chapter 11
The Voice Beneath the Flames
The ground cracked beneath their feet.
The ancient temple of the Third Moon was no longer silent —
it groaned, roared, and whispered all at once.
The figure before them — shadowed and terrible —
hovered just inches above the Black Star Icon,
his cloak of darkness spreading like smoke.
---
Lyra hovered in midair,
power glowing around her hands like stardust,
the Mark of the Third Moon burning brighter with each heartbeat.
Malrik yelled over the chaos:
> "Lyra! If you channel that much power—
you won't survive!"
Lyra (calmly):
> "I don't need to survive.
I just need to end this."
---
But the shadowed figure only smiled,
his voice cutting through the storm like ice.
> "So noble. So foolish.
You still think this is about you?"
He raised a single hand —
and the flames across the temple walls turned blue.
Suddenly, the runes reversed.
Time itself slowed.
And Lyra fell from the air — gasping.
---
Calem rushed forward, catching her before she hit the ground.
> "Stay with me, Lyra! Come on—"
She opened her eyes slowly, her voice barely a whisper:
> "He… he's inside the temple.
Not just behind it.
He is the temple."
---
Malrik's eyes widened.
> "The entire structure… it's a prison.
But he's become part of it."
The figure spread his arms.
> "Exactly. You didn't trap me.
You fed me.
Every fear, every memory, every visit…
made me stronger."
He turned toward Lyra.
> "And now, all that power? It's mine."
---
And then— a whisper. Soft, ancient, broken.
It came not from the temple,
but from deep beneath it.
> "Lyra…"
Her eyes widened.
> "That voice… it can't be."
---
The floor cracked open — not with fire —
but with light.
Golden. Pure.
Unfamiliar… and yet
achingly familiar.
A figure rose from the light —
not of shadow, but of stars.
---
Her brother.
Thalen.
> "You never left me," he whispered.
"But I… I did. And I'm sorry."
Lyra fell to her knees, trembling.
> "How? I saw you die—
You… you gave your life to seal the gate."
Thalen nodded.
> "And my soul remained trapped in its roots.
Waiting… for the Third Moon to rise once more.
Waiting for you."
---
The shadow shrieked in rage.
> "You were mine, Thalen.
I consumed you."
Thalen turned to it, his voice now unshakable.
> "You borrowed my pain.
But I was never yours."
He looked at Lyra.
> "Sister, listen—
He cannot be killed.
But he can be divided."
---
Lyra's eyes blazed with sudden clarity.
> "The Black Star Icon—
it channels his essence.
If we split it—
we split him."
Calem stepped forward, his voice steady:
> "Then let's finish this. Together."
Malrik drew his blade.
> "For everything we've lost."
---
As the three joined hands,
and Thalen's light surrounded them—
a single chant rose, ancient and powerful.
The temple screamed,
the shadow shattered,
and the Black Star cracked…
---
And for a moment… there was silence.
---
When the light faded,
only ruins remained.
Lyra opened her eyes —
and saw the moon above.
But not three.
Only one.
---
Calem was beside her.
Malrik stood across the rubble, smiling weakly.
And Thalen?
Gone.
But in the wind…
his voice lingered.
> "You've broken the cycle.
Now live freely."
---
To be continued…
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