A Poem of Ash and Ruin
"Fire that once danced with the wind,
Now bound in chains of night.
Once a beacon, now a whisper,
A flickering ghost, devoured of light."
—Ode to the Fallen Phoenix
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Tara's breath came in short, desperate gasps. The fire inside her was no longer hers to command. It twisted at Shree Yan's will, reshaping itself into something unrecognizable.
Shree Yan stepped forward, the soles of his boots pressing against the scorched earth. His white hair shimmered under the blood-red sky, his crimson eyes reflecting the dying embers of Tara's soul.
"Do you see now?" His voice was calm, but beneath it lay something deeper—a certainty that could not be denied.
Tara raised her head, sweat dripping down her pale face.
She had spent her life resisting him.
Fighting against his existence.
Swearing that she would never submit.
And yet, here she was.
Kneeling.
Bound.
Not by chains of steel, nor by spells of coercion.
But by the undeniable truth that he was beyond her reach.
Shree Yan crouched before her, tilting her chin up with two fingers. His touch was neither harsh nor gentle—it was simply absolute.
"Rebellion is a foolish thing," he said softly. "You thought your fire could burn me. But fire does not burn the abyss."
Tara trembled. "You—"
He placed a finger against her lips, silencing her.
"You will speak only when I allow it."
Her breath hitched.
A surge of power swelled within her, dark and cold, intertwining with the remnants of her former self.
A choice stood before her:
To let her flame be snuffed out completely, or to embrace the abyss and be reborn in darkness.
Her fingers clenched against the dirt.
And then—she let go.
A gasp escaped her lips as the last remnants of golden fire died.
A new flame, twisted and black, erupted from her palms.
The forsaken flame of a soul that no longer belonged to the world.
Shree Yan smiled.
"Rise, Tara," he commanded.
She obeyed.