The echoes of the name—Kael'tharin—still rang in Ael's ears as they scrambled out of the collapsing chamber. Sand roared from above, the ruins responding violently to the release of long-buried power. It wasn't just a memory—it was a trigger.
Ael wasn't just a reincarnated king.
He was the weapon the world once tried to forget.
As they reached the surface, the last of the sun dipped below the horizon, casting long shadows across the ruins. The glowing runes along the city's outer walls pulsed erratically, like a dying heartbeat.
"What just happened?" Elen demanded, her voice sharp but laced with fear. "What was that name?"
Althar answered for him. "It's ancient. I've seen it in forbidden records. Kael'tharin. The Flame of the End. The King who unmade kingdoms with a glance."
Ael stood still. The wind tossed his hair, but he didn't move.
That name—it felt like a cage snapping shut and a door swinging open at the same time.
"I'm starting to remember," Ael said softly. "Pieces. Echoes. Like... rage, without knowing why. Grief, without a name to tie it to. And now... power."
Elen grabbed his arm. "You're not him anymore."
He looked at her—really looked—and for the first time, there was fear in her gaze. Not of what was around them.
Of him.
"I don't know if that's true," he said honestly.
Althar drew in a breath. "What now? If the Empress knows you've awakened—"
"She already does," Ael said.
As if summoned by his words, the air shimmered above the ruins. A tear split the sky, and through it stepped a figure robed in white and gold. No magic circle. No chant. Just raw, dimensional rip.
A woman descended with slow grace. Her feet never touched the ground. Her long silver hair flowed like water, eyes burning with divine clarity.
"Lady of Chains," Althar whispered, stumbling back. "She's... one of the Empress's Triad. Her personal executioners."
The woman smiled, though it didn't reach her eyes. "I come bearing gifts, Flameborn."
Ael stepped forward, placing himself between her and the others. "Gifts from a tyrant are called threats."
"Perhaps," she said, voice like wind across ice. "Or perhaps a reminder. The Empress does not fear what you are. She fears what you will become if you don't remember who you were meant to be."
"Who I was destroyed worlds," Ael said flatly.
"And yet here you are," she said, eyes narrowing. "Walking among mortals. Suffering with them. Feeling with them."
Her voice softened.
"You're already breaking the cycle."
Then she raised her hand.
A circle of runes flared beneath Ael's feet.
He moved to leap back—but his legs locked. Not in pain. In recognition.
A memory. A seal. A test.
He was meant to pass this.
"Ael!" Elen shouted, drawing her blade and lunging forward.
The Lady of Chains flicked a finger—Elen froze mid-stride, suspended in time like a painting.
"You will awaken the seal now," the Lady said. "Or I will tear the memories out of you and return you as a shell to the Empress."
Ael felt it—something shifting deep inside his core. Magic that wasn't of this world. It clawed its way up his spine, flooding his senses.
The chains of the old self, straining.
The chains of the new self, resisting.
Emotion surged through him.
Fear. Not for himself. For Elen.
For the companions who followed him even without knowing the truth.
For the people he'd begun to care about.
Something broke.
The runes flared around him—but this time, he was the source.
The Lady of Chains narrowed her eyes. "So you have changed."
Ael raised his hand.
Flames, black and blue, coiled around his fingers. They didn't burn the world—they hummed with restrained violence. Controlled. Focused.
"I'm not Kael'tharin," he said.
"And yet you wield his fire," she replied.
"I feel now," he said. "That makes me more dangerous than he ever was."
The ground cracked beneath his feet as power surged—but this time, he stopped it. Not with will alone, but with emotion. With purpose.
"I'm not your weapon. And I'm not hers," he said coldly.
The Lady of Chains tilted her head. Then, to their surprise—she smiled.
"A good answer."
She vanished. No sound. No flash.
Just gone.
Time resumed. Elen stumbled forward and caught herself.
"Ael?" she asked, breathless.
He turned toward her, flame still coiling around his arm, but now dimming.
"I'm still me," he said.
"But I don't think the world will let me stay that way for long."