For a moment, the chamber lay in utter silence.
Dust drifted slowly through the air.The shattered runic chains dimmed.Kai held Lina against him, her face pressed to his chest, both shaking.
Then—
BZZT.
The device flickered again.
A single rune pulsed.
NEXT.
Kai's grip tightened around Lina. "No. Absolutely not. We're not doing this again."
Reyon exhaled shakily. "Oh good. The demon chair wants a sequel."
Seren backed away, eyes wide, voice trembling. "It's… asking for the next memory."
"Whose?" Lina whispered.
Seren swallowed hard."…Yours."
Lina's body tensed.
Kai stepped in front of her instantly. "No one is touching her."
He raised his sword at the device, Shadowsteel gathering around the blade like ink dripping from a nightmare.
But the device responded.
A shockwave blasted out—Kai, Reyon, and Seren slammed into the walls.
Lina alone remained standing, frozen within a circle of golden light.
"Kai!" she cried.
He struggled to his feet, vision blurry, mark burning so violently it cracked the skin around it.
"DON'T—TOUCH—HER—"
But the device ignored him.
The circle of light around Lina tightened.
Reyon shouted, "It's isolating her flame—like a spotlight—!"
Seren gasped, "No—it's… it's selecting a timeline!"
Lina's eyes widened. "A what?!"
"The device," Seren whispered, voice shaking,"…it shows possible futures.One at a time.One 'tear' at a time."
Kai lunged forward—but the circle repelled him like an invisible wall.
"KAI!"Lina reached out, fingers brushing wall-light.She couldn't touch him.
He pressed his palm to the barrier."Lina. I'm right here. You're not alone."
Her voice broke. "I can't do this again—"
But the device was already humming.
The light turned white.
Then gold.
Then—
The vision swallowed her.
The Vision
Lina stood in a burning courtyard.
Not the academy courtyard.
Something bigger.Older.Fallen.
The sky was red with flame.Buildings melted like wax.Screams echoed in the distance.
Lina clutched her head. "No—no—this isn't real—this isn't MY memory—!"
A figure walked toward her through the smoke.
Tall.Barely visible.A silhouette of gold flame and shadow.
The voice was gentle — painfully familiar.
"This is what happens when you choose the world."
Lina stepped back. "Who—who are you?!"
The figure didn't answer.
Instead, the flames parted—
Revealing a body in the rubble.
A boy.
Lina's heart stopped.
"Kai…?"
She fell to her knees beside him.
His hand reached weakly toward her.
Her breath broke into a sob.
"Kai—please—please don't—"
He smiled.
A broken, raw, heartbreaking smile.
"Don't cry, flame."
Lina sobbed harder. "You promised—You promised you wouldn't leave—"
His fingers brushed her cheek.
"I didn't leave."His voice was faint."You chose to save them. You chose the world.""I always knew… I wasn't the choice you'd make."
Lina screamed—
"NO!"
The vision cracked—
Shattered—
And she was thrown back into the real chamber.
Reality
She collapsed, shaking violently.
Kai caught her mid-fall.
"Lina! Lina, look at me—what did it show you?!"
She sobbed into him.
"You…You were dead…"
Kai froze.
Reyon's face fell.
Seren covered her mouth.
Lina clutched Kai's uniform tightly, trembling so hard she could barely breathe.
"I chose the world," she whispered."And you died because of me."
Kai's arms tightened around her as if she'd break apart.
"I'm not going anywhere," he whispered fiercely."I'm alive. I'm right here.""And I'm not letting some cursed device decide our future."
Lina couldn't stop shaking.
Seren suddenly gasped, staggering back.
"The prophecy—another line—"
Kai looked up sharply. "What now?"
Seren gripped her head as a voice not her own echoed through her.
"When flame sees the fallen heart,the second tear is carved."
Reyon whispered, "Fallen… heart…? That's Kai in the vision."
Seren continued, trembling violently.
"If she chooses the world,the heart she loves will be the first to break."
The room froze.
Lina stared at Kai.Kai stared back, pain in his eyes.
Reyon whispered, "So… either the world burns… or Kai dies?"
Seren sobbed, "No… no… there must be more—there must—"
But the prophecy didn't care.
The device pulsed again.
Another word formed on its rune panel:
NEXT.
Lina's entire body went cold.
Kai stood, sword raised, Shadowsteel crackling violently.
"No. She's done. You don't get to take anything else from her."
But the device glowed brighter.
Chains of light formed again.
Lina gasped.
"Kai—run—!"
He didn't even consider it.
He grabbed her hand.
"If you fall," he whispered, "I fall with you."
The device screamed awake—
To be Continued© Kishtika., 2025All rights reserved.