## CHAPTER 63: _"The Day the Moon Refused to Rise"_
The world trembled as the sun rose over Aetherhelm, casting shadows long and thin across the ruins. In the heart of the broken city, Arien stood in silence—his cloak scorched, his hands still glowing faintly from the battle that had almost cost him everything.
Lysia lay within the Temple of the First Light, barely breathing. Her soul flickered with each heartbeat, as if dancing between two realms. The price of unbinding the curse was not yet paid—and destiny was greedy.
---
**The Weight of a King**
"I should have died in the fire," Arien murmured to the wind, standing at the edge of the shattered balcony where his ancestors once addressed their kingdom.
"You were born in it," a voice answered.
It was King Oren, his father.
Their reunion had been brief, full of fire and fear, but now they stood in stillness.
"Do you know what it means to wear the crown?" the old king asked.
"To burn alone," Arien said.
"To burn, yes," Oren nodded. "But not alone. Not anymore."
Behind them, Lysia stirred.
---
**The Moon's Refusal**
That night, the moon did not rise.
Elithra, ever the scholar of forgotten signs, stared at the empty sky with dread.
"It's the beginning," she whispered. "The gods... they are returning."
"The gods are dead," Sairen snapped, sharpening her blades. "We killed belief years ago."
"No," Lysia whispered, her voice hoarse. "They've just been waiting for the fire to open the door."
The Veil had been cracked—not just between realms, but between time, fate, and creation itself. Something was watching now.
---
**Voices Beneath the Flame**
In a dream, Arien was called.
He stood in a field of ash, facing a woman with silver eyes and wings made of glass.
"Your name burns in the old tongue," she said. "You are more than king. You are key."
"To what?" he asked.
"To the truth the gods buried in the bones of Elira."
He woke with a scream—and the mark on his chest glowed a brilliant white.
---
**The Broken Prophecy**
Lysia finally rose, though weak, and together with Arien, she entered the catacombs beneath the city. There, on ancient walls, were murals of the First Flamebearer. But the face wasn't Arien's—it was Lysia's.
"The curse was never yours," Elithra whispered.
Lysia touched the wall. "It was mine. I've carried the key to the gods all along."
"And if the cult knew…" Sairen began.
"They'll come for her again," Arien finished. "We must end this—before the gods rise."
---
**The Path of Ash**
Chapter 63 ends with the group preparing to travel to the edge of the world—to the Hollow Flame, where the truth of the curse and the gods will be revealed.
As the stars blinked out one by one, Lysia looked to Arien and whispered:
> "If the moon won't rise, then we must become its light."
He nodded.
> "Together."