Darkness swallowed everything.
Kale couldn't tell if he was standing, falling, or floating. The air was thick — not with mist, but with memories.
Whispers filled the void around him, voices old and broken.
"He returns…"
"The Cursed Blood rises again…"
Kale tried to move, but the world twisted.
He blinked — and the ruins of the Vault melted away, replaced by an endless hall of blue fire. The walls pulsed like veins, alive and humming with energy.
Then he saw him.
A man sat on a black throne at the far end of the hall. His hair was silver-white, his robes torn and burned, his eyes glowing the same blue as Kale's — only colder.
"You finally made it," the man said, his voice echoing from everywhere and nowhere.
Kale's throat went dry. "Aurelion."
The man smiled faintly. "So you do know my name. Good. That means the memories are merging faster than I thought."
Kale took a cautious step forward. "This isn't real. It's just mana… an illusion."
"Everything built on mana is real enough," Aurelion said lazily. "Even you."
Kale clenched his fists. "You're the reason my parents died. The reason the Coven wants me dead."
"Wrong," Aurelion replied. "Your parents died because they feared power. And the Coven wants you dead because they crave it. I… am just the consequence."
Kale's pulse quickened. "You're the curse."
Aurelion rose slowly from the throne. Power rippled through the hall. "I am the inheritance your world denied. I was born to free magic from its chains — and for that, they called me cursed."
He stepped closer, his presence heavy, suffocating. "Now the world calls you the same."
"I'm nothing like you."
Aurelion's eyes gleamed. "Aren't you?"
The flames flared around them, and suddenly Kale saw flashes — the witch he'd fought, the glowing chains, the broken seal. Each memory twisted into something darker.
He saw himself standing over Elric and Lyra — both fallen — his own hands wreathed in blue fire.
Kale stumbled back. "No… that's not me."
Aurelion's smile didn't fade. "It's what you'll become if you keep fighting what you are."
Kale's voice broke. "Then what am I?"
Aurelion raised a hand — and a circle of glowing runes appeared beneath Kale's feet. "The Heir of the Vault. The vessel of my legacy. The bridge between what was and what will be."
Blue fire crawled up Kale's legs, searing and cold.
He gritted his teeth. "I'm not your vessel!"
The flames surged higher. Aurelion's voice deepened, echoing through the void.
"You can't destroy me, boy. You are me."
Kale screamed as light engulfed him. His mark shattered completely, fragments of the old seal scattering like glass.
But then — something else stirred.
Lyra's voice cut through the storm, distant but desperate.
"Kale! Don't give in!"
Aurelion's expression faltered. "That voice… it shouldn't reach here."
The blue fire wavered.
Kale forced his eyes open, clinging to the sound. "She's real. I'm real. And I'm not you."
He slammed his hands together instinctively — and light exploded outward. The blue mana twisted, reshaping itself into white.
Aurelion stepped back, shielding his eyes. "Impossible—"
Kale's voice thundered through the void. "Get out of my head!"
The throne hall shattered. Blue fire turned to ash.
Aurelion's form dissolved, his last words echoing faintly:
"You can delay it… but you can't deny me forever."
Then silence.
Kale gasped awake, falling to his knees on the Vault floor. The light around him was dim now, the runes fading to gray.
Lyra and Elric were at his side instantly.
Lyra's eyes were wide. "You were gone for minutes… maybe hours. What happened?"
Kale's voice was hoarse. "I saw him. Aurelion."
Elric's face went pale. "And?"
Kale looked down at his hands. His mark was gone — replaced by faint glowing lines that traced his veins like lightning.
"I beat him back," he whispered. "But he's still there."
Lyra placed a hand on his shoulder. "Then we'll make sure he stays there."
Kale gave a small, tired smile. "You always say 'we'."
She smirked. "You're too dangerous to leave alone."
Elric sighed, half-relieved, half-worried. "The Vault has recognized you. That means every mana creature in this city will, too."
Kale rose, steadying himself. "Then let them come."
He glanced at the cracked seal. "If this city is my inheritance, I'll decide what to do with it."
And deep in the Vault's depths, something shifted — a heartbeat answering his resolve.