The library was closed for the night, but that never stopped Ciel. He and Lily had learned the pattern of the warding spells weeks ago. One whisper of her wind element, and the locks came undone, silent as breath.
They moved through aisles of dust and parchment, the smell of old magic thick in the air. Their goal was simple: find anything about the Fractured Flame or the Founders' Fifth.
"Over here," Lily said softly, pulling out a thick ledger bound in black thread. It was labeled "Birth Records — Year 121 of the New Era."
She flipped the pages until one caught her eye. The ink there was faintly burned, as if someone had tried to erase it by fire.
Name: Yohan Vale
Status: Redacted.
Origin: Unknown.
Element Affinity: None (suppressed).
Below it, scrawled in messy, desperate handwriting, were words that didn't belong in any official record:
"Contain him before the seal remembers."
Ciel's fingers tightened on the page. "Suppressed affinity? That's impossible. No one can live without an element. It's what keeps your spirit balanced."
Lily's expression hardened. "Unless his element isn't part of the Five."
A low sound cut through the silence—footsteps.
They blew out their lanterns immediately. Through the slits between shelves, they saw Kael entering, his aura faint but sharp, like steel drawn across stone.
He wasn't alone. A tall woman in white robes followed—a Seer. Her veil shimmered faintly, and every step she took made the books tremble.
Kael's voice was quiet, heavy. "You can't keep this buried forever, Maestra. He's awakening."
The Seer stopped.
"Then seal him again. You were the one who found him in the ruins. You should've ended it there."
"I couldn't," Kael said, almost to himself. "He looked just like—" He stopped, catching his breath. "He's not what they think."
The Seer turned sharply toward him.
"He is what they think. The vessel failed once, and if it breaks again, so does the balance."
Kael's jaw tightened.
"Balance? Or control?"
For a moment, even the air seemed to hold still. The Seer reached into her sleeve, pulling out a fragment of parchment glowing faintly gold.
Ciel and Lily leaned forward, hearts pounding.
It was a page torn from the Founders' Codex.
The Seer whispered:
"This is what remains of the truth. Five elements were forged by the divine hands—but a sixth flame was born of rebellion. It sought to rewrite creation itself. It devoured its host."
She looked up, her voice almost trembling. "That flame was sealed in human form. Its name was erased. But its mark was never gone."
Kael stared at the parchment, then slowly closed his fist around it.
"Then Yohan Vale," he murmured, "isn't cursed… he is the curse."
The torches around them flickered—then all at once, extinguished.
The Seer gasped, and Kael's eyes flared with sudden alarm.
A faint heat spread through the library air. Books on nearby shelves began to smolder—not burn, but glow softly, as though remembering old fire.
And from the farthest corner, where no one stood, came a low, echoing whisper:
"You shouldn't have said my name."
Kael spun around, hand raised, but the sound had already vanished—like smoke dispersing in the dark.
Ciel's hands shook. "He's not even here… and the flame answered."
Lily's voice was barely a whisper. "It's waking up."