The battle was over.
Morrak was dead.
But something far worse had survived.
Kael could feel it now—deep in his bones, clawing at the edge of his thoughts like a whisper trying to become a scream.
---
The First Fracture
Three nights after the battle at the Deadlow Fen, Kael sat alone in the war chamber of Varok's Rise.
The fire pit was cold.
He hadn't lit it since returning.
He couldn't.
Every time he touched flame, it shimmered with someone else's reflection.
He stared at the Fang of Varok, hands twitching.
Then he heard it.
> A voice.
Faint. Familiar.
Soft as breath behind his ear.
> "You're tired, Kael."
He spun, fangs bared.
No one.
Only shadows.
He growled and stood, eyes blazing silver. "Who's there?"
No answer.
Only the echo of his own heartbeat… and the scent of old blood.
---
Lina's Worry
The next day, Kael skipped council.
Lina found him in the rooftop sanctuary, eyes closed, hands still.
"You're not sleeping," she said.
"I don't need sleep," he murmured.
"That's not strength," she said. "It's decay."
Kael opened his eyes. "I hear her, Lina."
Lina stiffened.
"…Her?"
He nodded slowly.
> "My sister."
Lina stepped closer, gently touched his wrist.
"She's dead, Kael."
"I know," he said.
But his voice was hollow.
> "That's why it's worse."
---
Nightfall Terror
That night, the dreams returned.
Kael stood in the Eclipse Throne.
Alone.
His sister sat beside him, eyes sewn shut, her mouth filled with embers.
She reached for his hand.
He let her touch him.
And then—he burned.
---
He woke screaming, claws gouging the wall beside his bed, his chest glowing with silver cracks.
Sylah burst in, eyes wide, blade drawn.
"Kael—what happened?!"
He looked at her, panting.
Then whispered:
> "She's inside me."
---
The Shard in His Mind
Sylah summoned Lina and Drayk.
Lina performed a deep-soul scan—a sacred Moonborn rite that peeled back layers of a person's spiritual core.
What she found froze her blood.
> There was a Revenant shard buried inside Kael's soul.
A splinter of memory.
A curse.
A mirror.
Kael watched as the runes on his body flickered.
"I thought I killed her," he whispered.
"You did," Lina said. "But the Revenants… they don't just return."
> "They rebuild."
Sylah grabbed his shoulder. "So how do we purge it?"
Lina bit her lip. "You don't."
---
The Council Revolts
Word spread quickly.
Too quickly.
Whispers in the council chamber:
> "Kael is infected."
"The Flameborn is turning."
"He'll bring ruin."
Alpha Orun demanded Kael step down.
Others seconded it.
Even Drayk, loyal as he was, looked conflicted.
Kael stood at the head of the chamber, cloak of flame wrapped around his shoulders, and declared:
> "I will not surrender the flame.
I will not kneel to fear.
But if any wish to challenge me—step forward."
None did.
But the fracture had begun.
---
The Dream-Walker
That night, Kael meditated alone outside the stronghold.
No flame. No blade.
Only moonlight.
Then a figure stepped from the shadows.
Pale.
Eyes glowing silver.
A woman with his sister's face—but not her.
Her voice was smooth, but echoed like wind in tombs.
> "You're not sleeping."
> "You're becoming."
Kael stood.
"You're not her."
She smiled.
> "No. I'm the part of you that remembers."
> "The part your flame cannot burn."
She placed her hand on his chest.
> "Soon, you'll choose.
To remain… or to return."
He tried to step away.
But his feet were frozen.
And the world turned to ash.
---
The Revenant King's Whisper
Far away, in the throne of black fire, the Revenant King stirred.
He smiled.
> "He burns now.
And when the fire eats through his heart…
I will walk through him."