Chapter 48: The Flame Unbound
The night sky glowed as if dawn had arrived too soon. Golden fire surged from Le Wai's body, no longer a fragile ember but a storm, a torrent that wrapped around him like the wings of a celestial beast.
Kael shielded his eyes, his black fire recoiling against the sudden brilliance. His blade trembled in his grip, shadow writhing as though it too feared the blaze.
"No… this isn't possible. That flame should have died centuries ago!"
Le Wai's chest heaved, every breath like fire in his lungs, but his eyes burned with clarity. For the first time, he did not feel like prey struggling to survive. He felt alive—unyielding, unchained.
He raised his sword, now wreathed in golden fire that hissed and roared like a living thing. The ground quaked beneath his feet as he spoke, his voice steady and solemn:
"This power was never yours to define. It was mine to awaken."
He struck.
The slash ripped through the battlefield like lightning, carving a burning path through Kael's darkness. The wave of golden fire collided with black shadow, swallowing it whole. The explosion rocked the land, sending pillars of smoke spiraling into the heavens.
Kael staggered, blood spilling from his lips. His once-overwhelming aura flickered, unstable. Fury twisted his face into something monstrous.
"You dare… you dare defy the fate carved by my hand?!"
But Le Wai stepped forward, fire trailing in his wake, each step heavier than the last, as if carried by countless unseen wills.
"I don't defy fate," he said quietly. "I burn it."
The air fell silent for a heartbeat—then his flames roared higher, the night sky itself bending under their light.
For the first time, Kael was not the hunter. He was the hunted.