THE DEVIL'S BRIDE
Episode 30: The First Battle
By Rapwizzy Debaron
At dawn, the wind changed.
It carried the scent of ash and blood—ominous, ancient.
Kael stood at the edge of the encampment, Flameblade strapped to his back, his eyes burning brighter than the rising sun. The sigil on his hand pulsed like a heartbeat… not just his own, but the rhythm of the Flame itself.
Lucien approached quietly.
"It's time," he said.
Kael nodded. "They're coming?"
"They're already here."
---
Seraphina's army crested the blackened hills like a tidal wave of nightmares. Winged beasts shrieked through the air. Shadows twisted into solid form, armored demons pounding their war-drums.
At the front rode Seraphina herself.
A crown of thorns and fire adorned her head. Her corrupted sigil gleamed like a star gone wrong.
She raised a clawed hand.
"Bring me the boy," she commanded.
---
Kael walked to the center of the battlefield, unarmored, unafraid.
Behind him, Lucien drew his obsidian blade. Evelyn summoned winds laced with divine energy. Selah hovered in the air, her silver wings extended like a guardian.
But it was Kael who stepped forward.
Alone.
---
The armies froze.
A single boy standing between war and peace.
Then Seraphina laughed.
"Look at you," she mocked. "Pretending to be a king."
"I'm not a king," Kael replied. "I'm the one who ends you."
And with that—
He struck first.
---
The battlefield erupted.
Kael moved like fire itself—fast, consuming, unstoppable. Every swing of the Flameblade tore through darkness, the heat leaving trails of light in the air. Creatures screamed. The sky turned molten.
Lucien and Evelyn followed, divine and infernal powers colliding as one.
Selah dove from the sky, slicing through enemy lines with precision and fury.
But Seraphina…
She waited.
And watched.
---
As Kael cut down a horned beast, Seraphina finally moved.
With one whisper, the ground split open beneath Kael, swallowing him in darkness.
He fell—
Not into the earth…
But into a vision.
---
He stood alone in a burning forest.
A child version of himself faced him.
"Are you sure this is who you want to be?" the boy asked.
Kael looked around, heart thudding. "What is this?"
"Your trial," the child said. "Every wielder of the Flame must choose."
"Choose what?"
The boy stepped closer.
"To become the flame that saves—or the one that destroys."
---
Outside the vision, Kael's body floated mid-air, surrounded by fire and shadow.
Lucien shouted, trying to reach him.
Evelyn screamed.
Selah dove, but a barrier of corrupted flame stopped her.
Only Seraphina could pass.
And she walked toward him, smiling.
---
Inside the trial, Kael raised his blade and whispered:
"I choose…"
But the answer was lost in fire.
---
To be continued…
A battle fought.
A choice demanded.
A prophecy trembling.
Vote if Kael's trial has you holding your breath.
Comment: What do you think Kael should choose — mercy, or power?
Follow @RapwizzyDebaron — Episode 31 reveals what happens when fate and fire collide.