The morning after my awakening was quiet. The land that had roared with fire now lay still, the grass blackened but warm under the rising sun. My power pulsed softly through me—steady, balanced. It was time.
"We move south," I said, breaking the silence.
Faith nodded immediately. Luna stretched her arms, pretending to sigh. "Finally. I was starting to get bored of watching you glow."
Nira sheathed her sword with a small smirk. "Then let's see if your uncle can handle what's coming."
I glanced toward the horizon where the golden towers of Solaryn shimmered faintly in the distance, fifty leagues away. Between us and that throne stretched the Wildlands—a maze of cliffs, forests, and ruins left from the age of gods. Somewhere in those ruins, I knew, lay the truth behind the assassins who had attacked me.
We followed the Rift wind south for three days. The wild landscape was alive—glowing stones hummed when we passed, and trees whispered like they remembered my name. At night, I dreamed of my father lying alone in his chamber, his breath shallow, his flame fading. Each time, I woke with the same thought burning in my chest. I will save him.
On the fourth morning, we reached the edges of Solaryn's old borderlands. Faith raised her hand to slow us. "We're not alone," she murmured.
From behind a broken wall, voices whispered—a dozen, maybe more. Figures stepped out: men and women in weathered armour bearing the sun insignia marked with black. Exiled soldiers.
Their leader, a scarred man with greying hair, stepped forward. "State your name, traveller. These lands are under the guard of the Fallen Sun."
Luna chuckled softly. "Nice name."
I lifted my hood. The man's sword slipped from his hand in shock. "By the heavens…"
"M-Mukul Ardyn Solaryn," he stammered. "You live." The others fell to one knee, their voices trembling. "Our prince returns."
Faith smiled faintly. "Looks like we found your rebels."
They weren't rebels at first glance—just survivors. Outcasts loyal to my father hunted after my exile. They shared food and stories, speaking of the chaos in the capital. The nobles fought over favours, generals sold loyalty for gold, and Helmor's agents ruled the streets through fear.
"The assassins," I asked their leader, "who sent them?"
He exchanged glances with the others. "A sect called the Veyne Blades. The Chancellor's private shadow order. Their base lies under Solaryn itself, though no map marks the way."
My hands clenched. So Helmor wasn't merely whispering poison—he commanded it.
Before dawn, we prepared to leave. The rebel leader knelt before me once more. "If you reach the capital, my prince, you won't find many allies left. But those who still remember your father's light will answer when you call."
"And I will call," I promised.
We crossed the Ember Canyons under moonlight. Strange creatures made of shining dust watched from the cliffs but did not attack. By midnight, a storm began—wild and sudden. Lightning ripped through the clouds as if trying to block our path.
We took shelter beneath an ancient arch—a ruin older than any Solaryn wall. Runes glowed on the stones. A presence stirred within the shadows.
"Traveller between worlds," a voice rumbled, deep as the mountains. "Why do you walk the path of flame?"
Faith tensed; Nira drew her blade. But I stepped forward calmly. "Because my family's light is dying. I must restore it."
The air thickened, the voice growing stronger. "Do you seek power or balance?"
"Both," I said honestly. "No crown holds meaning if its light dies in darkness."
There was silence. Then a faint shape appeared within the ruin—a guardian, forged of stone and memory, its eyes burning like tiny suns.
"Then take this," it said, pressing a fragment of glowing crystal into my hand. "The Heart of Solaryn. Once lost, now found. It will wake the sleeping flame."
Before I could speak, the vision faded, the arch collapsing softly into dust.
Faith's eyes widened. "That was a Guardian spirit… but they vanished centuries ago."
Luna smiled faintly. "Nice to see someone likes you."
I held the crystal close. Its warmth pulsed in rhythm with my heartbeat. The sleeping flame… I knew what it meant. My father's soul.
By the end of the seventh day, Solaryn's walls glowed against the night sky. The capital was alive with false peace—lamps burning bright for the court that had lost its heart. We hid our presence, slipping through ancient tunnels once used by servants of the old kings.
Faith's light guided us through the passages, silent and swift. Above us, I could already sense Varcan's magic woven into the wards, meant to keep intruders out. But it wouldn't stop me.
At last, we reached the Emperor's chamber. The heavy door glowed faintly with Helmor's sealing sigils—shadows feeding on life. I pressed the Heart of Solaryn to the lock. Light flooded outward, dissolving the curse like frost under sunlight.
Inside, the air smelled faintly of dying flame.
My father lay motionless, skin pale, breathing weak. The fire that once made him radiant was almost gone. For a long time, I could only stand there, his face half-lit by moonlight filtering through the curtains.
Faith's voice trembled behind me. "Can you save him?"
"I will."
I kneeled beside the bed and placed the crystal over his heart. Golden runes bloomed across the floor, connecting us both. The energy shivered, then surged. The Heart's light poured into his body, and the dying ember within him flared alive again.
He gasped suddenly, eyes opening—clear and bright for the first time in months. "Mukul…?"
Tears burned at the edges of my vision. "Yes, Father. It's me. Rest now. You're safe."
He smiled weakly, hand gripping mine with surprising strength. "I knew you'd return."
Then the door creaked somewhere deeper in the palace.
Luna whispered, "We're not alone."
I rose to my feet, fire sparking across my armour. "Then let them come," I said quietly. "I've already begun what they feared most—I've brought the true flame back to Solaryn."
And for the first time in years, the palace of Aurelion burned with light once more.