"To be reborn is to forget. To remember is to burn." — The Codex of Ashes
Light swallowed everything.
No sound, no breath, no ground beneath his feet — only blinding white stretching into eternity.
Aiden's scream vanished into silence. When sensation finally returned, he was lying on cold stone. His lungs ached. His fingers scraped against something rough and wet.
He blinked hard. The light dimmed.
He wasn't in the city anymore.
He was inside what looked like an ancient cathedral — half-collapsed, overtaken by vines and moonlight seeping through broken glass. The air smelled of old rain and forgotten prayers.
"Elias?" His voice echoed. No answer.
He pushed himself to his knees, wincing. His clothes were torn, blood staining his sleeve. The pendant hung loosely from his neck, its glow faint but steady.
"Elias!" he shouted again, louder this time. His voice bounced off the walls and disappeared into the hollow vastness above.
Nothing.
Only the faint hum of magic vibrating through the floor.
He stood, unsteady. Every step stirred echoes — whispers, like thousands of voices murmuring his name.
"Ariselle…"
The sound froze him.
He turned sharply — and saw her.
A woman made of light stood at the far end of the cathedral, her form wavering like smoke. Her face was beautiful and hauntingly familiar, but her eyes were hollow, flickering between gold and shadow.
"Why won't you sleep?" Aiden whispered.
The apparition tilted her head. "Because you won't let me."
He took a hesitant step forward. "You're not her. Not really."
"I am what remains," she said softly. "The echo that lingers in the blood you carry. You called to me when you woke the flame."
"I didn't call anyone."
"Then why did you survive the fall?"
Aiden clenched his fists. "Because I wanted to live."
Her expression softened — a flicker of sorrow crossing her translucent face. "You were always stubborn. Even in death."
He shook his head, trying to steady his breath. "Stop calling me that. I'm not her. I'm not your second chance."
She stepped closer. "Then what are you?"
He hesitated. "I don't know."
"That is why they fear you," she whispered. "Not because you are me — but because you are something neither heaven nor hell understands."
The words made his pulse quicken. "What are you saying?"
Before she could answer, a sound broke through the silence — a low hum, like metal grinding against stone.
The air rippled.
A tall figure emerged from the shadows behind the altar — cloaked in black, face hidden beneath the same mask as the one from before, the burning sigil of the winged flame etched across their chest.
"You survived," the figure said calmly. "Good. The prophecy endures."
Aiden took a step back. "Where's Elias?"
"Alive," the stranger said. "For now."
"What do you want from me?"
The figure tilted their head slightly. "Truth."
Aiden frowned. "Truth about what?"
"About you."
They raised a gloved hand. The sigil on their chest ignited, filling the cathedral with light. The stone beneath Aiden's feet trembled, symbols etching themselves in glowing patterns.
Suddenly, visions flooded his mind — thousands of memories that weren't his.
Armies bowing before a throne of fire.
Elias kneeling, eyes filled with sorrow.
A hand — his hand — reaching for a crown that turned to ash.
The pain was unbearable.
"Stop!" he cried, clutching his head.
"You wanted answers," the figure said. "Now remember."
The magic flared again — and this time, Aiden saw a single, perfect moment:
Ariselle standing over a fallen soldier, tears on her face. Elias's blade in her chest.
Her last words echoed through the vision. "If love is my sin, then may eternity remember it."
The vision shattered.
Aiden fell to his knees, gasping, shaking. The stranger approached, kneeling before him.
"Do you see now?" they whispered. "You carry her flame, but your heart is your own. That is what makes you dangerous."
Aiden looked up, eyes burning. "Then who are you?"
The stranger paused. "Once, I was her guardian. Now, I am your judge."
They lifted their hand again, power crackling around their fingers. "And judgment begins tonight."
The cathedral trembled as lightning struck the stained glass, scattering shards like rain.
Aiden braced himself — but just before the blow landed, a flash of steel cut through the light.
Elias.
He appeared out of the smoke, his blade intercepting the attack with a thunderous crack. Sparks exploded between them as he snarled, "You'll have to get through me first."
The clash of steel rang through the cathedral. Sparks scattered like fireflies as Elias met the masked guardian's strike head-on.
Aiden staggered backward, clutching the pendant. The energy pulsing from it was almost alive — hot, violent, and hungry.
Elias's voice cut through the chaos. "Stay behind me!"
Aiden barely heard him. His head throbbed with whispers, the voice of the woman made of light still echoing in his skull.
"If you let it consume you, you'll lose everything again."
But the air was already vibrating with power. The sigils beneath the floor glowed brighter, as if feeding off his panic.
The masked figure pressed forward, faster than human eyes could follow. Elias deflected one blow, then another — his movements sharp, precise, desperate.
"You don't understand," the guardian said, each word accompanied by a strike. "He's not meant to exist."
Elias's jaw tightened. "Neither was I. Yet here we are."
The next blow sent him crashing against a pillar. The stone cracked.
Aiden ran to him, kneeling beside him. "Elias!"
"I'm fine," he hissed, though blood trickled from the corner of his mouth. "Get out of here."
"I'm not leaving you."
The guardian's shadow loomed closer, the air distorting around them like heat on metal. "You think this is love?" they asked quietly. "This is a curse that has destroyed worlds."
Aiden's pulse pounded in his ears. "Maybe it destroyed yours," he said, standing shakily, "but it's the only thing keeping me human."
The masked figure hesitated for a single heartbeat — and that was enough.
The pendant flared, flooding the cathedral with white light.
Aiden gasped as energy surged through him. The air rippled; the broken glass lifted from the floor and began to spin around him in a spiral of glittering shards. His reflection stared back from a thousand fragments — Ariselle's eyes in Aiden's face.
The guardian tried to shield themselves, but their voice faltered. "Impossible…"
Elias pushed himself to his feet, squinting through the brilliance. "Aiden— stop! You'll burn yourself out!"
But he couldn't. The magic had taken control.
A blinding pulse erupted outward, knocking everyone off their feet. When the light faded, the guardian was gone — their cloak dissolving into dust. The cathedral was silent except for the distant roll of thunder.
Aiden fell to his knees, chest heaving. The pendant dimmed.
Elias rushed to him, kneeling beside him. "Aiden, hey— look at me."
His voice sounded far away.
Aiden's fingers trembled as he touched Elias's face, as if to make sure he was real. "I saw it," he whispered. "I saw her die. You— you killed her."
Elias froze.
His throat worked soundlessly for a moment. "That wasn't me," he said finally, voice low. "That was another life. Another version of me."
Aiden's eyes filled with tears. "But you remember it."
"Yes."
"Then why are you still here?"
Elias looked away, jaw tight. "Because I made a promise. I swore that if I ever found you again, I'd protect you — even if you hated me for it."
The words broke something inside Aiden. He didn't know whether to scream, cry, or hold him.
Outside, thunder rumbled again — closer this time.
A shadow passed over the moonlight seeping through the ruined roof.
Elias stiffened. "We need to leave. Now."
Aiden blinked through the haze. "Why? The guardian's gone."
Elias's hand tightened around his arm. "That wasn't the only one who found you."
As he pulled Aiden toward the broken doorway, a deep, resonant hum filled the air — darker and colder than before.
Above them, through the shattered roof, hundreds of glowing symbols ignited across the night sky, forming a vast circle that blotted out the stars.
Aiden's heart dropped. "What… is that?"
Elias looked up grimly. "The Order has awakened."
And they know you're alive.