"They crowned me because they were afraid. I wore it because someone had to."
— Rahul, final memory imprint
Scene 1: The Hunt Begins
Kaien stood over a map lit with soulfire markers — each showing a possible Rahn movement.
Solas, arms crossed, whispered:
"You're hunting the man who broke Rahul."
Kaien replied without looking up:
"Then I'll finish what Rahul couldn't."
Valenya placed a comm-rune on the table.
"Still no word from Zephyr."
"He's not lost," Kaien muttered. "Just bleeding where we can't see."
Olivia entered silently, the tiny flame-creature on her shoulder watching Kaien closely.
"You're burning yourself too fast," it said.
Kaien didn't respond.
But the flame dimmed near him.
Scene 2: Aeyra's New Vision
Late at night, Aeyra woke up screaming.
Valenya rushed in.
"What did you see?"
Aeyra clutched her chest, voice cracking:
"I saw Aren… call Kaien's name."
"And then I saw a hand… close his eyes."
She sobbed.
"But I don't know if he was dead. I just know… Kaien wasn't fast enough."
Scene 3: Zephyr's Letter
In the ruined camp where Zephyr once slept, Olivia found a folded note tucked under a memory-sword.
"If I stay, I'll get you all killed."
"If I leave, maybe I get to come back as someone better."
"Tell Kaien… the day he called me brother was the day I broke."
At the bottom:
A sketch of the five of them — Kaien, Olivia, Vaeyra, Aeyra, and Zephyr — smiling.
And in red ink:
"Protect the girl. The quiet one. She's the key. Even Rahul didn't know."
Scene 4: Olivia's Memory — Rahul's Final Smile
Later that night, Olivia sat alone by the Bloomlight creature.
"Why me?" she asked it.
"Because you were the only one Rahul couldn't predict."
The creature pulsed.
"Want to see something no one else has?"
It opened a flicker of memory — not a war, not a battle.
Just Rahul on a rooftop, holding a hot drink. Staring at the stars.
Smiling.
Not in victory. Not in power.
In peace.
"He smiled like a boy who had finally let go," Olivia whispered.
Scene 5: Kaien's Descent
Tracking Rahn's echoes, Kaien followed a trail to a black chamber hidden beneath an abandoned god-temple.
Only he could enter.
The runes on the walls reacted to his blood.
But something was wrong.
The chamber sealed behind him.
And then—
The voice came.
"Welcome, Rahul."
"Or should I say... what's left of him?"
Rahn's trap had activated.
Kaien wasn't the guest.
He was the intended target.
Because the chamber wasn't just meant to hold someone.
It was designed to rewrite them.
Final Scene: The Memory Clone
Inside the chamber, Kaien looked into a black mirror — and saw Rahul's face staring back.
Not a ghost.
Not a memory.
A perfect echo. Alive. A clone.
But it wasn't smiling.
"You inherited his flame," it said.
"Let's see if you inherited his burden."