Light swallowed her.
Not warm light.Not her flame.
A cold, ancient brightness that felt like hands—pulling, tearing, unraveling.
Lina gasped as her body jolted upward, suspended mid-air by chains of golden fire.
"KAI—!"Her voice cracked like breaking glass.
Kai leapt forward—only for a violent force to blast him across the chamber.He slammed into the stone wall, coughing blood, mark glowing like molten shadow.
"KAI!" she cried again.
He forced himself up instantly—stumbling, shaking, ignoring the blood dripping from his lip.
"Lina… I'm coming— I'm not— leaving you—"
He tried to take a single step—
The chains tightened around Lina's chest.
Her vision blurred.
Her flame—her very soul—felt like it was being pulled through her ribs.
Seren collapsed, clutching her head as another prophecy strike hit her.
Her voice echoed, layered, ancient:
"When the fourth tear falls,the flame faces death.Her heart leaves her body.And the world begins to break."
Reyon cursed, standing protectively in front of both Seren and Kai.
"This is insane— we need to stop that device before it rips her in half!"
But the chamber answered him—
A deep rumbling growl from beneath the stone.
The voice returned.
Not a whisper.
A presence.
"Little Flame…"
The walls vibrated.Dust fell.Runes cracked.
Kai's eyes widened in horror."Everyone BACK— something's coming through—"
Reyon dragged Seren away from the center.
Kai staggered forward again, even as Shadowsteel leaked uncontrollably from his arms.
"Lina—stay awake! Stay—stay with me—"
She couldn't.
Her flame was slipping.
Dropping.
Leaving her.
Her body felt distant—cold—empty—
Then the world flashed white.
Lina's Death Memory
She stood on a cliff of black stone, overlooking a sea of golden fire.
Her fire.
Her essence.
Falling.Fading.Scattering like ashes.
Lina clutched her chest. "W-What… is this…?"
Someone stood next to her.
A shadowed figure, tall and thin, wrapped in tattered robes.
Its face was darkness.
Its voice was the one from beneath the academy.
"This is your death."
Lina staggered backward. "No—no— I'm not dying— I'm not—!"
"Yes," the entity murmured."You are dying, Lina Veris.Your flame was not meant to last.The last one burned.You will burn too."
"No!" she screamed.
"You were born a key.Keys are not meant to live.Only to open."
Her throat tightened. "Open WHAT?!"
Its head tilted.The darkness of its face stretched into something like a smile.
"Me."
Lina froze.
Her pulse stopped.
The ground beneath her cracked.
Her flame dimmed to almost nothing.
"No…" she whispered."No—no—no—"
The figure leaned closer.
"You cannot run from what you are.You cannot run from what you must unlock."
It reached for her—Its hand of shadow inches from her chest—
Suddenly—
Golden flame burst around her.
Lina gasped.
She felt—
A touch.
A warmth.
A familiar voice.
"Lina.Open your eyes.COME BACK TO ME."
Kai.
His voice.
His desperation.
His pain.
His love.
Her flame flickered violently—then surged.
The entity hissed.
"You cannot leave."
Lina's eyes blazed.
"Yes.I can."
She tore herself out of the vision—out of death—out of the cliff—as her flame exploded back into her body—
Reality
She fell—straight into Kai's arms.
He caught her like he'd been waiting to breathe.
"Lina—LINA—"He crushed her to him, shaking."Don't— don't do that again— don't you ever—"
She sobbed into his shoulder."Kai—Kai— I thought— I thought I died—"
He held her tighter."You didn't.You're here.I've got you."
Reyon exhaled shakily. "Holy— I… actually thought we lost you."
Seren wiped her tears. "Your flame… it left your body… it wasn't beating…"
Kai pulled back slightly, cupping Lina's face with trembling hands.
"Don't you EVER leave me like that," he whispered, voice cracking."I can't— I can't—"
She placed her hands over his."I won't. I swear it. I won't."
He pressed his forehead to hers, eyes wet and wild.
"I can't lose you."
The chamber trembled again.
A final rune lit across the device:
REVELATION.
A hidden panel opened.
Inside—
A plaque.
Lina lifted it with shaking hands.
Her flame pulsed—
as she read the inscription:
"The Seventh Flame is the Academy's core containment key.Her death opens the seal.Her survival breaks it."
Kai froze.
Reyon froze.
Seren froze.
Lina dropped the plaque.
Her voice was barely a whisper.
"I'm… the key the academy was built to control."
Kai wrapped his arms around her fiercely.
"I don't care what they built you for," he whispered."You're mine to protect."
But the voice beneath the academy spoke once more—
"Little Flame…Your death is coming."
To be Continued© Kishtika., 2025All rights reserved.