The storm did not calm throughout the night.
It beat against Solaris Reach with a fury that made the colossal towers tremble and the chain-bridges sway like threads caught in a hurricane. Lightning raked the skies in jagged silver lines, illuminating the city carved into the cliffs, ancient and unyielding. The storm was alive—too alive. As if reacting to something newly awakened.
As if reacting to Kael.
He sat on the edge of his bed, boots laced but hands still shaking from yesterday's explosion of power. His room was small, simple, tucked on the eastern side of the Reach where apprentices and students lived. Normally he found comfort in its plain stone walls, its single torch-lamp, its narrow window overlooking the abyss.
But not tonight.
Every time Kael closed his eyes, he saw it again—
The black fire coiling around his arm.
The pillar cracking apart.
The way everyone stared at him as though he were something unnatural.
He rubbed his forehead, trying to calm his racing thoughts.
A knock sounded on the door.
"Kael?" Lyra's voice floated through, firm but slightly gentler than usual. "It's almost dawn. You ready?"
Kael opened the door.
She stood there fully dressed in her training gear—dark blue cloth reinforced with windweave plates, her deep-violet hair tied into a high ponytail. But her golden eyes softened when they landed on him.
"You didn't sleep," she said.
"A little."
"Liar. You look like someone punched you with a nightmare."
Kael exhaled. "Was it obvious?"
"You have bags under your bags."
Despite the tension, Kael managed a short laugh. Lyra stepped inside without waiting for permission—she never did—and crossed her arms.
"So," she said, "you ready for your mysterious 'report to the upper citadel at dawn' summon that the High Arbiter personally ordered?"
"Not even a little."
"Good," Lyra said, "because if you said yes, I'd start worrying something possessed you last night."
Kael glanced out the window. Dawn was barely pushing through the storm clouds, a faint pale light smeared across the sky. The citadel rose above the rest of Solaris Reach, its highest tower piercing the heavens.
And he had been summoned there.
No one at his level ever got summoned. Only elites, nobles, or prodigies.
And Kael was neither.
Lyra adjusted the strap of her windweave dagger. "I'll walk you there."
"You don't have to—"
"I didn't ask for permission."
He sighed. "I know."
"Good. Now move. Before I drag you by the collar."
The Walk Through Whispers
The corridors leading to the citadel were already busy despite the early hour. Apprentices moved in groups, whispers swirling through the air.
"There he is—Kael Solaris…"
"The one who broke the pillar."
"No, the one who set it on fire… but the fire turned black."
"That can't be real—black flame doesn't exist."
"I saw it with my own eyes."
Kael kept his eyes forward, jaw clenched.
He had gotten used to whispers over the years. But this felt different.
This was not fear.
This was fascination.
A dangerous fascination.
Lyra shot a deadly glare at every person who stared too long. Some immediately looked away. Others pretended to be deeply interested in floor tiles.
They ascended the spiral staircase leading to the upper citadel. The structure was massive—ancient white stone reinforced with shimmering runes that pulsed in rhythm, like a living heartbeat.
The guards standing at the entrance stepped aside immediately.
"He is expected," one of them said, voice echoing under his steel helm.
Kael hesitated.
Lyra nudged him. "Well? Go on. I'll wait outside."
"You're not coming?"
"They won't let me in," she said. "Something about 'restricted access for individuals without clearance' blah blah… They can shove their rules into the abyss if you ask me, but I don't want to get thrown into jail for following you."
Kael nodded slowly. "I'll be back soon."
"You better," Lyra said. "Or I'm storming in."
He wasn't sure if she was joking.
He wasn't sure she knew either.
Kael stepped past the guards and the heavy doors closed behind him with a deep, echoing thud.
The Citadel's Hidden Heart
Inside, the citadel was colder than he expected. Runes glowed faintly across the walls, flowing in patterns he didn't recognize. He moved quietly through the winding corridors until he reached a wide chamber where an enormous circular sigil was carved into the floor.
Waiting at the center was High Arbiter Seraphine Vylaris.
Her silver armor gleamed even in the dim light, her hair tied back in a regal braid. She stood perfectly still, her presence dominating the entire chamber.
"You arrived," she said without turning.
"Yes," Kael replied. "You asked for me."
"No. I summoned you."
Kael hesitated. "…Right."
She finally turned to face him. Her expression was unreadable, but there was a sharp, unmistakable glint of curiosity in her eyes.
"Yesterday, you unleashed a power that should not exist," Seraphine said. "A power that predates our written history."
Kael swallowed. "I didn't mean to—"
"I know," she cut in. "That is what concerns me."
She motioned for him to step into the center of the sigil. Kael approached carefully, the runes glowing brighter with each step he took.
Seraphine clasped her hands behind her back.
"Tell me, Kael Draven Solaris," she said, "have you ever felt… different?"
Kael stiffened. "What do you mean?"
"Unusual strength? Strange dreams? Sensations that do not belong to ordinary humans?"
Kael's thoughts raced.
The burning in his chest.
The dreams of the shattering moon.
The whisper—Awaken.
The terrifying black flame.
He almost said yes.
But something inside him whispered caution.
"No," he lied.
Seraphine studied him intently, her piercing violet eyes searching for cracks in his composure.
"Is that your final answer?" she asked softly.
"…Yes."
A long silence followed.
Then—
"Very well," she said. "We will test you."
Kael's breath caught. "Test me how?"
Seraphine raised her hand. The chamber darkened as if shadows themselves answered her. The runes around the circle ignited in bluish-white fire.
And then, from the far wall, a large stone panel began to shift and descend into the floor—revealing an enormous sealed door behind it.
A door covered in ancient symbols older than Solaris Reach.
A door Kael had seen only in his dreams.
His heart froze.
Seraphine noticed. "You recognize it?"
Kael's voice came out barely above a whisper. "…I don't know."
But he did.
He absolutely did.
That door had appeared in his nightmares for years. Behind it, he always sensed heat, flames, and a presence too ancient to describe.
Seraphine laid a palm on the door. The runes pulsed under her touch.
"This," she said, "is the Primordial Gate."
Kael felt his stomach drop.
"Only one whose essence is compatible may open it," Seraphine continued. "The last person capable of doing so died more than a thousand years ago."
She turned to Kael.
"You are going to touch it."
Kael took a step back. "What? No—that thing looks like it's sealed for a reason!"
"It is," she said calmly. "And I need to know whether your power is connected to it… or if yesterday was simply a catastrophic accident."
Kael's pulse hammered. "And if it is connected?"
"Then the world is about to change."
The storm outside roared, as if punctuating her words.
Seraphine stepped back, giving him room. Kael stared at the massive gate, its ancient surface covered in jagged marks that looked eerily similar to the ones that had burned across the testing pillar.
Black fire scars.
His black fire scars.
His hand trembled as he slowly extended it toward the gate.
The air grew heavier, hotter.
Seraphine watched him with unblinking intensity.
Kael's fingers brushed the ancient stone—
BOOM.
A shockwave blasted through the chamber, sending sparks of dark flame spiraling upward. Kael staggered, but the fire didn't burn him—it curled around his arm like a greeting.
The symbols on the door ignited.
First red.
Then gold.
Then violet.
Then—
Black.
The same black as his flame.
Seraphine's eyes widened.
The gate trembled violently. Cracks of light split across its surface like lightning trapped in stone. The runes pulsed in sync with Kael's heartbeat.
Kael's breath hitched. The gate was… responding to him.
Ancient whispers slipped through the cracks, in a language he didn't recognize—but somehow understood.
"At last… the Heir of Ash returns…"
Kael recoiled as if struck. "What was that!?"
But the gate wasn't done.
A blinding flash erupted from the center—so bright Kael shielded his eyes—
Then it went silent.
The fire around his arm vanished. The trembling stopped.
The gate… remained sealed.
Not a single crack remained.
As though it had never reacted at all.
Kael's heart pounded in his chest. "Did… did I fail?"
Seraphine slowly approached the gate, touching its surface.
"No," she whispered, her voice trembling for the first time. "You didn't fail."
She turned to Kael, her expression deadly serious.
"You awakened it."
Kael stared at her. "What does that mean?"
Seraphine inhaled deeply.
"It means," she said slowly, "that your existence is connected to something far older and far more dangerous than we ever imagined."
She stepped forward, placing a firm hand on his shoulder.
"And Kael… from this moment on, your life is no longer ordinary. The Council will want answers. The Order will want control. And our enemies…"
Her voice darkened.
"…they will want you dead."
Kael felt cold dread flood his veins.
"Why?" he whispered.
Seraphine looked directly into his silver-star eyes.
"Because you are the first person in a thousand years who carries the mark of the Ashen Sovereign."
Kael's blood ran cold.
The name echoed in his mind like an ancient thunder.
And somewhere deep behind the sealed gate…
Something answered.
A whisper curled through his thoughts again—
Awaken.