Chapter 52: Flames of Reckoning
The silence of the fortress was broken by the Master's furious voice.
"You delay again?" he thundered, pacing before the Shrouded One like a caged beast. "They grow stronger by the day! We cannot afford your hesitation anymore!"
The Shrouded One stood still, hands behind his back, gaze lowered.
"It's not hesitation," he lied. "I was waiting for the right moment."
The Master's eyes narrowed, the air between them thick with tension. "The right moment has passed. You will go. Now. And you will end this before it's too late."
The Shrouded One gave a single nod, masking the storm inside him. He had been stalling, yes. Planning, watching, waiting. But now, the Master was relentless — pushing harder than ever. There was no choice. Not if he wanted to keep suspicion away.
He turned to leave and found Little 5 already waiting by the arched doorway, arms crossed, smirking.
"Bout time," Little 5 said. "Let's go toast some heroes."
The journey to the village was silent. The Shrouded One moved like a shadow, his heart heavy with conflict. Little 5, on the other hand, was practically bouncing with energy. "I've been itching for this," he muttered. "Those girls think they're special now, glowing palms and all. Let's see how far that gets them."
They arrived at the village square under a thick sky, gray clouds swirling above as if nature itself sensed what was coming.
Little 5 strode forward, arms spread wide as his voice echoed across the stone square.
"Elara! Ariella! Come out now, or we burn this place to the ground!"
Windows creaked open. Villagers peered out, faces filled with terror. No one dared speak. The fear of the dark-robed figures was too deeply rooted.
The Shrouded One stood beside Little 5 in silence, his eyes scanning the edges of the village for signs of movement. He hated this — the threat, the fear, the inevitability of blood.
And then… the girls arrived.
Elara and Ariella stepped into the square, side by side, cloaked in glowing auras. The mark on Elara's palm shimmered blue like a living flame, while Ariella's glowed white, pure and sharp like moonlight.
They were calm. Grounded. Ready.
"Well, well," Little 5 sneered. "Didn't take long for you to show up. Brave or stupid?"
Elara didn't respond. Ariella's gaze was fixed, cold. The glow on her palm pulsed once.
That was enough for Little 5.
He charged.
With a scream, he flung dark energy forward — bolts of fire and shadow flying toward the girls like a vengeful storm.
But they didn't back down.
Elara raised her hand, summoning a wall of sapphire light that absorbed the attack in an instant. Ariella countered, thrusting her palm forward and sending a white beam toward Little 5, knocking him off his feet and into the stone wall behind him.
He growled, staggering to his feet. "You think that's enough?!"
He rushed again, faster this time, magic rippling from his fingertips. But now the girls moved together — Elara drawing a circle of protective flame, Ariella manipulating wind with a flick of her wrist.
Little 5 was caught mid-step, blasted back again by a surge of raw elemental force. He hit the ground hard.
The Shrouded One watched, unmoving. His insides twisted as he saw Little 5 get up, bruised, blood trickling from the corner of his mouth — and still not giving up.
This was his mission. Not Little 5's. The Master had only assigned Little 5 to help because he had failed the first time. And now, it was spiraling out of control.
Without waiting to be called, the Shrouded One stepped forward.
The girls' eyes snapped to him as he joined the battle. They didn't flinch — they knew this was coming.
Ariella struck first, wind blades swirling toward him like daggers. He countered with a shield of dark mist, deflecting them. Elara raised her hand, fire coiling in her palm, but he vanished in smoke, reappearing behind them.
He struck with a blast of energy that sent Ariella sprawling. Elara countered with a fiery whip that cracked through the air and wrapped around his arm.
He growled in pain and tore it away, his body smoking.
Little 5 roared from across the square, attempting to charge in again — but he was slower now, stumbling, breath ragged. His last attack had drained him.
The Shrouded One saw it all — saw how he was being beaten back again and again.
A surge of frustration and desperation built in his chest. He raised his hand, power crackling like thunderclouds above, and without warning, released a massive wave of fire — not at the girls, but straight at Little 5's attackers, hoping to create enough distraction to give his brother time.
But he misjudged the control.
The fire arced wide, flaring out with uncontrollable force.
Little 5 was caught in the edge of the blast.
His scream echoed through the square — high, sharp, agonizing.
The white-blue flames engulfed him entirely, consuming his body until there was nothing left but charred bone.
The bones clattered to the ground like brittle branches, blackened and lifeless.
The square fell deathly silent.
The Shrouded One stood frozen, his mind blank. His breath came in ragged gasps, his chest tight with disbelief. Little 5 was gone.
Elara and Ariella turned to him. They didn't attack. They only stared.
The Shrouded One stared back. Behind the mask, his expression was unreadable — but inside, he was unraveling.
Then he moved. In a blur of dark smoke and crackling energy, he fled. Every step was agony — his limbs burned, his ribs ached, his vision swam with tears he refused to shed.
He collapsed hours later near the edge of the forest, body broken and soul in pieces.
Little 5 was dead. And it was his fault — for dragging him there, for fighting beside him, for losing control when it mattered most.
As he lay on the damp earth, the wind whispering through the trees, the Shrouded One clenched his jaw.
The Master would not take this lightly.
But at that moment, all he could think of was the bones — and the fire.