The sky cracked open as fire rained down upon the Sanctuary.
Kael stood rooted to the mountain ledge, arms outstretched, Sovereign flame coiling around him like a living shield. The force of Maldrakar's attack pressed against him like a mountain, each heartbeat a war against collapse.
"Hold—"
Eva's voice rang from behind him. "If the barrier breaks—"
"It won't!" Kael roared, and the fire surrounding him surged.
But the Demon Lord's general was no ordinary foe. The flames Maldrakar wielded were not of this world. They carried the weight of countless deaths, tainted by soulfire and vengeance. Every second the two flames clashed, the mountain shook harder.
Behind Kael, the carved tunnels of the Sovereign Sanctuary groaned and split, rock fracturing along old seams.
Sylara struck from above. Her wings swept wide as she crashed into Maldrakar with all the fury of a living tempest. Her claws tore at his armor, her tail lashed fire through the air—but he didn't flinch. He caught her mid-strike, dragging her from the sky and slamming her into the earth, shattering stone and bone alike.
"SYLARA!" Kael shouted.
The ancient beast growled, rising slowly, wings trembling. "I'm not… done yet."
Eva was at Kael's side in an instant, pressing a crystal of focused mana into his palm. "You need more. You can't keep holding back."
Kael's breath came ragged. "I'm trying—but the deeper I go, the more I feel like I'll… lose myself."
She stared into his eyes. "Maybe that's the point."
He looked down at the crystal—pure white, thrumming with Sovereign resonance. Not meant for mortals. Not meant for anyone still half-bound by a seal.
But Kael was no longer half anything.
He clenched the crystal and focused. He dove inward—past pain, past fear, into the place where his power had been sealed.
And there, in the void of memory, he saw it:
A silver flame, coiled tight like a sleeping dragon, wrapped in chains made from ancient runes.
The seal.
Not broken… but cracked.
"Let me burn," Kael whispered to himself.
And the chains shattered.
Outside, the flames around Kael surged white-blue and gold. The air pulsed with pure force. Time itself seemed to pause.
Maldrakar turned his head. For the first time since his arrival, he stepped back.
Kael stepped forward.
No longer merely resisting the Ash General's flames—he devoured them.
He raised one hand, and a burning sigil of the Sovereigns formed in the air—a spiral of flame, light, and judgment.
He spoke the words that had not been heard in over a century:
"By the Flame of the First, I rise."
Then Kael released his full power.
The explosion of Sovereign energy tore across the battlefield. Fire with memory. Fire that did not destroy indiscriminately, but chose—guided by will, shaped by spirit.
Maldrakar roared as the blast struck him, carving molten lines into his corrupted armor. The ground split beneath his feet, roots of ancient magic awakening from the mountain's depths to bind him.
Sylara soared overhead, her body reforged by Kael's power. Even her wounds shimmered with golden healing light.
Eva lifted her staff high, channeling the storm Kael had created, weaving it with her own spells.
Maldrakar broke free from the roots with a scream that split stone.
But it was too late.
Kael struck.
Not with flame—but with a focused pulse of Sovereign energy, shaped like a spear, driven by memory, rage, and justice.
The spear pierced Maldrakar's chest—through the heart that no longer beat.
The Ash General fell.
Not dead. But defeated.
His body crumpled, flames sputtering, armor cracking.
Kael stood over him, chest heaving, eyes still glowing with Sovereign light.
Maldrakar looked up, the fire dimming in his eyes. For the first time, there was recognition. Not mockery. Not hatred.
But fear.
"You… are the one," he rasped.
Then he fell silent.
The mountain was quiet.
Smoke drifted from the scorched ledges, and the ancient Sanctuary stood bruised—but not broken.
Sylara landed beside Kael, her voice full of weary pride. "You channeled it. You shaped it. The Sovereign flame answers to you now."
Eva exhaled, a slow smile breaking across her soot-streaked face. "You really are the one they feared."
Kael stared at his hands. The flame had dimmed—but something within him had changed. Awoken. Claimed its place.
"I didn't just awaken," he said quietly. "I became."