The embers of battle still whispered behind him as Kael stepped through the broken glade. The shadows clung tighter here, as if reluctant to release what had been witnessed. He followed where the Rogue Flame had vanished—her silhouette burned behind his eyelids like a fading comet. Each footfall echoed with a silent question: Why did she run? And why did it feel like she had known him far longer than she should?
The trail wound into a ravine, then narrowed into a tunnel of ash-heavy trees. Somewhere in the distance, a storm was gathering. Kael pressed forward until exhaustion finally overtook him. He collapsed beside a root-veined stone, its surface warm from residual emberlight, and let sleep pull him under.
It was the first time Kael had truly slept since awakening on the Ashspine.
Until now, rest had been no more than brief collapses—half-conscious flickers stolen between survival and pain. But this time, real sleep found him. Deep, whole, and dangerous.
And in that sleep, the dreams began to speak.
They had been growing louder.
At first, they were just images. Flickers of hair like wildfire, glimpses of laughter blurred by smoke. Then came the scent of lavender ash, the feel of slender fingers slipping away, and finally, the name. Half-formed. A whisper Kael could never catch.
Tonight, it came clearly.
"Lyra."
He woke gasping.
The cave was dark save for the amber glow of emberflies dancing near the ceiling. Sweat coated his chest, and his heart hammered not from fear, but longing. It felt as though someone had touched the center of his soul with callused hands and then vanished again before he could grasp them.
He sat up slowly, brushing ash from his skin. Outside the cave, the wind howled down the Ashspine, carrying flurries of soot and sorrow with it. The world here was grey, quiet—but inside his chest, something had stirred.
"Lyra," he said again aloud.
The word didn't echo.
[Cognitive Fragment Recovery: 12%]Unsealed Identifier: LyraAssociated Emotional Sequence: Undefined. Processing…
The System's voice usually felt sterile, detached. But tonight, it hesitated. As if it, too, didn't fully understand.
"Who is she?" Kael whispered. "Why does my chest hurt when I say her name?"
No response.
He stood and walked to the mouth of the cave. Below, the blackened ridges of the Ashspine stretched into nothingness. Here and there, the faint glow of dying embers dotted the landscape, like the last memories of stars.
Kael clutched the edge of the stone wall. That dream—no, that memory—had felt real. She had been laughing. Not with cruelty or distance, but with warmth. With trust. With love, maybe.
And then she was gone.
He didn't remember her face.
Only how it felt to lose it.
That day, Kael traveled with a strange urgency. He moved faster through the ravines, barely noticing the scavengers that trailed behind crags or the faint distortions in the heat-blasted air. He didn't stop to rest. Not until he found the next ruin.
It wasn't much. Just a stone archway leading into what looked like a collapsed watchtower. But something about it—its placement, its silence—called to him.
Inside, the air shimmered.
And on the wall: a message, barely legible, carved into sootstone.
"You promised me we'd make it."
Kael reached out and touched the carving.
[Echo Triggered.]
[Initializing Memory Fragment.]
The room blurred. Heat swelled. His knees buckled.
And then he heard her voice.
"I don't care if the world burns. Just let us live through it. Together."
He turned—but saw only ash.
Tears welled in his eyes before he even knew why.
That night, he didn't dream of war.
He dreamed of a forest, half-burned but still alive. Of someone humming while tending a fire. Of fingers brushing his temple, gentle as falling ash.
And her voice again.
"Kael. Don't forget me. Not this time."
He woke with a name on his lips.
"Lyra."
[Emotional Anchor Strengthening. Cognitive Lock Weakening.]Projected Time to Partial Recall: Unknown. Continue exposure to emotional triggers.
Kael pressed a hand to his chest.
He didn't know who she was.
But he would find out.
Even if it meant burning through the entire world again.