When Eric opened his eyes, he thought he had died.
The world around him was darkness — not the cold, empty kind, but one that breathed. A living shadow, pulsing with faint red veins that stretched like roots beneath transparent stone.
His body felt weightless, yet his heart pounded with a rhythm that didn't belong to him. It was as if something vast and ancient was beating through him, echoing in his bones.
"Seraphina…" he whispered.
Her voice came faintly from somewhere close. "Eric… I'm here."
He turned toward the sound. She was kneeling beside him, her silken robes torn, her horns dimly glowing. Even here, in the suffocating darkness, she looked like light itself.
"Are you hurt?" he asked, trying to sit up.
She shook her head. "No. But… I don't think we're anywhere near the Citadel anymore."
Eric looked around. The ground beneath them was made of translucent crystal, veins of molten gold moving slowly within it like blood through flesh. Above them, an endless chasm of black flame stretched upward — a silent inferno that gave off no heat.
"This place…" Seraphina murmured, her voice trembling with awe. "It can't be."
"Where are we?"
Her golden eyes reflected the pulsing red beneath their feet. "The Heart of Drakonis. The core of our world — where the first flame sleeps."
Eric frowned. "You mean the thing the Elders said would destroy everything?"
"Yes," she whispered. "And we just fell straight into it."
For a moment, neither spoke. Only the rhythmic thrum of the Heart filled the air — deep, slow, eternal.
Then Eric noticed something strange: the mark on his arm was glowing again, brighter than ever. Each pulse matched the beat of the Heart.
"Seraphina," he said quietly. "It's… reacting."
She turned toward him, eyes widening as she saw the golden veins spreading across his chest, up his neck. "Eric, your body… it's channeling the flame."
"I thought I was just supposed to survive it, not… become part of it!"
Before she could respond, the air rippled. The shadows stirred — and from the molten veins beneath them, a figure began to rise.
At first, it was nothing but smoke and light. Then, slowly, it took form: a colossal dragon, larger than any Eric had ever imagined. Its scales shimmered between crimson and gold, its eyes twin suns burning with ancient intelligence.
Seraphina gasped and fell to one knee. "Great One… the First Flame."
The creature's voice was not heard but felt — a sound that vibrated through their souls.
> "At last… the Bonded awaken."
Eric clutched his head as the words thundered through him. "What are you?"
> "I am what remains when gods sleep and worlds remember. I am Drakonis — the first breath, the first fire."
Seraphina bowed deeply. "Forgive us, Great One. We did not mean to disturb your rest."
> "You did not disturb it, child of flame. You fulfilled it."
Eric forced himself to stand. "Fulfilled it? What do you mean?"
The dragon's eyes turned to him.
> "The prophecy that your kind feared was never one of doom, mortal. It was a promise — that when arrogance blinded dragons and fear weakened men, two hearts would unite and awaken me once more."
Seraphina's brow furrowed. "Then the Elders were wrong?"
> "Half wrong," Drakonis rumbled. "For prophecy is never mercy without pain. My awakening brings choice — salvation or destruction. You, Bonded Ones, will decide which."
Eric swallowed hard. "Why us?"
The dragon lowered its massive head until its molten gaze met his.
> "Because you carry the spark of both realms. You survived the trial of flame not by strength, but by love. The fire accepted your heart as its own. And through your bond, my power now flows again."
Seraphina stepped forward. "If your power is awake, then the world above is in danger. The Citadel will crumble—"
> "—and from its ashes, truth will rise."
The dragon's wings unfurled, stretching across the cavern like dawn itself. The rush of energy that followed nearly knocked Eric to his knees. Visions flooded his mind — memories that were not his own.
He saw the birth of dragons from living fire. He saw men walking beside them as equals, before greed and pride tore them apart. He saw a pact broken, and a world split in two.
Then, he saw her — Seraphina — but not as she was now. She stood in a field of burning gold, her eyes filled with tears, watching a mortal man vanish into light.
Eric gasped and stumbled back. "That… that was me."
The dragon's voice rumbled like thunder.
> "You have walked this path before. You and she are bound by the oldest flame — one soul, two forms, reborn across ages until the bond is made whole."
Seraphina looked at him, her face pale. "You mean… Eric and I… we've loved each other before?"
> "Many times. And each time, the world ended before your love could endure. The gods grew jealous. The flames turned to ash. But now… perhaps it is time the story ended differently."
Eric stared at his hands, trembling. "Then all of this — the prophecy, the trials, even the Council's hatred — it's just a cycle?"
> "A chain," said Drakonis. "Forged by fear. Only you can break it."
"How?" Eric demanded.
> "By choosing what no dragon or mortal ever has — to give, rather than take. The Vow of Ember must be sealed not in power, but in sacrifice."
Seraphina's voice was a whisper. "The rite I spoke of… it's true then."
> "Yes. Two hearts, one flame. But only when one yields everything can the other shine eternal."
The cavern trembled as the dragon began to fade, its voice echoing like a storm retreating beyond the mountains.
> "Seek the Ember Shrine. There, the choice will be made. Fail, and all will burn."
Then, the light vanished.
The silence that followed was deafening.
Seraphina sank to the ground, trembling. "He's gone."
Eric knelt beside her, resting a hand on her shoulder. "We know what to do now. We just have to find that shrine."
She looked up at him, her eyes wet with fear and something deeper. "Do you understand what he meant, Eric? One of us must yield everything. That means one of us won't survive."
He hesitated, then cupped her cheek gently. "Then we'll find another way. There always is."
She gave a sad smile. "You're still the same foolish mortal who thinks he can fight destiny."
"And you're still the same dragon who made me believe I could."
For a moment, the heaviness of prophecy seemed to fade. They sat together in the dim glow of the ancient heart, two souls who had defied time itself just to meet again.
But far above them, unseen, the world was already cracking. The black flames from the Citadel's fall had begun to spread, reaching the mortal lands below.
Villages burned without heat. Rivers turned to mirrors of shadow. The balance between realms was breaking — and only the Bonded Ones could restore it.
Seraphina rose, her resolve hardening. "We need to find the Ember Shrine before the flames consume everything."
Eric nodded, feeling the power pulsing inside him like a living thing. "Then let's go. Together."
They turned toward the far end of the cavern, where a faint golden path shimmered — stairs leading deeper into the unknown.
As they walked, Eric felt the mark on his arm change again. The golden veins pulsed in rhythm with Seraphina's heartbeat. It wasn't painful — it was alive, like their souls were finally in sync.
He looked at her and whispered, "If the prophecy wants us to end, we'll make our own ending."
She glanced back, her smile fierce and beautiful. "Then let the gods watch — and fear us for once."
And with that, they descended into the light below, unaware that something vast and ancient was following them — the shadow of a dragon older than Drakonis himself, waiting in silence, watching.
> In the dark beneath the world, love had awakened the flame.
But in love's shadow, death had found its way, too.