of chaos. It felt like it was part of me… and at the same time completely foreign.
Vespera noticed my silence. "Thinking too much, walking bonfire?"
"You'd think too, if something talked inside you," I replied, trying to keep a straight face.
"Depends," she said, giving a faint smile. "If it were a polite voice, I might even like it."
Liriel closed her grimoire. "Jokes aside, this isn't normal. His flame is reacting to magic that doesn't belong to this plane. That should never happen."
"But it is happening," Rai'kanna commented without looking back.
The return was faster than the way there. And as we approached the demi-dragon city, the environment changed. Stone towers carved with draconic symbols rose in the distance. Some had small red crystals embedded in them, glowing like living embers. The sound of wings echoed farther back — young dragons flying patrol in irregular patterns.
"They reinforced the guard," Elara said.
"Makes sense," Rai'kanna replied. "After the monster invasion, any strange sign triggers an alert."
As we entered through the main gates, I noticed the tense movement. Demi-dragon warriors armed with jade spears watched every newcomer. New banners were hung, marked with the red alert symbol — a flame surrounded by three claws.
Lyannis walked closer, almost whispering: "I've never seen the city like this… not even when I lived here for a few months."
Vespera blinked. "You lived here?"
"Yes… when I was a child."
Before we could ask more, a trumpet sounded. And then, the king appeared.
King Kael'Drath, imposing even for a demi-dragon, approached with a serious expression. His aura was so strong even the air seemed to pull away.
"You returned earlier than I expected," he said.
Rai'kanna bowed her head. "We found something urgent."
Liriel raised the frozen fragment. "This."
The king frowned immediately — and for the first time, I noticed a trace of genuine concern appear.
"This fragment doesn't belong to any known spirit," he murmured. "And this energy… it isn't just ice. It is void."
Vespera raised her hands. "Everyone keeps talking about this 'void', but no one explained what it means. Void of what, exactly?"
Kael'Drath looked at her, then at me. "Void is absence. A magic that consumes and replaces. An energy that does not belong to this world."
Liriel added: "And, from what it seems… it is searching for Takumi."
The king turned his gaze to me. "Why?"
I wish I knew.
"My flame reacts to everything that comes from these creatures and portals," I explained. "As if it knows what they are."
The king crossed his arms. "The flame inside you did not come from this world. Perhaps it is recognizing something it has seen before."
Rai'kanna sighed. "This is exactly what I feared."
Before we could continue, a young woman came running. She wore ceremonial clothes and had small golden scales along the side of her face. Her eyes shone like amber embers.
The princess.
She stopped before the king, but her gaze went straight to me.
"You returned injured?" she asked immediately.
"I'm fine," I replied, a bit uncomfortable with the intensity.
Vespera gave a mischievous smile. "The boy is gaining fans dangerously fast."
Lyannis looked away, crossing her arms.
The princess stepped even closer. "I heard you faced a creature alone. My father said your flame is special. And I would like to see it."
I looked at Rai'kanna for help, but she simply spread her wings and gave a sly smirk. "Now deal with it."
The king cleared his throat. "Leave that for later. First, I need you to describe everything you saw."
We told him everything from the portal to the vessel, including the voice inside the flame. As we spoke, the king grew more serious.
"In the far north," he murmured. "Where the borders with the ancient territory overlap…"
Liriel raised her hand. "There is something I didn't mention before. The portal wasn't created only to transport prisoners. It was trying to expand."
"Expand?" Elara repeated.
"Yes. Searching for an anchoring point. Something that could sustain its existence."
The king shifted his gaze toward me — and I didn't like what I saw.
Rai'kanna crossed her arms. "You think it wanted to anchor itself in Takumi's flame?"
Kael'Drath nodded slowly.
Lyannis stepped forward, alarmed. "That means the portal was trying to reach him?"
"Yes."
A chill ran down my spine.
The princess placed her hand on my chest. "Then we need to protect him."
Vespera sighed. "Another one in love. Wonderful."
The princess didn't even flinch. "My father said strong men deserve strong guardians."
Lyannis retorted immediately: "He already has enough guardians."
The two stared at each other for long seconds — a heavy silence that was almost sparking.
Elara approached and murmured, "This won't end well."
"I agree," I whispered back.
The king raised his voice. "Enough. There are more urgent matters."
The guards cleared the way. He began walking toward the royal hall.
"Follow me. There is something I need to show you. Something that may explain why the void is after you."
Rai'kanna looked at me. "Ready?"
"No," I answered.
"Great," she said. "We're going anyway."
We followed the king into the fortress, descending ancient stone steps to a reinforced door. Draconic symbols glowed on it like contained embers.
Kael'Drath placed his hand on the seal.
The door opened.
Inside was a circular room with walls covered in ancient inscriptions. And at the center…
An altar. And atop it…
Something that made my flame shudder.
A fragment of fire.
But not a common one — it was dense, alive, as if it were a flaming heart suspended in the air.
"Takumi," the king said, "this fragment… came from the same plane as your flame."
The room seemed to spin around me.
Rai'kanna took a deep breath. "This explains a lot."
Liriel lowered her grimoire, astonished. "And it also creates questions we are not prepared to answer."
The flame inside me vibrated intensely, recognizing that fragment as part of itself.
Like a missing piece.
The king continued:
"This is one of the Primordial Hearts. Something that should not exist in this world. And if the void is awakening… it means it's coming after what is missing."
Lyannis looked at me, alarmed. "What is missing… is inside you?"
The flame burned so strongly I felt my skin tingle.
And at that moment, I understood:
I wasn't just involved in this.
I was the reason for this.
And everything was only beginning.