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Chapter 78: Echoes of the First Flame
Last Updated:
2025-04-18 03:36:42
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Sacrifice Of The Heart Chapter 79: Aethermoor’s Hollow Heart
Aethermoor rose like a wound in the earth—its spires of dark stone twisted against the sky, a city not built, but exhumed. The ancient capital had once been the throne of magic, before the blood wars. Now it stood as a ruin draped in illusion, the facade of grandeur barely hiding its decay.The closer they rode to its gates, the heavier the air became. Magic pulsed beneath the cobblestones, old and waiting—like something breathing beneath the soil.“We shouldn’t be here,” Dain muttered, his hand resting near his blade. “This place isn’t just cursed. It’s hungry.”Kael didn’t reply, but his eyes scanned every rooftop, every silent archway, every shadow too thick for the hour. He’d been here before—years ago, in blood and betrayal. And even then, Aethermoor had whispered his name like it wanted him to stay… forever.Elara dismounted, her boots crunching over the ash-coated ground. The creature that had bonded to her—whom she now called Ashmane—trailed at her side, eyes gleaming with sup
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Aethermoor had never known silence like this.The city’s soul felt bruised—its streets dimmer, its sky overcast with more than just weather. It was as if the land itself held its breath, anticipating what would come.Elara stared out from the tower balcony of their temporary safehouse, her thoughts a storm of uncertainty and dread. Kael and Dain hadn’t said much since their return, each man lost in his own thoughts. Celene’s brief appearance had shifted the scales, and now, the game they were playing was no longer just between factions.It was blood against blood.Below, movement stirred. Dain had gathered the rogue Sentinels—those who had broken free from the High Circle’s leash. Their loyalty to Elara was growing, but not without friction. Not everyone trusted her. Especially now that she had stood before the Obsidian Altar and walked away changed.Kael stepped in quietly behind her, setting a hand on the railing beside hers. “You didn’t sleep.”Elara didn’t glance at him. “I couldn
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The blood-red runes flared, casting long shadows across the chamber, and the ground beneath their feet trembled like a beast awakening from a centuries-old slumber.Elara stood motionless, her gaze locked with the figure cloaked in darkness. He said he was her ancestor. The one who began the Bloodstone Pact. And now… now he wanted her to claim it.Kael’s voice cut through the thick silence. “We’re leaving. Now.”“No,” Elara said softly, still transfixed. “I need to know the truth.”“Elara—” Dain stepped forward, but the shadowed figure raised a single finger, and a wall of dark energy burst forth, slamming into the stone floor between them. Dust and debris flew, separating Elara from the others.She didn’t flinch.“Elara Blackthorne,” the man said her name like a curse and a coronation. “Do you feel it now? The altar… the blood… it remembers you.”Elara’s breath came in shallow pulls as her fingers brushed the stone again—this time without hesitation. A searing pulse rushed up her arm
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The journey to the Oracle’s domain was unlike any Elara had faced. The forest grew darker the farther they went, its trees ancient and twisted, branches clawing at the sky like they were trying to pull it down.Mist clung to the ground, not soft but sharp—slicing through warmth and numbing her skin. The path bent unnaturally, and time seemed to stretch and bend with it. Even Kael looked unsettled.“She’s warded this place with soul magic,” Dain muttered. “It’s meant to unravel the mind before you reach her.”Elara pressed forward. “Then let’s make sure we get there before ours fall apart.”When they reached the mountain pass that housed the Oracle’s sanctum, a sudden stillness blanketed the land—no wind, no birds, not even breath. Just silence… and waiting.A rusted gate blocked the way, though no wall stood with it. A single phrase was etched into the arch in bloodstone: Only the Bound May Pass.Kael stepped forward, but the gate didn’t move.Elara’s fingers brushed it, and the metal
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The forest was a breathing thing now—every tree pulse-thick with secrets, every shadow threatening to speak. Elara tightened her grip on the dagger Dain had given her, its obsidian blade humming faintly against her palm. The air buzzed, the kind of charged silence that preceded a scream.They had barely made it a mile from the Oracle’s chamber before the forest began to shift.“Stay close,” Kael muttered, his voice low and taut.Dain moved like a phantom beside him, eyes scanning the edges of the overgrown trail. “Something’s stalking us. It’s not trying to hide.”“I know,” Kael replied, his golden eyes flashing. “It wants us to know it’s coming.”A branch cracked behind them. Then another—closer. Elara turned just in time to see a blur—too tall for a man, too twisted for a beast.“Down!” Kael shouted.The creature lunged, and the clearing erupted into chaos. Steel clashed, magic flared—Kael’s blade igniting with golden fire, Dain moving in a deadly dance of precision. Elara ducked, s
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Rain lashed against the ruined chapel like an army of ghosts, drenching the cracked stone and filling the silence with its endless rhythm. Elara’s body trembled from the visions still echoing in her mind—flashes of fire and bone, a broken crown, a bloodstained vow whispered in the dark.Kael hadn’t let go of her. His arms were firm around her, grounding her. But in his eyes, she saw it—the fear he couldn’t speak. He’d recognized the man, the power, and what it meant.“You saw the Vault,” Dain said, stepping closer. His voice was low, controlled. “Tell me what you saw, Elara. All of it.”She didn’t speak for a moment. Her gaze drifted to the altar, its glow now dimmed but still pulsing faintly, like a heartbeat buried deep beneath stone.“I saw a war,” she began slowly. “One that never truly ended. A woman—she wore my face, but older, tired. She held something… a key, shaped like flame and shadow. She locked something inside the Vault and whispered that it must never be opened.”Kael s
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The undercity of Vareth was a place forgotten by light. Dain moved through the crumbling ruins with practiced ease, each footfall muffled on moss-slick stone. The lantern in his hand flickered with violet flame—a warded fire that revealed magic, not shadow.His father’s notes had been precise. Three levels down, past the drowned catacombs. Look for the gate that bleeds light.He hadn’t expected the air to hum.It wasn’t sound exactly—more like the echo of a scream that had never stopped.Dain pressed forward, ignoring the dread slithering along his spine. Every instinct screamed at him to turn back. But he didn’t. Not when he was this close.A vault that could reshape destiny.A girl with magic in her blood.And a war older than the kingdoms above.He reached the third tier. The stones beneath his boots were blackened—scorched in a perfect ring. Old magic. Forbidden magic. The kind that didn’t just kill—it devoured.And then he saw it.The gate.An archway of stone, wrapped in thorned
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Elara’s cloak billowed behind her as she stepped over the scorched stone, her boots echoing through the ruined council chamber. Smoke curled from broken walls, and the stench of magic still lingered—wild, untamed, and angry.Kael stood near the shattered throne, his silhouette tense, shadowed by moonlight that pierced through the fractured ceiling. He didn’t move as she approached.“You broke the barrier,” Elara said, voice low, steady. “The one that protected the last of the neutral lands.”His jaw clenched. “I had no choice.”“There’s always a choice.”“And yours?” he snapped, stepping forward. “Was it a choice to trust Dain after everything?”Her heart stammered. Not at the accusation—but at the truth laced within it. Dain’s absence since the betrayal had been deafening, and part of her feared what his silence meant. Part of her feared… he was no longer on her side.Kael’s voice softened. “I didn’t come here to argue. I came to offer something we’ve never had—honesty.”She stared a
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Sacrifice Of The Heart Chapter 110: The Crown Beneath the Flames
The sky ripped open.A thunderous roar echoed over the palace as golden lightning split the heavens, crackling through the enchanted dome that had protected the capital for centuries. Panic surged in the city below—citizens screamed, magic flared, and guards rushed to defend the walls. But inside the throne room, silence reigned, thick and paralyzing.Elara stared at the glowing parchment in her hand, its light pulsing like a heartbeat—her heartbeat.Kael stepped in front of her instinctively. “What did you do?”“I didn’t choose,” she whispered, stunned.Vesper’s voice sliced through the room like a blade. “You did. The moment your blood touched the truth, the magic reacted. You’ve awakened the weapon buried in the kingdom.”Dain unsheathed his blade. “Then this is war.”“No,” Elara snapped, raising her hand. “This isn’t war. Not yet. But it will be… if we don’t control what’s coming.”The parchment’s light dimmed suddenly, curling into ash between her fingers. But the rumble above di
Sacrifice Of The Heart Chapter 109: The Return of the Kingmaker
The air cracked like thunder as Elara stepped into the ancient ruins—the site the prophecy had led her to. Dain’s warning still echoed in her ears, but Kael’s hand was firm on her arm, his presence grounding her in the moment.She thought she’d felt everything a heart could endure. She thought she’d buried Vesper Moretti with the ruins of their forbidden love.But then came the shadow.Not magic. Not monster.Him.Clad in black, eyes like dark steel, Vesper Moretti emerged from the archway as though the kingdom itself had carved him from vengeance. His face was sharper, more dangerous—but the hunger in his eyes when they found hers was unmistakable.“Elara,” he said, voice low and lethal. “I told you once—nothing keeps me from what’s mine.”Her breath caught. The world tilted.Kael stepped in front of her. “You were dead.”Vesper didn’t blink. “You only kill what you understand. And you never understood me.”Then his eyes cut to Dain, who stood frozen with guilt carved into his expres
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Kael carried Elara through the crumbling halls of the ruined citadel, her body limp in his arms. Ash rained from the vaulted ceiling like gray snow. The vault behind them had collapsed entirely, burying Dain—and the Ardent Mirror—beneath ancient stone and cursed light.Her skin was cold.Too cold.“Elara,” he whispered, brushing her hair back, smudged with soot and blood. “Don’t do this to me.”But her eyes remained shut. Her pulse fluttered weakly at her neck, like a thread unraveling.They had no time. He had no options.Except one.Kael turned toward the east chamber—the forbidden crypt beneath the old sanctum. No one went there. Not even Elara.Not even Dain.But Kael wasn’t just a warrior. He was raised by men who trafficked in blood oaths, trained by shadows who knew how to barter with things older than gods.He descended the narrow staircase two steps at a time, breath ragged, Elara cradled tightly in his arms.At the bottom stood a rusted iron gate carved with sigils no human
Sacrifice Of The Heart Chapter 107: Velvet Blades and Vows
Kael’s hand was still wrapped around Elara’s wrist as he pulled her through the dim corridor of the fortress, every stride radiating tension. The weight of silence between them was louder than screams.“Let go of me,” Elara hissed, twisting her arm in vain. Her pulse was pounding—equal parts fury and something far more dangerous.Kael turned, his face shadowed in the torchlight, eyes burning gold. “You walked into the lion’s den alone. Again. You think Dain would have spared you this time?”She yanked her hand free. “I didn’t need you to save me.”He laughed coldly. “No, you needed someone to die for you, apparently.”The air thinned between them. Elara stepped back, but he followed—always one step closer than she wanted, or maybe exactly where she needed him.“Why do you always do this?” she whispered, voice trembling.“Do what?” His voice dipped low, rough, intimate. “Follow you into danger? Break rules for you? Want you so badly it makes me lose my mind?”“You don’t want me,” she s
Sacrifice Of The Heart Chapter 106 – The darkness between us
Kael’s grip tightened painfully around Elara’s wrist, forcing her to wince.“Kael,” she said softly, “it’s me. It’s Elara. Let go.”But his eyes — gods, his eyes — they weren’t just wounded anymore.There was a storm swirling inside them, a violent force pressing against his soul, clawing to the surface.“I can feel them,” he rasped, voice cracking. “Inside me. Twisting.”Dain stepped forward cautiously, blade drawn but low.“He’s been tainted. The ritual—you weren’t the only one marked, Elara.”Elara knelt closer, ignoring the way Kael’s body shuddered under her touch.“Fight it,” she whispered. “Stay with me.”Kael’s fingers spasmed, finally releasing her wrist.He sagged against the wall, breathing in shallow, broken gasps.“I tried,” he muttered. “Tried to keep them out. But they promised me…” His voice broke. “They promised they’d spare you.”Elara’s stomach twisted violently.“Who?” she demanded. “Who promised?”But Kael’s head slumped forward, and for a terrifying moment, she t
Sacrifice Of The Heart Chapter 105: The Blood Price
The first rays of dawn barely kissed the horizon when Elara stood at the ancient altar hidden deep within the cliffs.The place reeked of old magic, of broken promises and shattered souls. Dark vines twisted through the stone, pulsing faintly as if remembering every curse ever whispered here.Dain arrived silently, his cloak trailing ash behind him. He carried a small obsidian blade — the kind crafted not for battle, but for sacrifice.“This is your last chance to turn back,” he said, voice low.Elara shook her head, her fingers curling into fists. “Kael wouldn’t give up on me. I won’t give up on him.”A brief flicker of emotion crossed Dain’s face — admiration, maybe grief. Then he drew a circle of salt around the altar and motioned for her to kneel.The ritual began with a chant — low, guttural words that made the very air vibrate. Shadows lengthened unnaturally, coiling around them like curious serpents.Elara pressed the blade to her palm without hesitation. Her blood spilled onto
Sacrifice Of The Heart Chapter 104: Ashes of Trust
The world was not the same.Elara staggered to her feet, coughing through the settling dust. Dain pulled her up roughly, his face bleeding from a cut above his brow, eyes burning with rage—and something worse. Fear.The ruins around them groaned and cracked. Whatever Kael had awakened, it was spreading like a sickness, bleeding through stone and earth alike. The once-familiar walls now felt hostile, every breath of air tasting of metal and ruin.“We have to move,” Dain barked, dragging her forward.“But Kael—” Elara tried to turn back toward the shattered altar, the spot where he had disappeared.Dain shook her hard enough to rattle her teeth. “He made his choice. Now we have to survive it.”Behind them, the ground caved in completely, swallowing the last remnants of the altar in a deafening roar. Dark vines slithered from the abyss, twisting and coiling like living nightmares.Elara didn’t realize she was crying until she tasted the salt on her lips.Kael.She had seen him—truly seen
Sacrifice Of The Heart Chapter 103: When Silence Breaks
Elara stood on the edge of the old courtyard, its stone floor cracked with time and betrayal. Her fingers twitched at her sides, heart drumming louder than the shifting wind. Dain hadn’t said a word since they left Kael behind.The silence between them was a tensioned wire. Too tight. Too brittle.“You shouldn’t have stopped him,” she finally said.Dain’s gaze stayed ahead, cold and unreadable. “He would’ve burned everything down.”“And maybe that’s what it needs,” she snapped. “Everything has already been burning. We just keep pretending it’s not.”He turned then, slow and dangerous. “Don’t confuse chaos with justice, Elara. We’re not saviors. We’re survivors.”She stepped closer, her voice low. “I’m tired of surviving.”Dain’s expression cracked just enough to show something raw beneath. “Then what are you willing to lose to start fighting?”Before she could answer, a low rumble split the air. The ground trembled underfoot, the scent of scorched air curling around them like a warnin
Sacrifice Of The Heart Chapter 102: The Fire Crowned
The world screamed as flame devoured the air.Elara stumbled forward, Kael’s hand ripping away from hers as the inferno swallowed the frost-bound path behind them. The shrine collapsed into cinders and ash, sealing their choice with finality. The vision of peace, of quiet love—gone, like a mirage scorched under a merciless sun.She barely had time to process it before the ground shifted beneath her feet.They were no longer in the ruins.They stood at the edge of a battlefield.Above them, the sky churned a deep red, clouds forming strange sigils—magic twisting like serpents in the atmosphere. The old capital loomed in the distance, no longer crumbling, but fortified, alive, and bristling with war. Banners she didn’t recognize fluttered from towers. Symbols of her House merged with marks of ancient fire gods.“What… what is this?” she whispered.Kael turned toward her, his expression unreadable. “This is your reign.”Soldiers in obsidian armor knelt as she passed. Flames crowned her h
