Kaen forced himself upright, the Hollow Crown's voice still echoing like thunder in his skull.
"You."
The ground itself seemed to reject him—cracked, trembling, as if the mountain no longer welcomed his presence. This place was no longer sacred. It was a throne of flame… and judgment.
"You won't take me," Kaen muttered. His grip tightened around his sword, flames flickering along its edge—erratic and unstable. This wasn't the fire of mastery. It was raw, forged from fear, defiance, and something deeper—something awakening.
The Hollow Crown watched, amused. "You believe this is a battle?"
Chains of molten fire lashed out from his hands, twisting like serpents.
Kaen moved.
Instinct took over. His body flowed with the rhythm of the runes burned into his blood. He dodged left, ducked low, and countered with a blazing arc of light.
The strike hit dead center.
And did nothing.
The Hollow Crown didn't flinch. But behind him, the mountain cracked—stone sundered by the force of Kaen's blow.
Kaen hit the ground hard, gasping.
"Your flame is fractured," the Hollow Crown said. "Unworthy. Incomplete."
Kaen wiped blood from his lips. "Then I'll make it worthy. I don't care what I was born as. I know who I'll become."
The Hollow Crown stepped forward, the weight of his presence crushing the earth. "You are mine, Kaen. By blood. You are the last flame—the key that unlocks what the world buried."
Kaen's eyes narrowed. "Key to what?"
No answer.
Instead, the Hollow Crown offered his hand—not to strike, but to tempt.
"Come willingly. I will show you truth. Power. The name your mother hid. The flame you were born to carry."
Kaen froze.
His mother.
The mystery that haunted his childhood, the silence that shadowed every question. Around his neck, the pendant pulsed—caught between memory and temptation.
He heard her voice.
"Never let the fire decide who you are. You are more than your blood."
Kaen raised his eyes.
His fire steadied.
"No."
The Hollow Crown's gaze darkened.
"I don't kneel to ashes."
With a shout, Kaen plunged his sword into the ground. A pillar of golden fire erupted—not to destroy, but to defend. A ring of flame burst outward, forcing the Hollow Crown to retreat a step.
The being snarled. "Then you choose exile over eternity."
Kaen stood tall, barely able to breathe, pain wracking every limb.
"But I chose it. That's what matters."
The Hollow Crown's form flickered, breaking into cinders.
Not vanquished.
Not gone.
Just watching.
Waiting.
Kaen dropped to one knee, exhausted. The flames dimmed. The pendant cracked.
And deep within the mountain… something else stirred.
This wasn't the beginning of a war.
But now, the world had heard Kaen's name.
To be continued…