THE DEVIL'S BRIDE
Episode 32: The Crown and the Curse
By Rapwizzy Debaron
The battlefield lay still.
Even the wind dared not move.
Kael stood at the center of it all, the newly-forged Crown of Flame resting just above his brow—floating, glowing, pulsing with the truth of two broken realms. His gaze swept across both armies.
Neither dared to strike.
Not even Seraphina.
For in Kael, they saw more than a boy.
They saw judgment.
---
Seraphina stepped forward, her voice shaking with something she hadn't felt in centuries.
Fear.
"What have you become?"
Kael's voice came like thunder on a silent plain. "What you and Lucien feared most."
"A god?" she mocked.
"No," Kael said. "A choice you can't control."
The sky rumbled above him, cracks of divine fire and infernal storm clashing in the heavens. The gods were watching now. And they were afraid.
---
Behind Kael, Evelyn approached, cautious.
"Kael?" she asked softly. "Do you know what this means?"
"I do," he said without turning. "And I accept it."
"Even if it consumes you?"
He looked back at her, a rare warmth in his eyes.
"I'd rather be consumed by the truth than live a lie."
---
Lucien stepped forward, lifting his sword, kneeling.
"I once wore that crown," he whispered. "And I failed."
Kael shook his head. "You didn't fail, Lucien. You were just too early. The world wasn't ready then."
"And it is now?"
Kael turned to Seraphina.
"That depends on her."
---
Seraphina laughed bitterly, eyes glowing with the black fire of her pact.
"You think I'll bow? You think I'll submit to the bastard son of fire and ash?"
Kael didn't flinch. "I think you remember what came before the darkness. When you loved peace. When you believed in light."
Something flickered in her—just for a second.
But it was gone as quickly as it came.
She screamed, unleashing a blast of cursed flame.
Kael raised his hand—and caught it.
The fire wrapped around his arm like a serpent, but instead of burning him, it hissed… and then died.
---
Gasps erupted from both sides.
Seraphina staggered back.
"You're not a king," she whispered. "You're a prophecy."
Kael took a single step forward, and the earth trembled beneath his feet.
"No," he said.
"I'm the end of yours."
---
From above, a divine light cracked the sky.
An ethereal voice rang out, one that hadn't spoken in over a thousand years.
"The Flame has chosen."
The gods had made their decision.
---
To be continued…
The gods speak.
The flames obey.
And the queen of shadows begins to tremble.
Vote if the Crown of Flame chose right.
Comment: Can Kael still save Seraphina—or is it too l
ate?
Follow @RapwizzyDebaron — Episode 33 takes us into the skies, where gods and monsters prepare for the final storm.