Chapter 101 - Chapter 101: The Thing Before the Void

Lyra couldn't tear her eyes away from the darkness behind her mother.It towered over the chamber, stretching far beyond the broken doorway. No clear shape held it together. Shadows shifted across its surface, forming fragments of faces before dissolving again.The Eighth Flame inside Lyra responded to its presence.Her entire body grew warm.Kael tightened his grip around her."Don't go near it."Lyra nodded, but her eyes remained on her mother."Mom, come with us."Her mother shook her head."I can't.""You said that before.""This time is different."The darkness behind her moved.The ancient floor cracked beneath its weight.Seraphine stepped forward."Lyra, listen to her."Lyra looked at the Guardian."She's been trapped here for years. I'm not leaving her."Seraphine's expression softened."We'll find a way to bring her out."Her mother looked at Seraphine."You don't understand.""I understand enough.""No."Her mother looked toward the darkness."None of you understand what you're looking at."The Sovereign stepped closer."I do."Everyone turned toward him.His face had lost its usual calm.The creature slowly lowered its head.The Sovereign stared at it."The Firstborn."Caelan's grip tightened around his sword."That's impossible."The Sovereign shook his head."I wish it were."Lyra frowned."What is the Firstborn?"Her mother answered."The first consciousness created by the First Flame."Lyra stared at the creature."Created?""Not exactly."Her mother took a slow breath."When the First Flame first appeared, it had no shape. No mind. It simply existed.""Then something within it became aware.""The Firstborn."Garrick looked toward the creature."Then the Void came afterward?"Her mother nodded."The Void was created when the Firstborn tried to give itself form."Lyra's eyes widened."So the Void isn't the original evil.""No."Her mother looked at the creature."The Void is what happened when the Firstborn failed."The chamber fell silent.Rylan stared at the enormous figure."That is somehow worse."Aurelia glanced at him."Not helping.""I know."The Firstborn moved.Every flame in the chamber went out.Lyra's mother immediately raised her hands.Golden chains appeared around the creature.It pulled against them.The chains began breaking."Go!" her mother shouted.Lyra stepped forward."No."Her mother looked at her."Lyra!""I've spent my entire life running from answers."The Eighth Flame burned brighter inside her."I'm done running."Kael moved beside her."Then neither am I."Seraphine raised her sword."We stay together."One by one, the others joined them.Caelan looked at the Sovereign."You heard her."The Sovereign stared at the Firstborn.Then he drew his black sword."Very well."Lyra's mother looked at the group.For the first time, hope appeared in her eyes."Then listen carefully."She pointed toward the creature."The Firstborn cannot be destroyed."Lyra frowned."Then how do we stop it?""You don't."Her mother looked at Lyra."You remind it who it was."Lyra stared at her."What does that mean?""The Firstborn was not born with hatred.""It learned hatred after the Creator tried to imprison it."Lyra looked toward the creature."So it remembers.""Yes.""And if I reach it…"Her mother nodded."You may be able to awaken its original memory."The Firstborn suddenly released a sound that shook the entire mountain.The golden chains shattered.A wave of darkness swept through the chamber.Kael pulled Lyra close as the others braced themselves.The Sovereign drove his sword into the ground.Black energy collided with the wave.For several seconds, the two forces struggled.Then the Sovereign was thrown backward.He crashed against the wall.Lyra stared at him."You can't stop it."He slowly stood."No."His eyes moved toward her."But perhaps you can."The Firstborn turned toward Lyra.Its featureless face began changing.A pair of human eyes appeared.Then a mouth.The creature whispered a single word."Home."Lyra's heart stopped.The same word her mother's voice had used before.She stepped forward.The Eighth Flame responded."Do you remember?"The creature froze.Its body trembled.Images flashed across the chamber.The First World.The white tree.The Creator.The First Flame.And a young being standing beneath the stars.The Firstborn.Lyra saw it reaching toward the Creator.Not with anger.With trust.Then she saw the moment everything changed.The Creator raised a weapon.The Firstborn screamed.The vision vanished.The creature looked at Lyra again.This time, its voice was clear."Why did they make me afraid?"Lyra felt tears gather in her eyes."I don't know."The creature lowered its head."But I can help you remember."The darkness around it began to disappear.For one brief moment, the Firstborn looked almost human.Then a black mark appeared across its chest.Her mother gasped."No."Lyra turned."What?"Her mother's face filled with terror."The Sovereign."Everyone looked toward him.The black mark on the Firstborn's chest began glowing.The Sovereign slowly lowered his hand.Lyra stared at him."You did this."His expression remained unreadable."I had no choice."Her mother stepped forward."You always had a choice."The Sovereign looked at Lyra."I needed the Firstborn awake.""Why?"He looked toward the Eighth Flame burning inside her."Because only the Firstborn can open the path to your true inheritance."Lyra's blood ran cold."What inheritance?"The Sovereign smiled faintly."The throne of the First Flame."Behind him, the First World began to collapse.