The morning sun sliced through the branches like golden daggers, warming the damp forest floor. Birds chirped hesitantly, as if uncertain the nightmare had passed. But for Arav, sleep hadn't brought peace—only exhaustion.
He sat alone near a quiet stream, shirtless, with bandages wrapped tightly across his chest and forearms. The black blade—the cursed relic—rested beside him, silent… as if sleeping.
Zia crouched nearby, watching his reflection in the water.
"Your eyes…" she whispered.
"What about them?" he asked without turning.
"They used to be warm. Now they look… like dying embers."
Arav remained silent.
---
🌑 THE SILENT TOWN
They arrived at Kaerth, the town closest to the edge of the forbidden woods. Smoke still rose from the ruins of neighboring villages razed by Kalo's army. Fear hung in the air like rot.
Children no longer played in the streets. Men sharpened blades. Women whispered prayers.
The townspeople stared as Arav passed—some with awe, some with dread.
One old man stepped forward, trembling.
"You're the Sword Bearer," he said.
"No," Arav replied softly. "I'm just the one who lived."
---
That night, the mayor of Kaerth, Lady Velyra, summoned them to a war council.
She pointed at a blood-red map. "This is the region we once called the Blessed Vale. It now belongs to your brother."
"He's not my brother," Arav said sharply.
Zia placed a hand on his.
Lady Velyra continued. "He's raising an army of the Broken. Shadowspawn. Cursed souls. They obey only one command—'burn.'"
"Then we stop him before he finishes the ritual," Zia said.
"What ritual?" Arav asked.
The room fell silent.
"The Rite of Crimson Flames," Velyra said grimly. "An ancient pact that can turn a man into a god—or a monster the gods must hide from."
---
🔥 THE ORIGINS OF THE FLAME
That night, Zia found Arav near the town's abandoned forge.
He sat before the cold anvil, the black blade across his knees.
"He's after the ritual, isn't he?" Arav murmured.
Zia nodded. "The Second Soul inside you remembers. It told you, didn't it?"
Arav's voice was hoarse. "I saw it… in dreams. The Pact of Crimson Flames. It grants power beyond death. But the cost…"
He touched his chest.
"…is your humanity."
Zia sat beside him.
"If you try to stop him alone, you'll lose yourself. Just like him."
---
🩸 A PACT OF THEIR OWN
Zia pulled out a vial of silver ash and a ritual blade.
"My clan once sealed spirits—not by chains, but by choice."
She handed him the blade.
"Swear a pact with me. Not of flames—but of light and truth. If you lose yourself, I'll bring you back. And if I can't… I'll be the one to end you."
Tears shimmered in her eyes.
Arav looked into them. "And I swear… I'll protect your light with mine. Even if I burn for it."
They sliced their palms. Ash met blood. The bond was made.
In the distance, a distant howl echoed—a sign.
Kalo knew.
---
🧭 INTO THE HEARTLAND
Their journey began at dawn. They were joined by two others:
Kael – a blind tracker with tattoos of foresight
Lira – a runaway priestess who once served Kalo, now seeking redemption
The path to the Heartland of Flame was treacherous.
Forests burned unnaturally, rivers ran black, and time warped.
In one village, children aged into old corpses overnight.
In another, corpses whispered truths that drove men mad.
But Arav kept moving.
With each step, the sword pulsed… hungrier.
---
🕯️ THE SHRINE OF EMBERS
On the fifth night, they reached a shrine buried beneath volcanic rock.
This was the origin.
Here, the first pact of Crimson Flames was made. Here, Kalo had been reborn.
A statue stood in the center—a knight kneeling, his eyes gouged out, sword plunged into his own heart.
Kael touched the base and shivered.
"He chose to end his story here… so others wouldn't have to."
Zia looked to Arav.
"Will you?"
Arav didn't answer.
---
⚔️ THE FIRST ENCOUNTER
As they left the shrine, a figure awaited them outside—
Kalo's envoy.
Clad in charred armor, his face hidden behind bone.
"He offers mercy," the envoy said.
"Define mercy," Arav spat.
"A clean death. Before he consumes the last light of this realm."
Zia raised her blade.
The envoy laughed.
"She will betray you, Arav. Just like she betrayed him."
Before anyone could react, the envoy threw a cursed dagger toward Zia.
Arav stepped in front of her.
The dagger struck his shoulder.
Poisoned.
---
💀 THE EDGE OF DEATH
They fled into the caves beneath the shrine. Arav trembled, the poison spreading.
His breath slowed. His vision dimmed.
He felt himself slipping again…
Into that void.
But this time… something different waited there.
A woman made of ash and flame.
"You carry two souls," she said.
"Yes."
"Then forge a third… one that is wholly yours."
He screamed as fire engulfed him.
But he didn't burn.
He transformed.
---
🕊️ AWAKENING
Arav awoke hours later.
The wound was gone.
The sword had changed—its core no longer black, but crimson with silver veins.
He had forged his own pact.
Not of death.
But of resistance.
Zia wept in his arms.
"You scared me, you idiot."
He smiled for the first time in days.
---
🏁 CLOSING SCENE
The group stood before the final valley—red skies above, Kalo's fortress visible in the distance.
"This is it," Kael whispered.
"One way or another," Arav said, stepping forward, "we end the story here."
Narrator (soft):
"A pact once made in blood… will now be tested in fire. The next night may be the world's last."
🕯️ To Be Continued in Chapter 6 – "Ashes of the First War"