THE DEVIL'S BRIDE
Episode 36: The First Flame Rises
By Rapwizzy Debaron
The sky didn't just split.
It screamed.
A jagged crack tore through the heavens, spilling lightless flame and whispering voices that didn't belong in any world still breathing. The Watchers fell to their knees, covering their ears. Even Lucien staggered, shielding his face.
But Kael stood still.
Unblinking.
Unmoved.
Unchanged.
Or so it seemed.
---
Evelyn clutched his arm. "Kael—what's happening?"
He didn't answer.
Because Kael wasn't there anymore.
Not entirely.
He was standing in two worlds.
One foot on the battlefield…
The other in memory.
---
The visions came in waves.
A boy on a mountain, fire curling around his fingertips.
A throne forged from screaming stars.
A war between gods—his brothers—each trying to kill what he'd become.
They called him the First Flame.
The God-Killer.
The End-Born.
And every time, they buried him.
But he came back.
---
In the present, his body trembled.
Lucien stepped closer. "Kael, you need to fight it. You're still you."
Kael turned his eyes toward him—and they were glowing.
Not with fire.
But with memory.
"I've burned this world before," he said, voice hollow. "And I'll burn it again."
Seraphina, still barely alive, coughed a bitter laugh. "You see now? You were never the hero. Just a sleeping storm."
---
From the sky, they came.
Three silhouettes.
Cloaked in divine shadow, wings of bone and fire.
Old gods.
The ones who once ruled the heavens before Lucien's rebellion.
And they bowed—to Kael.
---
"First Flame," one whispered. "You have returned."
Kael flinched. "No… I didn't ask for this."
"You never needed to. You are the beginning."
Lucien drew his blade, stepping between Kael and the gods. "He's not yours."
The lead god tilted his head. "You dare stand between the flame and its purpose?"
"He's my son," Lucien growled. "And I will die before I lose him again."
---
Kael's body flickered, power building in pulses.
He turned to Evelyn.
"I'm not sure I can stop it."
She held his face. "Then let me be the one who brings you back."
---
Above, the gods extended their hands.
"Come with us," they said. "Ascend."
Kael looked at them. Then at Evelyn. Then at the battlefield—soaked in blood he never wanted to spill.
"No," he whispered.
And he raised the Sword That Remembers.
---
In a flash, light exploded from the blade.
Blue and gold.
Pain and love.
Fire and memory.
Kael struck the sky itself.
And the gods screamed.
---
To be continued…
The gods bowed.
Kael broke the chain.
But power always demands a price.
Vote if your heart is racing.
Comment: What w
ould you choose—love or destiny?
Follow @RapwizzyDebaron — Episode 37 will test Kael's humanity… and reveal the god who betrayed them all.