Nyla’s POV The ground trembled more violently than previously. I landed on my knees and grabbed a sharp rock. The sky glowed crimson and gold as fire erupted from the crevices all around us. Smoke billowed from the summit of the mountain. The air was filled with flying rocks. Trees broke. The world seemed to be disintegrating. "Wait a minute!" I grabbed the boy and yelled. He was still. Too still. Wide-eyed. Pale face. As if he were motionless. "Observe!" he said quietly. Then I noticed it. The mountain wasn't just broken. It parted. Like broken glass, the peak burst into fragments and flew into the sky. Something enormous started to rise from deep within. The air became heavy and dense, as if it were pressing down on us. There was a door beneath the shattered shell of the mountain. Not merely a door, though. A jail. Composed of chains the size of rivers and made of stone and gold. Old, ancient, and forgotten were the symbols that blazed across the surface. Something mo
Nyla’s POVThe boy, my boy, stood there with his hand extended toward the crown, and I watched him. As though beckoning him to accept it, the flames swirled and flickered. The chaos, the power, and the calm all whirled around us, drawing me and him in different directions.I no longer recognised the youngster in his look. Something deeper and darker was now there in them. He appeared conflicted, as though he couldn't decide whether to resist or give in.He said, "Nyla, I," his lips quivering as he looked at me. I have no idea what to do. Peace is promised by the crown. It promises that this will all end. I simply want it to end.I felt his fear, his pain, as though it were my own. He had too much weight on his shoulders. Too much, especially for someone so young. But this... this crown was not the answer. I was aware of that. I had to explain things to him.I took a step forward and spoke in a calm but urgent tone. "There isn't any true peace. It's only power. Power that will devour y
Nyla’s POV I stood frozen, watching as the boy—my boy—reached out toward the flame again, his fingers shaking with trepidation. I could feel the earthquake beneath my feet, the very ground splitting up with a crash so loud it sounded like the Earth itself was breaking. But then, everything became silent. The flame flickered and vanished, fading into the air, and the child was gone. I briefly believed I had lost him, but then an odd event occurred. The space around me began to alter, the cave falling in on itself, and suddenly, I was no longer standing in that dark, shaking place. Rather, I found myself standing in a desolate, icy, and dead landscape. The sky above was overcast with whirling shadows, as if the sun had long since perished, and the air was heavy with dust. There was no sound, no movement, only the oppressive silence of a world that had been forgotten. I whirled around, feeling a cold crawl up my spine. When I saw him, my heart skipped a beat. The boy. It wasn't the
Nyla’s POVThe visions subsided, and the cave became silent. Even while we were still in the Timeless Place, things had altered. Holding his legs to his chest, the child sat on a smooth rock. He seemed to see something I couldn't see since his eyes were so far away.“Are you alright?” I inquired quietly.He gave me a look and blinked. “I... There was a city that I saw. Constructed with fire and white stone. It drifted in midair.I knelt next to him. Was it a dream?He shook his head. "It was authentic. I strolled along the hallways. People bowed to me. I was given the name Flame Heir."Heir Flame?" Surprised, I repeated.Slowly, he nodded again. My hair was golden. I wore a flaming crown. I was not a kid. I was perhaps seventeen years old. I only needed to touch it to make it grow. I wasn't scared.Standing close by, the stranger had a serious expression. He is being addressed by the past. The alternative life.I looked his way. “Is this secure?”He was slow to respond.When the young
Nyla’s POVWhen the stranger turned and said, "Follow me," the sky was still trembling. We are running out of time.I took hold of the boy's hand. "Are you certain we can rely on him?" I said.The boy turned to face the stranger. "I'm not sure, but I believe he is aware of my memory locations."We followed him through the forest, past glowing stones and splintered paths. Although the mountain in front of me was silent, I could sense its breathing. Not like a mountain, but as if there were life within it."Where are we heading?" I inquired.The man's staff had a slight glow to it. "To the mountain's base," the oldest location. The location before the time"Before the time?" I said it again. "How is it possible for anything to exist before time?"The man remained silent.The trees became twisted as we ascended. Not negatively, just odd. There were trees with silvery foliage. Some glistened like water. Others had absolutely no shadow.The boy let out a gasp. "Observe. That tree just grew
Nyla’s POVThe sky was calm. Too silent.I stood at the brink of the slope, holding the infant close to my chest. He had a pallid face. His body was weak. The stench of burning vapours filled the air.Then I noticed it.Like fire on silk, a gigantic, flaming red star tore across the sky. It was too low, too fast, and too furious."No," I said.The woods trembled behind me. The singing of the birds ceased. The wind seems to pause its breath as well.With a sound like the planet wailing in agony, the crimson light crashed into the far mountains. Boom! The earth trembled beneath my feet. The impact sent forth a wave of weird energy that rolled out like a chilly wind.In my arms, the infant stirred.And then I noticed the light.It wasn't the sun. The moonlight wasn't there. Something older was involved. There's a problem.From the mountains emerged a scarlet glow, like blood smoke. As if to shrink away from the strength, the trees closest to the hills began to bow and break."What is tha