Chapter 8 – Trial by Flame
The creature circled her, robes brushing the crypt floor like whispers. Its empty eyes locked onto hers, yet it never blinked.
"Only fire may answer fire," it rasped. "Prove your right, or die as a thief."
Kael made a move, but Seris lifted a hand. "No."
"Seris—"
"I have to face this."
Kael's fists clenched around his blade, but he didn't stop her.
The Pale Bound stepped back, its clawed hand drawing a slow, searing line into the air. From it rose a flickering shape — a flame-born simulacrum of Seris herself. It moved like her, wore her face, but its eyes glowed gold with pure, cruel heat.
"Burn it," the Pale Bound hissed. "Or be burned."
The illusion took a step forward. Then another. Its skin shimmered like molten glass, body trailing fire as it mimicked her every move.
Seris's throat tightened.
How do you fight... yourself?
The false Seris lunged, fast—unnaturally fast. She barely dodged, the heat kissing her cheek with blistering intensity. She stumbled, heart hammering. There was no sword. No shield. Only her—and the fire rising inside.
"Think," she whispered to herself. "Not with fear... with purpose."
The copy lunged again. This time Seris didn't run.
She remembered the scroll's whisper. The feeling that had surged in her chest when the runes lit up. That strange... pull.
She closed her eyes. Let it come.
And it did.
A flicker. Then a spark. Then something ancient uncoiling inside her chest like a serpent of light.
The room dimmed.
When her eyes snapped open—they were glowing.
Not gold.
White.
The false Seris froze mid-lunge. The torchlight bent toward the real Seris's hands. Dust lifted from the floor as heat pulsed from her very bones. Her heartbeat synced with something deep beneath the earth.
She didn't know how she moved. She just did.
The flame obeyed her.
With a single breath, she reached forward—and the illusion shattered into ash.
Silence followed.
Kael stared, half in awe, half in terror.
The Pale Bound bowed its head.
"You are marked. Chosen. And cursed."
"The First Flame has tasted your soul. It will want more."
It turned to dust.
The crypt dimmed.
Seris fell to her knees, chest heaving. The warmth inside her didn't fade—it stayed. Like a coal that refused to die.
Kael came to her side, voice rough. "Seris... what was that?"
She looked at her hands. They were shaking.
"I don't know," she whispered. "But it's not just fire. It felt like... memory."
Behind her eyes, a woman stood at the edge of the world. Fire roared from her mouth like prophecy.
And Seris somehow knew... she'd been that woman once.