Chapter 14 The Night Of Fire
Sina sat in the dim cell, her back against the cold stone wall. Days turned to weeks. Weeks turned to months. No sentence. No decision. Just waiting.
Beyond the prison walls, the council debated.
Zora sat at the head of the chamber, silent as the elders argued.
"This place was never ours to keep," one of them said.
"Opening the city would mean our end," another countered.
"The tree does not belong to us alone."
"Men will come, and when they do, they will take."
The voices clashed, heated, desperate. But in the end, the choice was made.
The doors to Sina's cell swungopen. She blinked against the light as Zora stepped inside.
"You are free to go," he said.
She hesitated. "Just like that?"
Zora nodded. "We have decided. The tree is not ours to claim." He studied her. "You may do with this knowledge what you will. But know this—once the secret is out, the peace we have known for thousands of years will end. There will be no going back."
Sina searched his face. Was it a warning? A plea? Did he still believe she would choose to protect this place, even now?
She said nothing.
And then she was gone.
Six Months Later
The watchmen spotted them first.
A cloud of dust on the horizon. A stampede of footsteps. Armor glinting under the sky.
An army.
And at the front—Sina.
She stood atop a black steed, her eyes cold as steel, her voice echoing through the valley.
"Zora of the City of Life!" she called. "Your time is up. Surrender, and let this city belong to all people of the world." A pause. "Or die here and now."
The people of Eldara looked to Zora, fear in their eyes. The council whispered among themselves. Warriors reached for their weapons.
Zora did neither. He simply stepped forward.
"I will not fight," he said.
The words rang through the air.
A murmur spread through the crowd. The warriors looked to one another, hesitant, uncertain. Sina's army shifted in anticipation.
Zora raised his voice. "If this is what must be, then so be it."
He knelt.
A hush fell. The people of Eldara watched as their king—the man who had saved them, who had built their paradise—bowed his head in surrender.
The gates opened.
The City of Life no longer belonged to Zora. It belonged to the world.
Years Later
At first, there was peace.
Strangers came, stood in awe of the great tree, wept at its beauty. They walked among the people of Eldara, grateful, reverent. It seemed, for a time, that this paradise could be shared.
Until it became clear—this place was never meant for all.
The city swelled beyond its limits. Homes stacked upon homes. The streets, once open and free, became narrow and crowded. Water was stretched thin. Food became scarce.
And then the whispers began.
How long before the tree could no longer sustain them?
How long before the City of Life collapsed under the weight of humanity?
How long before paradise was lost?
The city was drowning.
Its streets, once open and free, now overflowed with bodies. The once-pristine rivers ran dry. The tree, ever radiant, stood unchanged—but the people beneath its light were not the same.
And so, the leaders gathered.
The four kingdoms—Sina, Rosavolt, Zora, and Maru—stood before one another in the council hall, their voices loud , their tempers frayed.
"The city cannot sustain this," Rosavolt declared. "We must limit who may enter."
Maru nodded. "Seal the entrance. Keep the peace."
Zora sat in silence, watching. Listening.
Then, he stood. "No."
The room stilled.
Zora's voice was calm but firm. "We have lived here for thousands of years. We have taken from this place, prospered in its light, thrived while others suffered above." He swept his gaze over them. "Now, we must leave."
A murmur spread through the room. Some nodded, understanding. Others recoiled.
Then Sina spoke.
"There is no need for that," she said, her voice low but filled with defiance. "We have saved enough people. We have done enough." She turned to the others, searching their faces. "This place is ours. Let the outside world fend for itself."
Zora's eyes darkened. "Those were not your words when you first arrived."
Sina stiffened.
"You once begged me to share this place," Zora said. "To save the world. Now you wish to hoard it?"
Sina's hands clenched into fists. "You don't understand. This city—it is the only thing keeping us safe. Keeping us alive."
Zora's voice was quiet,. "You have become too dependent."
She stepped forward. "And you would throw this away? Walk willingly into death?"
Zora met her gaze. "Yes."
Silence.
Then—Sina exhaled, shaking her head. "I won't allow it."
Zora closed his eyes. He had seen this moment coming.
He opened them.
"A war is coming," he said. "And I will not fight it."
Sina said nothing.
She didn't have to.
The kingdom of Eldara stood ready to leave. Packs were filled, homes abandoned, footsteps trailing toward the exit.
Then the ground shook.
A deafening crack echoed through the cavern as the entrance collapsed in on itself. Dust filled the air. The path to the outside world was gone, the portal destroyed .
Zora stared at the rubble, his jaw tightening.
"So, this is your answer," he murmured.
There was no leaving now.
Ten Years Later
The city groaned under its own weight.
Newborn cries echoed through the streets, yet no space remained for them. The rivers ran shallow. The fields bore less each year. Hunger crept into the corners of the city, silent but relentless the people suffered but the tree would not let them die.
And then the truth surfaced.
Rosavolt had been hoarding food.
Zora watched as the people stormed his gates, their voices raw with rage. He watched as Sina, fury burning in her eyes, raised her banner and declared war.
And for the first time, the City of Life ran red.
The war lasted six months. Six months of screams and steel. Of fire and mourning.
Then, at last, silence.
The survivors stood among the wreckage, breathless, broken. The dead lay beneath them, their blood soaking the sacred ground.
A wind passed through the city.
The leaves of the great tree trembled.
Then, one by one, they fell.
A withering. A fading.
And those who had taken life—Sina among them—felt it first.
The warmth that had cradled them for so long was gone. The eternal strength in their limbs, the endless life in their veins—gone.
The blessings of the tree had left them.
The Birth of Magic
The council chamber was filled with unrest.
Sina stood before them, her hands balled into fists, her face twisted with fury. "This is punishment," she spat. "A curse! After everything I've done—after everything we've all done—it dares to abandon us?"
Zora sat across from her, his expression unreadable. "No one asked you to spill blood, Sina." His voice was quiet but firm. "You brought this upon yourself."
Her nostrils flared. "You think yourself above this?" She gestured wildly. "We are dying, Zora! The city is falling apart, and you—" She let out a sharp breath. "You sit there, doing nothing."
Zora's gaze did not waver. "What would you have me do?"
Sina had no answer.
She turned and stormed out.
The night of fire
The flames came without warning.
Fire climbed the great tree's trunk, burning at its silver bark, twisting around its ancient branches. The sky itself glowed, as if the heavens were burning.
Zora watched from the city walls, the heat on his face, the horror in his chest.
There was no stopping it.
The tree—the source of their life, their strength, their existence—was dying.
And yet…
The ashes did not fall black.
They were white.
Soft, glowing embers lifted into the sky, scattering like stars. Not smoke, not ruin, but something else entirely.
Light.
Billions of shimmering particles drifted with the wind, carried beyond the city, beyond the mountains, beyond the sea.
And thus, magic was born.
The codex wrote its final words.
"I'm unsure what will trigger the end, but the end will come...
The final war will not be fought with swords and fists but with magic.
they will be sorry for they were selfish, and pray they were wrong."
Everything went blindingly white as the world faded away.
I stood in a black room. A void.melody was nowhere to be found.
The room was filled with nothing , black walls occupied by a black floor.
But wait.
In the center of this room stood one thing: a mirror.Huge. Reflecting nothing.
I stood in front of it. There, I saw myself.
A reflection. It was me.
Long black hair , about time I got a haircut.Bright brown eyes — tired, baggy, sad.
What is it you see in the mirror? the book echoed. "I see myself," I said.
Well, yes, the book replied. I guess that would make sense.
"Madox," it said, I've shown you the past how magic was born. I've shown you the foundation that thrust the world into its current path.
"And I bet you're wondering why."
"Well, yeah... it all seems random to me."
Understandable.
Madox, this world has taken from you. It's beaten you down, almost to submission. It has tested you and yet here you stand. Tall. Just as it was written to be.
There is more that will be taken. More will be shown. More will be lost. But now... now I am sure: I have found the One.
"The One?"
Madox, my pages have been ripped apart, scattered, lost. The library is nothing but an empty shell of what it once was.
All that remains on my shelves are two tales. One of the beginning — the one I have shown you. And the other... of you.
I, too, do not fully know why this is. But the Codex does not reveal itself to just anyone. I do not reveal myself to just anyone.
But that day, in that dusty shelf, you picked me up.
Coincidentally, on that very day, I saw: all that remained of my once endless library were these two stories.
I will not lie to you.
The tale that remains — the one I have not yet shown you — is dangerous. If I reveal it before you are ready, you will bend. You will break.
That is why, for now, it stays untouched. It waits, high on the shelf of my library.
This may seem cruel.
But you must discover it on your own.
The pages will turn with your journey. You will uncover truths — hidden, buried, lost.
But that is a story for another time.
For now, know this: you, Madox, play a bigger role in this world.
It was destined. Everything that has happened — it must have happened. It molded you. Prepared you. Guided you.
And now that I know — that I am sure — I have found the One...
You are no longer alone, Madox. My soldier. Stand tall.
Stand tall, my soldier, for I — the Sanctus Umbra, the Codex, the Library — choose you.
Now, the true story begins.
So again
I was born from her.
Amalee — i am known as the Codex Sanctus Umbra.
But you... You can call me...
Luu.