Kael didn't hesitate. The moment Aerin moved, he moved faster. Flame leapt from his hand—not to destroy, but to defend. Their fires met in the space between them, clashing like opposing wills. The very air cracked under the force. It wasn't just power—it was memory, emotion, everything they once were, colliding in fire.
Aerin surged forward, blades of molten energy erupting from his hands. Kael barely deflected them, stumbling back across the throne room's scorched marble. The walls crumbled around them, symbols of the old world collapsing under the weight of their war.
"You still don't understand!" Aerin shouted. "The Flame chose both of us—but I saw the truth. The Veil isn't protection—it's a prison! And they lied to us about what waits beyond!"
Kael blocked another blow, heart hammering. "So you'd tear everything apart to prove them wrong?"
Aerin's eyes burned brighter. "I'd tear down the lie so something stronger could rise."
Kael spun and struck with everything he had—his fear, his anger, but also his love for the brother who once protected him when no one else did. The flame burst from his body, not wild, but focused, a beam of light that slammed Aerin back into the shattered throne.
The crown slipped from his head and hit the stone with a clang.
Kael rushed forward, his blade at the ready—but he stopped. Aerin knelt, coughing, blood on his lips, the fire around him fading.
"Finish it," he whispered.
Kael trembled.
But he lowered his weapon.
"No," he said. "That's what the shadow wants. That's how it wins."
For a moment, Aerin's expression cracked. Grief flickered through the rage. The mark on Kael's wrist pulsed once, and so did the one beneath Aerin's collar—still there, still real.
A sound like thunder rolled across the sky.
But it wasn't thunder.
The Veil, weakened by their battle, tore open fully—just for a heartbeat—and something beyond stepped through. Massive. Silent. A creature without shape, made of darkness and hunger. The true enemy.
Aerin stood slowly, pain in his eyes. "We did this…"
Kael nodded. "But we can still stop it. Together."
The brothers turned, shoulder to shoulder, flame igniting in their palms. For all their mistakes, they still had a choice. And the fire, even broken, could still burn for something greater.