The sky above the wastes was sick—split by the same jagged scar that haunted Kael's dreams. Wind howled through the cracked bones of the land, carrying the ghost of burning cities.
Kael didn't speak. None of them did.
Behind them, the Citadel had condemned them.
Ahead, the wildlands of the Outer Enclave waited—empty on the surface, but everyone knew better.
Because when something is too quiet out here... it means it's already watching.
---
They traveled in silence, boots crunching through ash and broken circuitry. Melted war machines lay half-buried like bones, reminders of the last rebellion that failed.
Kael stayed close to Eira, watching the strain in her eyes. Since the confrontation with her double, she hadn't been the same.
> "You keep looking at me like I'm her," she finally said.
> "No," Kael replied quietly. "I keep looking to make sure you're still you."
He didn't add the rest.
That he wasn't sure he was still himself either.
---
By dusk, they reached the Glass Hollow—an ancient crater of crystallized sand, glinting under the red sky. Kael paused on the ridge, studying it. No cover. No echoes. Perfect for a trap.
> "Too clean," Vireya muttered. "No tracks. No scavengers. Not even wind across the center. This place wants blood."
"Or was promised some," Arion added, eyes narrowing.
Kael's gut twisted. He knew this place.
He'd trained here.
---
They moved forward carefully. Kael kept one hand on his blade.
Then a sound—not footsteps, but breath. Familiar. Too familiar.
> "Hold," Kael hissed. "We're not alone."
He turned.
And froze.
Standing on the far edge of the crater—half in shadow, half in light—was a man Kael hadn't seen in three years.
Commander Sel Varion.
The mentor who raised him from a conscript to a weapon.
The man who taught him to survive.
The man now pointing a rifle at his heart.
---
> "Hello, Kael," Sel said.
> "Didn't think I'd be the one hunting you."
---
Kael didn't move.
Sel stepped into the light, his armor old but polished, the insignia on his chest burned off—like he'd cut his loyalty away with a knife.
> "You shouldn't be alive," Sel said. "You and the girl. You should've died with the others."
> "Then maybe the others shouldn't have betrayed us."
> "This isn't betrayal," Sel snapped. "This is containment."
> "Of what?"
> "Of you."
And then—she appeared beside Sel.
The false Eira.
Pale. Unblinking. Smiling like she had no soul left to bruise.
Eira stared at her reflection, and her voice cracked.
> "No… she's not done growing yet. She wasn't this strong before."
> "She's evolving," Kael whispered.
---
The trap snapped shut.
Soldiers poured from the rim of the crater.
Kael moved on instinct—drew his blade and charged straight for Sel.
> Steel met steel.
Student met teacher.
Memory met rage.
Sel fought like a ghost—precise, brutal, relentless.
Every blow Kael blocked was one he had been taught.
Every trick Sel used was one Kael had outgrown.
But that didn't make it easier.
---
Across the field, Eira battled her duplicate—light against void. Sparks flashed. The ground cracked. Both girls screamed the same sound.
And Kael… was losing.
Sel kicked him back, gunblade raised to strike.
> "You're not the savior, Kael," he said. "You're the fuse."
---
Before the killing blow fell, the sky exploded.
A screech tore across the clouds—ancient and wrong.
Something fell from above—a comet of flame with wings. Screaming. Sentient.
It slammed into the crater, knocking everyone down. Sand melted. Air burned.
Kael blinked through smoke and light.
Sel… was gone.
So was the fake Eira.
And in the center of the impact stood something not human—
Something shaped like Kael. But taller. Burned. Glowing. Watching.
> "We are the Ember's will," it said in a voice like three echoes at once.
> "And we have come to test the Flame."