The pedestal pulsed with a heartbeat that wasn't theirs.
Kael stared down at the ancient relic—the centerpiece of the chamber, carved from dragonbone and rimmed with silver that had tarnished to black. A shallow basin sat atop it, filled with something that moved like flame, but wasn't. It swirled slow and silent, casting no heat, yet the air buzzed with its power.
The Pale Flame.
Not just a name now. A presence.
"It's… alive," Vespera whispered. Her voice held no awe. Only dread.
Elyra felt her knees lock. Every part of her screamed to turn and run. But some part—maybe the part that wore the same face as the thing in the fog—stood its ground. Watching. Waiting.
Kael stepped forward, sword still sheathed.
"It's reacting to us," he said, eyes narrow. "It knows."
"I don't understand." Elyra's voice came out hoarse. "It's fire. How can it know anything?"
Vespera gave a bitter smile. "Because it was never just fire. It's memory. It's will. It's every sacrifice that was fed into it. Every soul. Every broken vow."
Kael nodded grimly. "And now it wants more."
The Pale Flame flickered—slow, deliberate. The chamber shook faintly beneath their feet.
Then it spoke.
Not with words, not with images.
But with temptation.
Elyra staggered. The voice pressed against her skin, her thoughts. It was like velvet against her mind, and it knew her. It whispered not what was, but what could be.
Freedom.
Power.
The dragon reborn.
"Don't listen to it," Kael barked, his voice slicing through the haze. "It's lying."
Elyra's hands were trembling. Her eyes burned. "But what if it's not?"
He turned to her then, face hard. "You saw what it showed us. The wraith. The visions. This flame was fed by betrayal. It offers truth, but only enough to turn you inside out."
"But it knows my dragon," she said, chest heaving. "Starflame is part of it. I felt her."
Kael stepped closer. "And if you touch that thing, she might never be part of you again."
Vespera moved past them both, dagger drawn. "Enough." She stabbed the blade into her palm and let the blood spill into the basin.
The Pale Flame recoiled.
The chamber erupted in screams.
A thousand voices. Human and inhuman. Past and present. The pain of every sacrifice, every blood oath, unleashed in a single wave.
Kael grabbed Elyra and pulled her down behind a shattered pillar. "She's trying to burn it out!"
"It's killing her," Elyra cried.
"No." Kael's eyes flicked to Vespera, her silhouette glowing as the flame wrapped around her arm like a snake. "She's giving it something it can't consume. Regret."
The flames hissed. Roared. Then, snapped inward.
The relic cracked.
And shattered.
The Pale Flame imploded in on itself, leaving behind only a smear of scorched earth—and silence.
Vespera collapsed.
Kael rushed to her side. Elyra followed, heart pounding.
She was still breathing, barely.
Her lips moved. "It's not gone."
Kael frowned. "What do you mean?"
Vespera's eyes fluttered open. "We didn't destroy it. We… woke it up."
Elyra felt the air shift.
Somewhere beyond the ruins, a dragon screamed.