"Memory is not mercy. It is a blade."
---
Ash rained upon the skeletal ruins of Vayir Temple, once the seat of the Flame Order. Now, it was just stone and silence.
Aeyana knelt in its shattered center, fingers trailing along ancient runes scorched black.
> "This was where they took him," she whispered. "This was where the Fourth was broken."
Kael stood behind her, arms folded tight, guilt crawling up his spine.
> "I remember his scream now… I remember turning my back."
Rhaelor's voice was quiet as he examined a fragmented altar:
> "They made us forget. The gods. They sealed it into our veins."
> "And now?" Aeyana asked.
He looked up, eyes hollow.
> "Now they're bleeding truth."
---
Meanwhile — In the Desert of Veins
Tharion walked alone, barefoot through burning sands.
He didn't need a map — the curse in his chest guided him like a compass forged in rage.
Each memory he reclaimed left a scar across the sky.
Each step cracked the seal that kept the gods asleep.
He remembered Rhaelor's voice… promising never to let go.
He remembered Kael's cold silence as they dragged him away.
And he remembered Aeyana.
Her eyes — the only ones that had looked back.
> "You said you'd find me."
His fingers curled.
> "Now I'll find you first."
---
In his wake, the sand grew black.
The sun dimmed.
The godless fire — long sealed — now pulsed at full strength in his bones.
---
Back in Vayir
Kael uncovered a half-buried relic — a broken shard of a ceremonial dagger. The same kind used for oaths.
But this one had four names engraved.
> Aeyana.
Rhaelor.
Kael.
…and Tharion.
Her breath caught.
> "It wasn't just a forgotten name."
She looked at the others.
> "It was a stolen life."
---
Suddenly, the skies above cracked.
A black flame streaked across the heavens — a divine sign warped by vengeance.
Kael drew his blade.
Rhaelor's palms glowed with celestial fire.
Aeyana stepped forward, the shard in her hand.
> "He's coming."
---
From the shadows of the collapsing temple
, an ancient voice murmured:
> "He never left."
---
End of Chapter 24: Ash and Memory and a Godless Heart
---