The wind howled through the shattered ruins, swirling around Aira's silhouette as if recognizing the reawakening power surging beneath her skin. Her fingers trembled, not from fear, but from the echo of what she'd just seen—the truth of the goddess she used to be, and the weight of the world she had once destroyed in the name of salvation.
And now... she was being asked to do it again.
Her whisper still echoed in the cold air.
"Then let him awaken… because I won't burn alone."
The earth beneath her feet pulsed. A low thrum, like a heartbeat, vibrated up her spine. She staggered back, the sigil on her palm glowing—fiery gold with black edges that pulsed dangerously.
"Aira!"
Lucien's voice sliced through the tension. She turned sharply. He was running toward her—blood drying on his temple, his dark coat flapping like wings behind him. And for once, his ever-cold expression was twisted in something raw.
Fear.
He reached her, grabbing her shoulders. "What did you do?"
She blinked slowly. "I remembered everything."
His hands froze.
Aira looked up into his midnight eyes, unflinching. "I remembered you, Lucien. I remembered how I loved you… and how I burned everything for that love."
Silence.
"I should have known," he muttered, his jaw tightening. "The moment the third seal broke, the gods would find you again."
"They didn't find me," Aira said softly. "I opened the door myself."
Lucien's grip faltered. "Why?"
"Because if I don't burn them first, they'll come for us both."
He closed his eyes for a brief second, like he was praying to a god he didn't believe in. "Do you hear yourself, Aira? You're talking like her again. The goddess who turned her heart into ash."
"I was her," she said. "But this time, I won't choose power over you. I'm going to burn the gods—but I'm keeping you."
Lucien let out a low, breathless laugh, dark and painful. "You can't have both."
She stepped forward, touching his chest. Her sigil glowed. "Then let's rewrite the rule."
For a moment, neither spoke. Their eyes locked, heat curling in the cold air between them.
Then—suddenly—
A sharp whistle split the air. A silver dagger shot past Aira's cheek, nicking her skin before embedding in the altar behind her.
"Get down!" Lucien shoved her to the side.
Shadow-cloaked figures began to pour in from the trees surrounding the ruins. Their eyes glowed violet—the mark of god-summoned Reapers. The same ones who'd attacked the palace weeks ago.
"They've found us," Aira hissed, fire lacing her fingertips.
Lucien drew his twin obsidian blades. "Then let's send them back to the Underrealm."
Battle broke loose.
Lucien moved like a storm—swift, silent, lethal. Aira spun fire around her hands, shielding him from above. At one point, a Reaper leapt toward Lucien's back. Aira screamed and sent a whip of flame snapping it midair.
He turned, startled.
"I told you," she panted. "I'm keeping you."
Lucien gave her the smallest smirk, blood on his jaw and all. "Then hurry, wife. Prove it."
One by one, the Reapers fell—but just as Aira thought the fight was over, the ground shook.
A giant rift split through the altar. Cracks glowed beneath their feet. And then—
A figure rose from the chasm.
Tall. Cloaked in molten armor. A flaming crown hovered above his skull, and his voice echoed like death:
"My Flamebearer returns. Shall we finish what you started, child?"
Aira's eyes widened. Lucien pulled her back. "Who—?"
Her voice came out hoarse. "That's not a Reaper. That's… him."
Lucien stiffened. "The Fire God."
The god's empty eyes turned toward Lucien, then Aira.
"One must fall. One must reign. Choose your sacrifice, daughter of flame."
Lucien's heartbeat roared in his ears.
Aira stood motionless, her hand slightly outstretched toward the fire god. Her flame flickered erratically, not from weakness—but rage. Pure, ancient rage, buried inside her soul and finally clawing to the surface.
"Lucien…" her voice trembled.
He moved closer to her, wrapping his arm around her waist, his blade pointed toward the god. "You don't have to answer him."
"But I already have," Aira whispered. Her eyes turned gold, the sigil on her palm crackling like wildfire.
The Fire God laughed, a deep booming echo that sent birds scattering from the black trees surrounding the altar.
"So you would rather burn again?" His molten voice curled with amusement.
"Even if it means turning the only man you love… into ash?"
Lucien flinched.
Aira's flames died for a brief second.
That's when the god lunged.
A blazing hand shot forward with inhuman speed. Lucien shoved Aira behind him and blocked—but the force flung him backward, smashing into the ruins. Dust and stones rained over his body.
"Lucien!" Aira shrieked.
She turned just in time to see the god's second hand wrap around her throat.
He lifted her off the ground.
"You broke the balance once. Now you must be broken," he hissed.
Aira gasped, struggling as heat invaded her lungs—not hers, but his, trying to consume her from the inside out. The flame sigil burned painfully, and for a terrifying second, she felt herself slipping. Slipping into the goddess she once was. A monster. A destroyer.
"No—" she choked, eyes glowing.
Then—a sudden crack of black lightning split the sky.
A figure stood atop the crumbling altar.
Cloaked in smoke.
Eyes glowing silver.
Voice low. Dangerous.
"Let her go… before I slice your flaming hands off and shove them where the sun don't shine."
The Fire God paused.
Lucien blinked through blood.
Aira gasped. "Who…?"
The god snarled. "You."
The figure grinned, revealing a sharp canine tooth. "Me."
He jumped down, landing beside Aira and unsheathing two jagged, rune-carved blades.
Lucien recognized him instantly.
Kael.
The most dangerous cursed half-demon in the underworld—and Lucien's older brother.
The one who vanished seven years ago.
"Why are you—?" Lucien rasped, staggering to his feet.
Kael winked at him. "Little bro, you didn't think I'd miss your wedding and your execution, did you?"
"Kael!" Aira breathed.
The Fire God growled. "This is not your fight, cursed one."
Kael twirled his blades. "Wrong. You see…" His eyes narrowed on Aira. "I swore I'd kill anyone who dared hurt her. Even you, old man."
Lucien's heart dropped.
"What?" he whispered.
But before anyone could move—
Kael lunged at the Fire God.
Aira fell to the ground, coughing, as flames exploded around them in a cyclone of black and gold.
Lucien rushed to her side, pulling her up. She clutched his shirt, still coughing, dazed. "He… he saved me."
"I know," Lucien said tightly, his eyes flickering toward Kael, who was now matching the god blow for blow.
"But why would he…?" Aira's voice trailed off as realization struck her.
Lucien turned to her sharply. "What is it?"
She stared at the blazing fight, then looked back at Lucien.
"Lucien," she whispered, "Kael doesn't just know who I am. He remembers me. From before."
Lucien's blood ran cold.
From before her rebirth.
From the time she was the goddess.
And Kael—had once loved her too.
Before Lucien ever did.
Kael's blades clashed with the Fire God's burning fists, sending sparks like meteor showers across the ruined altar. The ground trembled beneath their fight. Cracks webbed under their feet, each blow shaking the sky itself.
Lucien shielded Aira behind him, watching the unthinkable—his long-lost brother fighting like a beast unchained.
"Why is he protecting you?" Lucien asked under his breath, staring at Aira. "What aren't you telling me?"
Aira blinked, stunned. "I—I don't know. But I saw it. In his eyes."
Lucien turned to her. "Saw what?"
"Love," she whispered. "Not now. From… before."
Lucien's stomach twisted. Before. Before she lost her memory. Before they married. Before this version of her even existed.
"I remember flames. Blood. I wore a crown of embers…" Aira clutched her head, as more flashes returned. "He was there. Watching me burn. Smiling… no—crying."
The fire flared wildly.
Kael's voice cut through the noise. "Run!"
Lucien turned. "What?"
But Kael wasn't looking at him—he was looking past him.
A third presence had arrived.
A dark wind swept through the ruins, swallowing the flames in an eerie silence.
Even the Fire God stepped back.
Then came the footsteps.
Cold. Precise. Measured.
A woman emerged from the mist, cloaked in silver shadows, her face veiled in lace.
The Fire God hissed. "You dare show your face here?"
The woman tilted her head. Her voice was like shattered ice.
"I go where the flame leads me. And it led me to her."
Her hand raised—and every flame in the area bent toward Aira.
Lucien grabbed Aira's hand tightly. "Who is she?"
Kael swore under his breath. "The Flame Keeper."
Aira's knees buckled. "I know her. She—she was the one who… took my memories."
The woman stepped closer. "And now, I've come to return them."
A burst of fire exploded behind her—and suddenly—
Everything stopped.
Lucien's eyes widened in horror.
Aira was frozen.
Literally frozen.
Mid-breath. Mid-step. Her body trapped in a stasis of burning light.
Lucien rushed forward, but the air around her burned his skin.
"Don't touch her!" the Flame Keeper snapped. "If you do, you'll die."
Kael growled, stepping between her and Lucien. "Release her. Now."
But the woman smiled. "No. Because once she remembers everything…"
She pulled her veil aside, revealing Aira's exact face.
Lucien stumbled back. "What the—?"
Kael's jaw clenched. "It's not her. It's the mirror soul."
Lucien's voice cracked. "What does that mean?"
The Flame Keeper's golden eyes met his.
"It means the woman you married… is only half of what she once was."
She looked down at Aira.
"The other half… is me."
Lucien's mind reeled as he stared at the woman—no, the mirror image of Aira. Same face. Same voice. But a terrifyingly different presence.
"She's not just a copy," Kael said, his voice low, dangerous. "She's the part of her that was locked away. The part no one was supposed to awaken."
The Flame Keeper smirked, her firelight eyes flashing.
"That part is me. The original soul. The wrath. The power. The truth."
Lucien clenched his fists. "If you're really her, then why are you doing this?"
The Flame Keeper's smile dropped. Her voice became sharp like a blade dipped in grief.
"Because you took her from me."
Aira's frozen form began to glow—embers crawling up her arms, her eyes flickering like candle flames behind closed lids.
"She's waking up," the Flame Keeper whispered. "And when she does, she'll remember everything. Who she was before the crown, before the veil, before your cursed love."
Kael stepped forward. "She's not yours to control anymore."
The Flame Keeper turned to him slowly. "You're one to talk, traitor. You failed her once, and now you're pretending to protect her? You let her die!"
Kael's jaw tightened. "Don't test me."
Lucien's heart raced. The glow around Aira intensified.
Then—
Aira gasped.
The magic shattered like glass.
She collapsed forward—straight into Lucien's arms.
"Aira!" he held her tight, brushing the hair from her face.
But her eyes…
They weren't the same.
They burned gold and red. Fierce. Alive.
"Lucien?" she whispered. "Why… does your name hurt me?"
Lucien froze.
Kael's eyes widened.
The Flame Keeper laughed softly.
"She remembers."
Aira pulled away from Lucien, confused and trembling. "What did you do to me?" Her voice was her own—but layered. A strange echo, like two versions of her speaking at once.
Lucien reached for her again.
She backed away.
Then, her body levitated off the ground, eyes blazing brighter than fire.
The wind howled.
Lightning cracked across the sky.
Kael shouted, "She's going into flare mode! We have to stop her or she'll destroy herself!"
But it was too late.
Aira opened her mouth—
And unleashed a scream that split the sky.
The earth split beneath them, a massive rift tearing through the altar ruins.
Lucien reached out, screaming her name—
And then she vanished.
Vanished into the rift of fire and flame, her scream echoing into the void.
Silence fell.
Only smoke remained.
Lucien dropped to his knees, eyes wide, chest hollow. "Aira…"
The Flame Keeper stood tall, her voice barely a whisper.
"Let the games begin."