The sky bled fire.
Even as the divine horns of war echoed across the broken heavens, the land beneath the Thalorian Temple shook from the power of a being far older than gods. The Ashking, once a benevolent guardian of the Flame Eternal, now twisted by vengeance and primordial hunger, stood at the gates of the mortal world—a titan cloaked in ash and wrath. His molten eyes seared the horizon. Forests withered in his wake. Rivers evaporated. Mountains bowed.
And yet, before him stood Mira.
No longer just the princess of Pyranthos. No longer merely Valeria, the fire goddess. She was something more now—a bridge between realms, bearer of unborn Kael, whose divine pulse hummed even in the womb. Her power surged with his. Her resolve had never burned brighter.
Jaxon—no, Nereus Thalor, Lord of the Tides—stood beside her, wielding his trident forged from the deepest currents of the oceanic abyss. Water coiled around his arms like sentient serpents, ready to crash against flame and fury.
Behind them, stood the remnants of gods, seers, and mortals who still believed in balance: Thalorian descendants, Valerian priestesses, and even Aryan—before the betrayal that would later scar their trust. Today, they were united. For if the Ashking passed the Temple gates, reality itself would bend and burn.
---
The Ashking's voice boomed across the planes. "You dare seal me again? I who bore flame before light touched the stars? You would tame me with spells and oaths?"
Mira stepped forward, the golden fire rippling in her eyes. Her voice rang with defiance. "We do not tame you, Ashking. We mourn what you once were. And we end what you've become."
With a howl of molten rage, the Ashking raised his obsidian hammer and brought it down upon the earth. The world cracked. Lava spouted. Time warped.
And then—it began.
---
The Battle of Elemental Binding
Jaxon surged forward, water crashing upward in geysers, his trident spinning in sweeping arcs of tidal force. Mira leapt beside him, golden flame dancing on her fingertips. Together, they formed the twin forces of balance—fire and water, chaos and order.
The Ashking responded with apocalyptic might. His hammer shattered mountains in a single blow. His breath was a hurricane of cinders. Mira's flames, potent as they were, struggled to match his primordial heat.
But she had something he didn't: Kael.
Each time Mira touched the earth, Kael's energy resonated through her. Whispers from her child-to-be reached her ears—guidance not of words, but instincts. The fire didn't consume her anymore. It obeyed.
Jaxon called out, "Mira! To the altar—now! The Scroll of Binding must be awakened!"
From the base of the Thalorian Temple, the ancient Prophecy Scroll lay sealed in runes no mortal could read. But Mira was no longer mortal. As she reached it, her flame coiled around the scroll. Symbols burst alive, spinning through the air.
The sky split.
Four sigils emerged—ancient bindings of the elder gods: Flame, Tide, Wind, and Stone. These were the elements that once sealed the Ashking in his slumber eons ago.
"We must recreate the Binding Circle," Mira cried out. "Each element must be wielded with intent and sacrifice!"
Nereus, already the Tide. Mira, the Flame. From the ranks of the divine allies, two others stepped forward.
Selian, daughter of wind. Talia, child of the earth. All stepped into the circle, forming points of a quadrangle.
---
The Sacrifice and the Spell
The Ashking sensed the danger. With a cry that warped the sky, he sent a pulse of scorched death toward the circle.
Selian was the first to fall. Her body lit with light, and her wind scattered into the Binding Spell.
Talia, too, gave her stone-forged essence to the cause, merging the strength of the earth into the glyphs now swirling around the Ashking's thrashing form.
Mira screamed as their souls left the world, but she did not falter. With Jaxon at her side, they began the chant:
"From fire born, by tides tamed, By wind scattered, and earth framed, Return to sleep, O ash and flame, Forget your wrath, forget your name."
Again.
"Return to sleep, O ash and flame, Forget your wrath, forget your name!"
The Ashking roared in pain as the sigils spun faster, wrapping around his vast form like chains of light. He struck at them—once, twice—shattering mountains and the sky itself.
But the circle held.
Mira poured the last of her strength into the chant, blood dripping from her nose, her knees buckling. Kael's energy surged in her womb, wrapping around her heart, her voice, her flame.
Jaxon caught her as she nearly collapsed. Together, they shouted the final command:
"SLEEP!"
The Binding Circle blazed. The sky wept fire and salt.
And the Ashking screamed his last as he was pulled into a prison not of stone—but of memory. Trapped between realms. Dreaming. Forgotten.
---
Aftermath
Mira collapsed to her knees, her hands on her swollen belly, Kael pulsing gently beneath her skin.
The battle was over.
But the cost was high. Selian and Talia were gone. The Temple was broken. Aryan stood at the edge of the ruined courtyard, his eyes unreadable, his presence cloaked in guilt.
Jaxon knelt beside Mira, pressing his forehead to hers.
"We did it."
Mira didn't respond. Instead, her gaze turned to the horizon where the Ashking's echo still lingered. Her fire was quiet now—but it remembered.
And so did she.
---
To Be Continued...