Chapter 103 - Chapter 103 : The Price of Freedom

The Eighth Flame tore itself from Lyra's chest.She screamed.Golden light streamed from her body, rising toward the ceiling in twisting ribbons. Every strand carried fragments of memories she had never known were inside her.Her father's voice.Her mother's laughter.The First World beneath a white sky.The Seven Hearts awakening for the first time.Then everything disappeared into the flame.Kael rushed toward her."Lyra!"A shockwave threw him backward.Seraphine caught him before he struck the wall."Don't touch her!"Lyra remained standing at the center of the chamber.Her eyes had turned completely gold.The Sovereign stared at her in disbelief."Stop this."Lyra looked at him."I can't.""You don't understand what you're doing.""I understand enough."The open-hand symbol beneath her palm began cracking.The crown above the throne shattered.A deep roar came from beneath the palace.The Firstborn dropped to its knees.The darkness surrounding its body began disappearing.For the first time, its face became completely human.It looked at Lyra."Free…"The creature's voice was barely audible.Lyra nodded."That's what I'm trying to do."The Sovereign raised his sword."Then you're condemning every world."Kael stepped between them."You've lied enough."The Sovereign's eyes hardened."You think this is about me?"He pointed toward the floor."Look."Everyone turned.Black cracks had spread beneath the palace.Darkness was leaking through them.The Sovereign lowered his sword."The throne was built to contain the Void."Lyra stared at the cracks."And rejecting it is breaking the prison?""Yes."Her mother stepped forward."Not entirely."The Sovereign looked at her.She continued,"The prison is breaking because the Eighth Flame is leaving Lyra."Lyra's eyes widened."Then what happens if I keep going?"Her mother hesitated."The seal will open.""And if I stop?""The Eighth Flame will remain inside you."Lyra looked at the darkness beneath her feet."Then there has to be another way."Her father suddenly appeared again above the throne.Only his face remained."There is."Lyra looked up."Dad?""The First Flame was never meant to belong to one person."The image flickered."If the Eighth Flame returns to the source, it can be divided again."Her mother immediately understood."No."Lyra looked at her."What?"Her mother's eyes filled with fear."Dividing the First Flame again would require a sacrifice.""Whose?"Her mother didn't answer.Lyra already knew."No."Her mother shook her head."Your father made that sacrifice once."Lyra's voice trembled."I'm not losing you too."Her mother stepped toward her."You won't."The Eighth Flame continued leaving Lyra's body.Her mother's hands began glowing.Lyra stared at her."What are you doing?""Taking my place.""No!"Her mother smiled through her tears."I've spent my whole life protecting the flame."She reached for the golden energy."Now I can finally protect you."Lyra grabbed her wrist."Mom, don't."Her mother looked into her eyes."You once asked me why I left you."Lyra nodded."I left because I knew one day this moment would come."She gently touched Lyra's cheek."And I wanted you to have enough time to become someone who could choose differently."The golden energy surged between them.Kael stepped forward."There has to be another option."Astraeus spoke inside Lyra's mind."There is."Lyra froze."What?""The Eighth Flame doesn't need a sacrifice.""What does it need?"Astraeus went silent.Then answered,"A vessel."Lyra looked toward the Firstborn.The creature slowly raised its head.Its eyes met hers.Understanding passed between them.Lyra whispered,"You."The Firstborn nodded.The Sovereign immediately stepped forward."No."Lyra turned."You knew."His silence was enough."You knew the Firstborn could contain the flame.""Yes.""Then why didn't you tell me?""Because the Firstborn would die."The creature looked at Lyra."I have already died once."The Sovereign's expression changed.The Firstborn continued,"I would rather die protecting the worlds than remain a prisoner."Lyra's mother shook her head."There's another problem."Lyra looked at her."What?"Her mother stared at the Firstborn."If the Eighth Flame enters it, the Firstborn will regain everything it lost."Lyra understood."And that includes the memories of the First World."Her mother nodded."It will remember the Creator."The palace trembled violently.The darkness beneath them burst through the floor.A voice echoed from the abyss."Remember me."The Firstborn stood.Its eyes turned white.The Eighth Flame stopped leaving Lyra.For one terrifying moment, everything became still.Then the Firstborn stretched out its hand."Give it to me."Lyra looked at the golden light surrounding her.Then she looked at her mother.At Kael.At the Sovereign.Finally, she looked at the Firstborn.She released the flame.It shot across the chamber.The Firstborn caught it.Golden light exploded outward.The palace disappeared beneath a wave of fire.And when the light faded, the Firstborn was gone.In its place stood a man with silver eyes.He looked at Lyra.Then whispered,"I remember who killed the Creator." Nobody moved.The silver-eyed man stood where the Firstborn had been.Golden light still drifted around his body, fading slowly into the air.Lyra stared at him."What do you mean?"He looked at her."I remember everything."His voice was calmer now, but something ancient lay beneath it."The First World.""The Creator.""The birth of the Seven Hearts.""And the betrayal."The Sovereign stepped forward."Stop."The man turned toward him."You knew this day would come."The Sovereign's expression hardened."I knew the memories would return.""You were afraid of them.""I was afraid of what you would become."The man smiled bitterly."You were always afraid."Lyra looked between them."Someone tell me what happened."Her mother moved closer."The Creator didn't die because of the Firstborn."Lyra looked at her."Then who killed the Creator?"Her mother glanced at the silver-eyed man."He did."Lyra's eyes widened."Why?"The man lowered his gaze."Because the Creator tried to destroy the First Flame."Silence filled the chamber.Lyra shook her head."But why would the Creator destroy the very thing that created everything?""Because the Creator discovered what the First Flame truly was.""What?"The man looked toward the broken throne."It wasn't a source of power.""It was a living consciousness."Lyra remembered her vision.The endless darkness.The seven lights.The figure running from them."That's why the Creator was afraid."The man nodded."The Creator wanted to control the First Flame. When control became impossible, the Creator decided to destroy it."Her mother continued the story."Your father discovered the plan."Lyra's expression changed."My father?""He tried to stop the Creator."The Sovereign closed his eyes."And failed."The silver-eyed man looked at him."No."The Sovereign opened his eyes."You were there.""I was.""You watched everything.""I did."Lyra turned toward the Sovereign."Then why didn't you stop the Creator?"He didn't answer.Her voice became sharper."Why?"The Sovereign finally looked at her."Because I believed the Creator was right."Kael stepped forward."You helped him.""I helped build the prison."Lyra's mother stared at him."And when the Firstborn rebelled, you helped create the Void."The Sovereign's face tightened."I thought I was saving the worlds."The silver-eyed man laughed quietly."You always say that."A tremor shook the palace.The black cracks beneath them widened.Astraeus spoke inside Lyra's mind."Something is approaching."Lyra looked around."From where?""Below."The floor suddenly split.A wave of darkness erupted from beneath the palace.The silver-eyed man raised his hand.Golden fire collided with the darkness.The impact shook the entire chamber.He struggled to hold it back."This isn't the Void."Lyra's mother looked horrified."Then what is it?"He turned toward her."The Creator's final weapon."The Sovereign went pale."No."Lyra stared at him."You know what it is."He slowly nodded."The Creator built it before the First World fell.""What does it do?"The Sovereign looked toward the widening crack."It erases."Lyra frowned."Erases what?""Everything."The crack expanded.A black wave moved through the palace.Where it touched the stone, the walls vanished without leaving dust or debris.Kael grabbed Lyra's hand."We need to get out."Her mother shook her head."There's nowhere to run."Lyra looked at the silver-eyed man."Can you stop it?"He looked at her."Not alone."Lyra glanced at her glowing hands."I don't have the Eighth Flame anymore.""You don't need it.""Then what do I have?"He pointed toward her chest."The Seven Hearts."Lyra froze."The Hearts are still inside me?""They were never inside you."He stepped closer."They were connected to you."Lyra suddenly felt seven distinct pulses move through her body.Courage.Compassion.Wisdom.Faith.Unity.Truth.Balance.One after another, they awakened.Her mother stared at her."The Guardians…"Lyra understood."They're connected to me."The silver-eyed man nodded."Then call them."Lyra closed her eyes.Across the collapsing First World, seven lights appeared.One from the mountains.One from the oceans.One from the ancient forests.One from the ruins.One from the skies.One from the forgotten kingdoms.And one from somewhere beyond the stars.The seven lights rushed toward the palace.The Sovereign stared upward."It's beginning."Lyra opened her eyes."What is?"He looked at her with something close to fear."The final convergence."The seven lights entered the chamber.The darkness beneath the palace suddenly stopped.Then a voice came from the crack.A voice Lyra had heard before.The Creator's voice."If the Seven Hearts have returned, then the heir must die."Lyra's blood ran cold.The silver-eyed man raised his sword."Then it knows she's alive."The darkness surged upward.And this time, it was coming directly for Lyra.