Chapter 38: The Black Flame

The White Flame above the eastern horizon turned black.

For a moment, nobody on the battlefield spoke.

The light had always been gentle.

Even when Princess Lyra had been used as a vessel, the White Flame had remained pure beneath the corruption.

Now it burned like a piece of night.

Ethan Vale felt every fragment inside him react.

The Crown tightened around his soul.

The Witness opened and showed him the Royal Palace.

Knowledge revealed the spell spreading through the city.

The Sword trembled.

The Sixth Fragment pulsed beneath the northern mountains.

The Identity Fragment recognized the change.

The Eighth and Ninth Fragments sent warnings through the shared network.

Something had entered the White Flame.

Not the First Sovereign.

The Observer.

Ethan looked toward the eastern horizon.

"How long?"

Seraphina Crow’s voice came through the magical connection.

"Three minutes." ℯℯ𝑙.

Noah Blake stared at Ethan.

"Three minutes until what?"

"Until the palace falls."

"That is not enough time."

"It will have to be."

Elena Frost looked toward the injured Captain Rowan.

"He cannot travel."

Professor Aurelia Voss knelt beside him and examined his Mana Core.

"He is alive, but his connection is unstable. Moving him through a teleportation array could kill him."

"Then he stays here," Ethan said.

Rowan opened his eyes.

"No."

Ethan looked down at him.

"You are not strong enough to fight."

"I can still give orders."

"You are not giving anyone orders."

Rowan tried to sit up.

Pain crossed his face, but he managed to rise onto one elbow.

"The soldiers are scattered. The eastern army is still under the influence of the White Flame. If I remain here, nobody will organize the evacuation."

Ethan looked at the Royal soldiers.

They were exhausted, wounded, and confused.

But they were still watching Rowan.

Still waiting for him to tell them what to do.

The First Sovereign had used him as a vessel because he had been a leader.

Now the army needed that leader again.

Ethan turned toward Professor Voss.

"Can you stabilize him?"

"For a short time."

"How short?"

"Long enough to stand. Not long enough to fight."

Rowan gave a weak smile.

"I have survived worse."

"No," Voss said. "You survived being possessed by something older than the world. Do not become arrogant now."

Noah looked toward the black flame in the sky.

"So we are going to the Royal Palace."

"Yes," Ethan said.

"By what?"

Ethan looked toward the broken airships at the edge of the warfront.

The engines were damaged, but several floating crystals still carried a faint glow.

"One of the airships."

Professor Voss shook her head.

"The ships cannot cross the dead zone."

"We are not going through the dead zone."

"The eastern ley lines are unstable."

"Then we fly above them."

"The White Flame may destroy the ship."

"Then we reach the palace before it does."

Noah sighed.

"I miss the academy."

"You complained about the academy."

"I complain about things I miss."

Elena stepped closer to Ethan.

"Who is coming?"

"You, Noah, Adrian, Professor Voss, Veyron, and me."

She looked toward Rowan.

"And him."

Ethan shook his head.

"No."

Rowan pushed himself to his feet.

His legs trembled, but he remained standing.

"The Royal Palace is my responsibility."

"You are barely able to stand."

"I do not need to fight."

"You need to survive."

Rowan looked at Ethan.

"So does everyone else."

Ethan studied him.

The captain’s eyes were still human.

The violet mark was gone.

But the First Sovereign had left something behind.

Not a power.

A choice.

Rowan had been given the opportunity to abandon the army and rest.

He refused.

Ethan understood that he could not force Rowan without becoming the very thing they had fought against.

"Fine," Ethan said. "You come with us."

Rowan nodded.

"But you follow orders."

A faint smile appeared on the captain’s face.

"You said you would not command me."

"I said I would not command people who had not chosen to follow me."

Rowan looked toward the soldiers.

"I choose to follow."

Ethan turned toward the damaged airships.

"Then move."

The battlefield came alive.

Royal soldiers carried the wounded toward the nearest ship.

Professor Voss repaired the main crystal with a temporary spell.

Elena created a layer of ice around the hull to reinforce the broken metal.

Adrian directed the soldiers loading supplies.

Noah climbed onto the roof to inspect the remaining engines.

Veyron stood apart, watching the black flame above the horizon.

Ethan approached him.

"You are coming."

Veyron did not look at him.

"To the palace?"

"Yes."

"Why?"

"Because you know the Observer."

"I know what it was."

"You know what it wants."

"It wants a vessel."

"Why Lyra?"

Veyron turned toward him.

"The White Flame is the only fragment capable of revealing what lies beyond the First Door."

"The Observer is using her to see the other side."

"Yes."

"Then we separate it from her."

Veyron’s expression became grim.

"You may kill her."

"I know."

"Do you?"

Ethan looked at the black fire.

"If the connection is fused with her soul, cutting it could destroy both."

"Then you may be forced to choose."

"I have chosen before."

"And you chose Elena."

Ethan’s gaze hardened.

"Do not use her against me."

"I am reminding you that choices have consequences."

"That is your fragment speaking."

Veyron smiled without humor.

"The Ninth Fragment is not the only thing I carry."

The airship engines activated.

A weak blue flame appeared beneath the hull.

Professor Voss shouted:

"Everyone aboard!"

Ethan climbed onto the deck.

Elena followed him.

Veyron entered last.

The ship rose slowly.

Below them, the Royal Warfront shrank.

The battlefield was no longer divided by armies.

Soldiers from opposing kingdoms stood together, treating the wounded and repairing the broken defenses.

Captain Rowan remained near the front of the ship, one hand gripping the railing.

His face was pale, but he refused to sit.

The airship moved east.

The sky ahead was black.

Not because night had arrived.

The White Flame was spreading darkness through the magical atmosphere.

Clouds turned silver at the edges.

Lightning flashed silently inside them.

A voice came through the communication crystal.

Seraphina.

"You are approaching the eastern barrier."

"How long until the palace is lost?" Ethan asked.

"Five minutes."

"Can you hold it?"

"For a while."

"How long is a while?"

"A minute."

Ethan looked at the black sky.

"Then hold it for two."

Seraphina was silent.

"You have always been unreasonable."

"You taught me."

"No. I taught you patience."

"You hid my memories."

"That required patience."

Noah leaned toward the crystal.

"Are you two always like this?"

"Yes," Seraphina replied.

"No," Ethan said at the same time.

The communication crystal flickered.

Seraphina continued:

"The palace is sealed, but the White Flame has spread through the royal bloodline. King Aurelian and Queen Maelia are unconscious."

"And Lyra?"

"She is inside the throne room."

"Alone?"

"No."

"Who is with her?"

Another pause.

"Cassian."

Ethan’s expression darkened.

"Cassian is alive?"

"He escaped the sealed chamber."

Veyron looked toward the crystal.

"Of course he did."

Ethan turned to him.

"You knew?"

"Cassian has always been difficult to kill."

"What is he doing?"

Seraphina answered:

"He is standing before Lyra. He claims he can control the connection."

Ethan looked at the black flame.

"Can he?"

"No."

"Then why is he there?"

"Because the Observer is speaking through him."

The communication crystal shattered.

At the same moment, a wave of black energy struck the airship.

The hull tilted violently.

Noah fell against the railing.

Adrian grabbed him before he went over the edge.

The blue engines flickered.

Professor Voss shouted:

"Hold on!"

A second wave struck.

The black sky ahead opened.

Golden eyes appeared inside it.

Not thousands.

One.

A single enormous eye stared directly at Ethan.

The Observer had found them.

The eye moved toward the airship.

The ship slowed.

The surrounding air became thick.

Every magical crystal on the vessel began to glow black.

Ethan stepped to the front of the deck.

The fragments inside him reacted.

The Crown tried to command the eye.

The command dissolved.

The Witness showed him no clear shape.

Knowledge failed to translate its nature.

The Sword formed but flickered.

The Observer was different now.

It was not outside the world.

It had entered the magical atmosphere through the White Flame.

It was closer than ever.

A voice entered everyone’s minds.

**Return the fragments.**

Ethan raised his sword.

"No."

**You are temporary vessels.**

The eye focused on him.

**The fragments belong to the First Door.**

"They belong to the people who carry them."

**You are carrying what was created from my prison.**

"You are not the prison."

**I am the watcher.**

"You are a prisoner."

The golden eye widened.

The airship shook.

A wave of pressure struck Ethan’s chest.

He was pushed backward, but Elena caught him.

"You are provoking it," she said.

"I am distracting it."

"From what?"

"From Lyra."

The White Flame inside the palace pulsed.

The black fire over the city grew darker.

The Observer’s attention had been divided between Ethan and the palace.

That was the opening they needed.

Veyron moved toward the rear of the ship.

"What are you doing?" Ethan asked.

"Creating another distraction."

Veyron stepped onto the edge of the deck.

His body was still weak, and no magic surrounded him.

He looked toward the golden eye.

"You remember me."

The Observer turned.

**Veyron.**

The name sounded like a sentence.

Veyron smiled.

"You watched me for a thousand years."

**You failed.**

"I did."

**You betrayed the lock.**

"I did."

**You opened the Door.**

"I did."

Ethan looked at him.

Veyron continued:

"But I was never your vessel."

The Observer’s eye narrowed.

**You were created to carry the Ninth Fragment.**

"I was created by a man who thought he could control the world."

Veyron looked toward Ethan.

"He was wrong."

Ethan understood what Veyron was doing.

He was using his connection to the Ninth Fragment as bait.

The Observer was drawn to consequences.

To guilt.

To unfinished decisions.

Veyron carried more of them than anyone alive.

The golden eye moved toward him.

The pressure around the ship increased.

Veyron’s body began to crack.

Elena looked at Ethan.

"He will die."

Ethan raised his sword.

Veyron turned toward him.

"Do not interfere."

"You are not a sacrifice."

"I am the cause."

"That does not make you the solution."

Veyron laughed weakly.

"Then what am I?"

Ethan looked toward the palace.

"A distraction."

Veyron stared.

Then he smiled.

"That is the first useful thing you have called me."

The Observer’s light surrounded him.

Veyron’s body lifted from the deck.

Black chains formed around his arms.

He did not resist.

The golden eye opened wider.

**Return to the Door.**

Veyron looked at Ethan.

"Go."

Ethan raised his sword.

The Sword Fragment responded.

It wanted to cut the connection.

Ethan forced it down.

He could not save everyone by taking the price himself.

Not again.

"Ethan!" Elena shouted.

The airship accelerated toward the palace.

Veyron disappeared into the golden light.

The Observer’s attention followed him.

The eastern sky opened.

For a moment, Ethan saw the First Door beyond the clouds.

Veyron was being pulled toward it.

Then the White Flame above the palace exploded.

A black beam struck the golden eye.

The Observer recoiled.

Veyron vanished from its grasp.

The beam came from the Royal Palace.

Lyra had fought back.

The airship crossed the eastern barrier.

Below them, Eldoria was covered in black and white fire.

Every tower was connected by lines of light.

The Royal Palace floated above the city.

At its highest point, Princess Lyra stood before the throne room window.

The White Flame burned behind her.

Cassian stood opposite her.

His body was covered in golden cracks.

A black eye had opened inside his chest.

The Observer’s voice echoed across the capital.

**The vessel has rejected me.**

Cassian screamed.

Lyra raised both hands.

The White Flame formed a circle around her.

**Then break her.**

The black fire surged toward the princess.

Lyra’s barrier cracked.

Ethan looked at the palace.

"We are too late."

"No," Professor Voss said.

She pointed toward the throne room.

"The barrier is holding."

"For now."

"Then we give her time."

Ethan jumped from the airship.

Elena grabbed his arm.

"What are you doing?"

"Going down."

"We are hundreds of meters above the palace."

Ethan looked at the silent fragments inside him.

The Sword answered first.

A black blade formed beneath his feet.

The Crown followed.

Violet light surrounded his body.

The Witness revealed the path.

Knowledge calculated the distance.

The fragments were returning.

Not because Ethan commanded them.

Because he had chosen to trust them.

He stepped off the airship.

The wind struck him.

Elena jumped after him.

Noah shouted:

"This is a terrible plan!"

Adrian followed.

Professor Voss cursed and jumped last.

They fell toward the palace.

Ethan formed a black platform beneath them.

The wind screamed around their bodies.

The black flame rose to meet them.

A golden eye opened inside it.

The Observer had created a face.

A face that looked like Princess Lyra.

The false Lyra smiled.

"Welcome, Ethan."

Ethan’s sword cut through the illusion.

The palace roof appeared beneath them.

They landed hard.

The black flame exploded outward.

Ethan raised a barrier.

Elena’s ice strengthened it.

Adrian’s golden energy joined.

Professor Voss added crimson fire.

Noah threw his knife into the center of the flame.

The black fire recoiled.

"Your knife is becoming ridiculous," Ethan said.

Noah pulled it back with a chain.

"It has ambition."

The throne room doors shattered.

Inside, Princess Lyra stood surrounded by white fire.

Cassian knelt before her.

His chest was split open by a golden eye.

The Observer looked through him.

Lyra was holding the White Flame between her hands.

Her eyes were filled with tears.

"I cannot hold it much longer."

Ethan stepped inside.

"Then let it go."

Lyra stared at him.

"If I release it, the Observer will enter the city."

"Not if we change the direction."

"How?"

Ethan looked at the White Flame.

The Fifth Fragment revealed everything.

The Observer was not fused with Lyra yet.

It was attached to her through Cassian.

Cassian was the bridge.

The White Flame was the boundary.

If they cut the bridge and sealed the flame, they could save Lyra.

But Cassian would die.

Cassian looked toward Ethan.

He understood.

"Do it."

Ethan stepped closer.

"You are asking me to kill you."

"I am asking you to stop using her."

The Observer spoke through Cassian.

**He is lying.**

Cassian’s body shook.

"I have lied enough."

The golden eye inside his chest widened.

**You belong to me.**

Cassian looked toward Lyra.

"No."

The Observer’s darkness spread through his body.

"Cassian!" Lyra cried.

Ethan raised the black sword.

Cassian looked at him.

"Do not hesitate."

"I do not know whether you deserve this."

"You are not doing it because I deserve it."

Cassian smiled faintly.

"You are doing it because she deserves to live."

Ethan moved.

The Sword cut through the golden eye in Cassian’s chest.

The Observer screamed.

Black and white energy filled the throne room.

Cassian’s body split apart.

The connection to Lyra broke.

The White Flame exploded upward.

Princess Lyra collapsed.

Elena rushed forward and caught her.

Ethan turned toward Cassian.

The royal advisor was falling apart into golden dust.

For a moment, he looked human again.

He looked at Ethan.

"Did I... choose correctly?"

Ethan held his gaze.

"For the first time."

Cassian smiled.

Then he vanished.

The White Flame returned to Lyra’s hands.

The black fire over Eldoria disappeared.

The Observer’s eye closed.

But before it vanished completely, a final message appeared across the throne room wall:

**THE FIRST SOVEREIGN IS CONTAINED.**

**THE NINTH FRAGMENT IS DISTRIBUTED.**

**THE VESSEL IS LOST.**

Beneath the message, a final line appeared.

**THE NEXT WAR WILL BEGIN WITHIN THE ACADEMY.**

Ethan looked toward the ruined windows.

Far away, beyond the city, Greymoor Academy appeared in the distance.

Its towers were covered in black light.

The students were trapped inside.

And from the highest tower, the silhouette of a familiar woman watched the city burn.

Seraphina Crow.

But her golden eyes were no longer her own.

They were black.

And behind her stood someone Ethan had believed was dead.

Veyron.

He raised one hand toward the academy.

The black tower exploded.

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**Author’s Note: Add the novel to library, and send support if you like it!**