The silence that followed was deafening. The glade still shimmered faintly with gold embers drifting through the mist, as if reality itself hadn't yet caught up to what had just happened.
Sylvia knelt on the forest floor, chest heaving, her breath steaming in the cool night air. Faint traces of fire still rippled beneath her skin — every pulse glowing like a heartbeat of flame. She could feel it, the power humming in her veins, alive and wild and terrifying.
Kael stood a few feet away, eyes fixed on her. "Sylvia," he said quietly, "you need to breathe. Control it before—"
Before he could finish, the forest trembled. A deep, hollow sound rolled through the trees — like thunder buried beneath the earth. The ground shuddered beneath their boots. The mist shivered and thinned.
Sylvia's head snapped up. "What was that?"
Kael's hand went instinctively to his blade. "They felt it. The Grims. The Flame's awakening calls to their kind."
And as if summoned by his words, a shriek split the night — high, sharp, and inhuman. A dark shape burst from the trees, black smoke trailing behind it, eyes like dying coals.
"Down!" Kael shouted.
Sylvia dropped as the creature lunged. Kael's blade flashed, cutting through the shadowed mist. The Grim shrieked again, its form twisting, reforming from darkness itself.
Sylvia stumbled back, fire sparking from her fingertips. Her pulse quickened — the flame inside her responded.
Her hands ignited.
Kael froze mid-strike, eyes widening as Sylvia's entire body began to glow. Her hair whipped around her face, ember strands lighting the air. Flames poured from her palms, flaring brighter with every breath.
"I… I don't know how—"
"Don't think," Kael said. "Feel it."
The creature reared back to strike again. Sylvia threw her hands forward — and the world erupted.
A torrent of fire exploded from her palms, swirling like a living serpent. It slammed into the Grim, consuming it in brilliant light. The air cracked with heat. The shriek turned to a howl, then nothing. Only ash.
Sylvia stood frozen, staring at the scorch mark on the earth where the creature had been. "I—I didn't mean to—"
Kael stepped closer, voice rough but awed. "You didn't mean to save us?"
"I didn't mean to burn the world," she whispered. Her hands were trembling, small flames still dancing across her fingertips before fading back into her skin.
Kael sheathed his sword slowly. "The Flame of Eldara doesn't choose lightly. You were meant for this."
Sylvia shook her head. "Meant to destroy everything I touch?"
"No." He met her gaze — steady, intense. "Meant to change it."
A low rumble echoed again — this time closer. Dozens of faint red eyes flickered between the trees. The Grims were gathering.
Kael's jaw tightened. "They're coming. We have to move."
Sylvia's body still hummed with energy, but she felt the fatigue creeping in already. The flame burned bright — but it demanded balance, and she could feel it draining her strength just to stay lit.
She nodded, stumbling to her feet. "Lead the way."
They ran. Branches whipped past, shadows shifting, whispers following them through the trees. Behind them, the forest hissed — smoke rising, fire trailing faintly in Sylvia's wake.
Every step she took seemed to light the ground beneath her for an instant before fading again. Kael glanced back once, eyes wide. "You're leaving a trail."
"I can't stop it!" she said.
"Then we make it count."
They broke through the treeline into a valley drenched in moonlight. Below, dark figures moved — Grim scouts, crawling like shadows over the hills.
Kael drew his blade again, jaw set. "We can't outrun all of them."
Sylvia's breath caught. The fire pulsed within her chest — restless, powerful, alive. She could feel it stirring again, as if waiting for her to make a choice.
She looked at Kael, fear and resolve mixing in her eyes. "Then we stand."
Kael gave a single nod, a ghost of a smile breaking through. "You're learning fast."
The wind shifted, and the first wave of Grims descended from the treeline — black smoke twisting into monstrous shapes, claws flashing in the moonlight.
Sylvia stepped forward. The fire rose to meet her.
She closed her eyes and let it in.
When she opened them again, her irises blazed like twin suns. The flames burst outward, spreading across the clearing, roaring high enough to touch the stars.
Kael shielded his eyes, watching as she moved — graceful, deadly, unstoppable. Every flick of her wrist sent arcs of fire slicing through the air. The Grims screamed as they were consumed, the heat turning their shadows to light.
When it was over, the valley was silent. The only sound was the faint crackle of fire fading into glowing embers.
Sylvia stood at the center, her cloak burned at the edges, her breath shallow, her eyes still glowing softly. She looked both terrified and alive.
Kael stepped forward carefully. "Sylvia…"
She turned toward him, tears glinting in her ember-lit eyes. "I felt them die. Every one of them. I didn't even try that hard…"
Kael's expression softened. "Then you're finally starting to understand what the Flame really is."
She swallowed, voice trembling. "A gift?"
He shook his head. "A burden that burns too bright to ignore."
And somewhere beyond the forest, far across the mountains, a new shadow stirred — sensing the flame's rebirth.
The hunt for the fire elf had begun.