Horizon of Flames

Kaia's eyes blazed with an unnatural glow, her gaze locked on the golden feather lying before her. The air around it shimmered faintly, as though it pulsed with latent power. Her thoughts spiralled, echoing with the cryptic words the mysterious lady had whispered when Kaia first touched the feather.

"You need to collect plenty of these."

What was the point? Why did she need them? Her gaze lingered on the feather as her heart raced with uncertainty.

"Kaia!" A voice ripped through her thoughts. Yona's call came from behind.

Meryt's attention snapped to the horizon, but Yona wasn't in sight. She was too far to even make out the silhouette. Yet, her presence was palpable, like a shadow hanging over the battlefield. Something was off—Meryt could feel it. When she turned again at Kaia, Meryt's hand was no longer gripping her, Kaia had vanished.

The ground beneath her cracked and heaved, flames licking the air in a violent surge. A roaring circle of fire exploded around Meryt, rising with blistering intensity, its orange and gold tongues licking the sky. The feather was gone. Kaia... was gone.

Meryt's senses flared. She shifted her gaze, scanning for Kaia in the flames, her body tense, her mind calculating. It didn't take long before the cold voice pierced the flames.

"I've noticed something..."

Kaia's voice echoed, but it was no longer a source, it was everywhere, coming from all directions.

Meryt's heart skipped a beat. "Where are you?" she muttered, every inch of her on edge. But she was ready. No one got the jump on her.

Kaia's voice chilled her further. "You aren't just an ordinary splinter."

The words sent a shiver down Meryt's spine. Ordinary? Her lips twisted into a mocking grin.

"Splinters are far from ordinary, Kaia… And as for me…" She chuckled darkly, eyes glinting with mischief. "Well, I'm something different."

A faint whisper caressed the back of Meryt's ear, too soft, too close.

"Flattering yourself, aren't you?"

Meryt spun, her pulse racing, but she found nothing but empty air.

"I thought I could take you without magic," Meryt muttered, the glow in her eyes intensifying. Her senses sharpened, focusing through the haze. Through her newly enhanced vision, a dark, shifting figure materialized near the fiery circle. Kaia?

"I'm not someone who will go down easily."

With a roar, Meryt charged forward, her fist crackling with pink energy, crackling through the air with a powerful shockwave. But Kaia... Kaia was already gone. Just a flicker, a blur of movement, a flake of light in the distance.

A heartbeat later, Kaia reappeared behind Meryt, red flames erupting from her outstretched hand, streaming like a torrent of molten lava. Meryt's reflexes were honed by years of training, and she dodged just in time. But Kaia wasn't done. In a blur of motion, she slammed a fist into Meryt's stomach, knocking the air from her lungs.

Meryt gasped, her mouth filling with blood, but her eyes flashed with determination. Her hands raised, and a beam of white light shot from her palms, aiming to obliterate Kaia.

Kaia was faster. Too fast. Every strike Meryt threw, Kaia dodged with impossible agility—ducking, weaving, flipping away. Meryt cursed under her breath, feeling like a shadow trying to strike at the wind. Each blow from Kaia sent her reeling—punches to her chin, kicks to her face, a swift knee to her stomach that sent her sprawling.

Kaia showed no mercy. She was relentless.

The pressure grew unbearable. Meryt's muscles burned with the strain, her skin prickling as if she were being peeled apart by Kaia's fury. The blows kept coming—each one harsher, faster, unyielding.

Just when Meryt thought she might land a blow, her chest tightened. She gasped for air, stumbling to her knees.

Something was wrong.

Her body throbbed with a deep, pulsing pain.

Her gaze snapped to Kaia. What was she doing?

Kaia's hands moved, her fingers weaving through the air in a dance of intricate threads—so fine they almost weren't there at all. Meryt's eyes widened in realization. No…

A faint glimmer of threads hovered around her. Threads that were pulling—tearing. Her heart pounded in her chest as the realization struck.

"I screwed up," Meryt thought, a cold wave of panic flooding her system.

The threads of magic pierced her flesh with brutal precision, rending her apart like paper in a storm. Pain exploded through her body, sending her crashing to the ground, her screams lost in the inferno around them.

But it was too late. Kaia's power surged like a tidal wave, and Meryt felt herself regenerating. But it wasn't enough. Her body was too torn, too broken. Her clothes were shredded, torn by the cutting threads, her skin marked with deep gouges. Blood seeped from her mouth, staining the ground.

She struggled to rise, but the flames were closing in.

The heat... the overwhelming heat of Kaia's magic pressed in from every side. Meryt's mind raced—if the flames grew any higher, they would reach a point of no return. A massive explosion would tear everything apart. She would have no way of stopping it.

No... She couldn't let that happen.

But her strength was fading, and Kaia's relentless magic was closing in fast.

"Hey... wait—" Meryt's voice trailed off as she pushed herself to stand, desperate to stop her. But before she could take a step, the flames that had once roared around them suddenly began to settle on their own. The fire's fury dulled, swirling into a soft glow before vanishing completely.

Meryt's gaze lingered on Kaia, who stood motionless, her eyes fixed on the ground. A hand rested gently on her shoulder, a comforting weight from behind.

Meryt didn't need to look up to know who it was. She could already feel the presence of Yona standing just behind Kaia, her hand steady and reassuring.

"Kaia?" Yona's voice was soft, tinged with confusion. "Are you alright?"

Kaia didn't answer immediately. She didn't even look back. Her whole body seemed to be suspended in the weight of her own thoughts. The fire was gone now, leaving only the faintest traces of its heat.

Yona's confusion deepened as she took in Kaia's expression. "Are you... emerging these flames?" she asked, her voice filled with uncertainty.

But Kaia's only response was a slow, painful turn of her head. As her gaze met Yona's, a single tear slipped down her cheek. She opened her mouth, but the words stuck in her throat, her voice breaking as she tried to speak.

"I... I..." Kaia choked on the words, her breath ragged, eyes clenched shut as if the pain of speaking made it worse. "I couldn't save her..."

The confession came out in a broken whisper, raw and filled with guilt. Before she could say more, Yona closed the space between them, pulling Kaia into a warm embrace. Kaia froze at first, surprised by the sudden closeness, but after a beat, her body surrendered to the comfort, and she buried her head into Yona's shoulder.

Kaia knelt then, her knees hitting the ground as if the weight of her regret had become too much to bear. Yona's hand gently patted her back, the gesture soft and unspoken, as though telling Kaia it was okay to feel this way, that she didn't have to carry it alone.

From a distance, Meryt watched the scene unfold, her brow furrowing in frustration. She didn't possess any mana, yet there was something in Kaia's presence—something unnatural. Meryt raised her hand toward them, and a pulse of mana formed instinctively at her palm, swirling darkly.

This power... Meryt's mind recoiled. It didn't belong. It shouldn't exist in this world. There was a deep unease that churned in her chest as she studied the scene before her. This was a threat.

Her expression hardened, resolve sinking in. She was weak, but she could still seize this opportunity. I have to eliminate her. The thought felt like poison, and she narrowed her eyes at the pair, her mind locking on Kaia.

But as her fingers curled around the mana, a tremor ran through her hands. The magic wavered, trembling under her hesitation. Slowly, the mana dissipated, slipping through her fingers like sand.

Meryt squeezed her eyes shut, frustration burning in her gut. "You win..." she muttered to herself, the words bitter on her tongue. Without another glance, she turned and walked away, the weight of her decision hanging heavily on her shoulders.

Kaia, hearing the faint rustle of Meryt's departure, looked over her shoulder, her gaze hard and sharp as the other woman retreated into the distance. A flicker of something—anger, maybe—blazed in her eyes, but she let it go.

Amok appeared suddenly in front of Kaia, stepping out from the shadows behind Yona.

"I was ready to counter if she had attacked," Amok stated with his calm demeanour. "Should I pursue her?"

Kaia didn't hesitate. "No, it's fine," she said, her voice distant, almost tired. She turned fully toward him, her shoulders sagging. "Amok, leave."

The knight nodded once, then vanished, his presence slipping away as silently as he had come.

A heavy silence settled over Kaia and Yona, who had finally taken a seat on the ground. Neither of them spoke for a long time. The air was thick with unspoken words, the kind of quiet that spoke volumes without a single syllable exchanged.

Neither of them were in the mood for conversation.

Neither of them had the energy for it.