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The Gate of Thorns – Battlefield Begins
Winds howled across the dead valley where the Gate of Thorns now loomed, fully awakened.
Kael stood at the head of the ridge, Solmourn glowing with golden runes. Elira beside him, blades drawn. Behind them—Auren and Nerina, cloaked in resistance sigils. And scattered across the cliffs, the remnants of the last realm-aligned armies stood ready.
Below them, Riftborn marched. Shadows in flesh. Creatures twisted by Lucien's magic, formed from broken souls and corrupted dreams.
At their head, Lucien emerged — regal, in a shroud of voidflame. His eyes locked on Kael.
"You brought them," Lucien said, voice like silk on steel.
Kael stepped forward. "I came to end this."
Lucien smiled. "Then let's begin."
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Flashback – The First Flame (Elira's Memory)
As the two armies prepared, Elira's thoughts wandered—back to a memory buried deep.
She was a child, no older than ten, running through the ruins of an old sanctuary, the sun blazing red. Her mother — a rogue seer — pulled her aside.
> "You carry something ancient," her mother whispered. "The flame doesn't choose warriors. It chooses witnesses. When the final light dies, yours must burn."
Elira had forgotten that moment until now.
She blinked — and the realization hit her: she was part of the prophecy. Not just as Kael's ally… but as a key.
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Back to Present – The Battle Ignites
Kael charged.
Solmourn blazed golden, cutting through the first line of Riftborn. Behind him, Elira spun through the battlefield like light incarnate, every move precise, lethal.
Auren flung fire sigils into the ranks. "Nerina! Left side!"
"Already there," she called, cutting through with brutal grace.
The field became chaos. The screams of corrupted and righteous alike echoed across the valley.
Then — a pulse of darkness.
Lucien raised his hand — and summoned the Crownshade, a monstrosity born from Rift core magic. A creature with six faces and a serpent's spine.
Kael's flame dimmed. "What in the—?"
"It's the heart of the Gate," Elira said. "If we don't stop that thing, it will open the Rift permanently."
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Lyra's Defiance
High above the ridge, Lyra watched through a veil of mist.
She held the Seventh Fragment — still hidden.
Lucien had ordered her to activate it once the Rift reached full resonance.
But as she looked down at Kael, fighting through hell, something shattered in her.
> "You were never just a pawn," she whispered.
She clutched the fragment.
Then turned — and fled.
Not toward Lucien.
But toward Kael.
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Kael vs Crownshade
Kael leapt, flames dancing in his veins. He landed on the beast's back, stabbing deep. But the Crownshade shrieked, throwing him across the battlefield.
"Elira—!" Kael gasped, as the creature reared back.
But she was already moving — running up a broken pillar and leaping straight for its exposed throat. Her blade sank deep — but she was flung aside.
Kael screamed her name — and caught her mid-air.
She coughed, blood on her lips. "We're not dying here."
"No," he growled. "We're not."
Kael raised Solmourn.
It answered — pulsing with all the flame of his ancestors.
> "Burn."
A burst of white fire erupted — engulfing the Crownshade and turning the beast into pure ash.
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Lucien's Retreat
Lucien watched, his grin cracking.
"They weren't supposed to—"
He turned to retreat into the Gate of Thorns.
But a figure blocked the path.
Lyra.
Dagger drawn. The Seventh Fragment clutched in her hand.
"I'm done running," she said.
Lucien's eyes flared with betrayal. "You dare—?"
She stabbed the dagger into the gate's stone, disrupting the tether.
Lucien screamed as the Gate pulsed violently, unstable now.
Kael arrived, bloodied but burning with purpose.
Lucien sneered. "You think this ends me?"
Kael raised his sword. "No. This ends the world you broke."
He slashed — and Lucien was hurled backward into the collapsing Rift portal.
Gone.
But not dead.
Not yet.
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Aftermath – Cost of Victory
The battlefield went still.
The Rift pulsed once more, then dimmed — sealed, but trembling.
Kael looked down at Elira, injured but alive.
He collapsed beside her, holding her close.
Auren limped over with Nerina behind him. "We're alive. Somehow."
Kael nodded.
But his hand clenched the Sixth Fragment.
And he knew: the Rift would try again.
Unless they found a way to seal it forever.
And that meant… finding the origin.
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