Chapter 7 — The Children of the Fire
They followed the burning trail Aria left behind.
The deeper they went, the more the world changed.
Forests turned to ash. Rivers flowed with smoke. The sky dimmed—not from night, but from something pressing against the very fabric of reality.
They had entered the old world.
The place where the rings were born.
Where the veil between mortal and demon had thinned.
And waiting for them were the Children of the Fire—beings forged from the same flame as the rings.
They came like whispers.
Voices in the wind. Faces in the smoke.
Some looked human.
Others wore the bones of gods.
But all of them asked the same question:
"What gives you the right to wear the flame?"
Elara stepped forward, hand on the hilt of her blade.
"Because we didn't choose this. The rings chose us."
The flames stirred.
A low laugh echoed.
"Then burn with them."
The fight was unlike anything they'd faced before.
These weren't demons fueled by hatred.
They were guardians, bound by oath and ancient sorrow.
Elara spun through fire. Liam wielded both sword and soul.
The ring on his hand roared louder than ever—its hunger almost sentient.
"It's speaking," Liam gasped between attacks.
"It's asking me… to give in."
"Don't," Elara shouted. "It's a test!"
The guardians circled them, flame becoming form, form becoming fury.
And when the final blow fell—
Elara didn't strike to kill.
She dropped her blade and bowed.
A heartbeat passed.
Then another.
And then the flames extinguished.
The guardians knelt.
"You carry not just power," one of them rasped.
"You carry memory. Pain. Sacrifice.
Go. The final forge awaits."
Liam staggered as they walked away.
"We're close," he said.
"I can feel it. Like it's… alive."
Elara glanced at him.
There was sweat on his brow. A tremor in his hand.
The ring's glow pulsed faster.
"Liam," she said carefully. "Are you still in control?"
He didn't answer at first.
Then:
"I'm trying."
Behind them, the guardians vanished into flame.
And ahead… the final forge waited.
Where the monster wore a crown of shadows.
And death was already watching us.