The darkness thickened.
It wasn't fog.
It wasn't shadow.
It was presence.
A shape coalesced — towering, faceless, carved from night itself.Its edges rippled like torn cloth dipped in ink.When it inhaled, the entire Forbidden Wing seemed to breathe with it.
Reyon collapsed backward."Nope. No thank you. I cannot illusion my way out of THAT."
Seren staggered, clutching her head.
"Oh no… oh no… its echoes are everywhere— they're inside every wall— inside every student memory—"
Kai pulled Lina behind him instinctively, Shadowsteel flickering in unstable arcs.
But the entity didn't even look at Kai.
It looked only at Lina.
When it spoke, the floor trembled.
"Little Flame."
Lina's heart froze.
Kai snarled."DON'T TALK TO HER."
The entity didn't acknowledge him.
Again—
"Little Flame… you have grown."
Lina swallowed hard, forcing her voice not to shake.
"What are you…?"
The entity tilted its head — or the shadow that resembled a head.
"I am memory.I am the echo of the first flame.I am the reason your soul burns."
Lina felt her ribs tighten painfully.
Her flame — normally bright gold — flickered black for half a second.
Kai saw it."Lina—!"
She stepped forward, trembling.
"No.I need to know."
The entity extended a warped hand.
"Come closer."
Kai dragged her back, fury erupting in his voice.
"She is NOT going anywhere near you."
The entity finally acknowledged him.
Just enough to answer:
"Oathbreaker."
Kai flinched as if struck.
Shadowsteel surged from his chest, reacting instinctively.
"Your vow binds her fate.As hers binds yours."
Kai stepped in front of Lina fully now.
"You touch her, and I'll—"
The entity whispered:
"You'll fail.As you failed before."
Kai froze.Color drained from his face.
Reyon whispered, "That's… that's not fighting talk. That's psychological WARFARE."
Seren trembled violently.
"I… I can hear its echoes — it's tied to the academy's foundation. It's older than the Council. Older than Aetherion itself—"
The entity's voice grew deeper.
"Older than the world."
Lina's breath caught.
"What do you want from me?" she whispered.
The shadows pulsed.
"Your flame calls to me.Your memories belong to me."
Lina shook her head violently.
"No. My memories were erased — not yours to take."
The entity leaned closer.
"They erased them because they feared you."
Silence.
Cold. Breathless.
Kai stiffened.Lina's hands shook.
"Feared… me…?"
"Feared what you are becoming."
Its voice softened — horrifyingly gentle.
"Seven flames for seven endings.The prophecy does not lie."
Seren gasped as another wave of echo-energy struck her.
"The eighth tear… it's forming… Kai… Lina… something is unraveling—"
The entity raised its hand.
A spark of black-gold fire danced in its palm.
Lina's flame rippled in response — reaching toward it.
"No— NO—" Lina stepped back, panic rising."What is that?!"
The entity whispered:
"A piece of you."
The spark flew toward her.
Kai threw up a wall of Shadowsteel—
It passed straight through.
Lina's chest ignited with searing, unbearable heat.
She collapsed to her knees, clutching her heart.
"LINA!" Kai dropped beside her.
The entity's voice echoed inside her skull.
"You used this flame once before…the night the ward collapsed."
Lina screamed as memories erupted:
Black fire surging from her palms.A collapsing ceiling.Arienne's terrified eyes.Kai reaching for her—
Kai dragging Lina's unconscious body out of the flames—
Kai choosing her over his sister—
Lina gasped for air.
"No—no—no— I didn't MEAN to— I didn't KNOW—"
The entity whispered:
"You were born with the fire that ends.It cannot be contained.It cannot be controlled.It can only choose."
Kai held her tightly, shaking.
"Lina, look at me— look at ME— you're not alone—"
But the entity ignored him completely.
"The flame has chosen before.And it will choose again."
Lina sobbed, her voice cracking.
"Choose WHAT?!"
The shadows spread across the floor — forming burning symbols.
A prophecy circle.
Seren collapsed as the eighth tear spoke through her:
"When the Seventh Flame awakens fully,the world will burn or be sparedby the one she loves."
Lina's breath stopped.
Kai's grip tightened around her.
The entity extended a swirling arm of darkness, touching the prophecy symbols.
"Your choice, Little Flame."
Lina whispered:
"Choice…?"
The entity's voice became a whisper of thunder:
"To destroy the academy…or destroy the one your heart protects."
Kai's breath caught.
"No.NO— LINA, don't listen—"
The entity leaned closer.
"The Seventh Flame chooses what survives."
Lina trembled violently.
"And you, Lina Veris…must decide who survives you."
The symbols ignited in gold and black—
And the name on the prophecy circle slowly revealed itself.
Lina's eyes widened in horror.
Kai whispered, terrified:
"Lina… what name is it?"
Her voice barely came out.
"…Yours."
To be Continued
© Kishtika., 2025
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