The sky above Emberfall was no longer red.
It was black — darker than any night before — as if the world itself was holding its breath.
Aarav stood at the highest cliff overlooking the ruined kingdom. The final fragment of the Eternal Flame burned in his palm. It was no longer wild or unstable. It was calm.
Waiting.
Behind him, thousands of corrupted soldiers marched through the valley. Their armor clanged in perfect rhythm. Their eyes glowed violet — controlled by the Void King.
And then—
The ground trembled.
From the center of the dark horizon, a colossal silhouette rose into the sky. Wings made of smoke. A crown forged from shadows. Eyes like empty galaxies.
The Void King had revealed his true form.
"You cannot defeat me, Flame Bearer," the voice echoed across the land. "Light always fades."
Aarav closed his eyes.
Memories flashed through his mind—
His mother's smile.
Master Kael's final words.
The villagers who believed in him.
The sacrifices that led him here.
The flame in his hand pulsed stronger.
"Light doesn't fade," Aarav whispered.
"It transforms."
He stepped forward and leapt from the cliff.
Instead of falling—
He ascended.
The Eternal Flame erupted around him, forming radiant armor across his body. Fire shaped into wings behind his back. The final fragment had chosen him completely.
He was no longer just a bearer.
He was the Flame Incarnate.
The Void King roared and unleashed a storm of darkness. Black lightning tore through the sky. Mountains shattered under the pressure.
Aarav flew straight into the storm.
Every collision between light and shadow exploded like a dying star. Fire and void clashed again and again, shaking the heavens. The valley below burned and froze at the same time.
The Void King struck first — a spear of pure darkness pierced Aarav's shoulder. Pain shot through him, but he didn't fall.
Instead, he remembered something Master Kael once said:
"The true power of flame is not destruction. It is sacrifice."
Aarav understood.
The Eternal Flame was never meant to be controlled.
It was meant to be given.
With a final breath, Aarav gathered every ounce of its power into his chest.
The Void King lunged to stop him—
Too late.
Aarav released everything.
A sun exploded in the sky.
Light consumed the darkness.
The Void King screamed as his shadow crown cracked and dissolved into ash.
The corrupted soldiers collapsed, freed from control. The black sky shattered like glass, revealing blue once more.
And then—
Silence.
When the light faded, there was no sign of Aarav.
Only a single ember floated down from the sky, landing softly in the valley below.
Years later, children would speak of that ember.
They said that whenever darkness returned, the ember would glow brighter.
Because light never truly dies.
It waits.