A Beast

The air was thick with tension.

Kaelen stood at the edge of the battlefield, the aftermath of their fight still smoldering in the distance. His hands, trembling with the residual heat of his flames, clenched at his sides. The burning power inside him didn't feel like an ally anymore. It felt like a beast waiting to consume him whole, threatening to swallow him whole every time he took a breath.

He hadn't expected to feel this way, not after winning the battle. The demons had retreated for now, but that hollow feeling in his chest hadn't gone away. He looked to his left, where Solara stood, her eyes scanning the horizon. Her figure was tall and graceful, her silver hair catching the last glimmer of the setting sun, but there was an edge to her silence.

"Solara," Kaelen said, his voice hoarse. "Do you feel it too? This... weight. It's like we haven't won anything at all."

Solara turned to face him, her expression unreadable, but there was a flicker of something in her eyes something too complicated for him to understand. "This isn't over," she replied, her voice steady but burdened with the knowledge of something darker approaching. "This war is far from finished. You know that, don't you?"

Kaelen nodded, though he wasn't entirely sure why. He had a feeling that everything he had fought for everything he had sacrificed was only the beginning. The prophecy. The demons. They were all pieces in a game far larger than he could comprehend. But he had a responsibility now, a burden he could never lay down.

"And yet," Kaelen said, his gaze wandering to the destruction around them, "we're only getting started. And with every step, the cost grows higher."

Solara gave him a long, searching look before stepping closer. "You're not alone, Kaelen. Not in this. The forces that are moving against us are powerful, but there are others who are just as invested in this fight as you are. You have allies—"

"I don't trust them," Kaelen interrupted, shaking his head sharply. "Not yet. I can't. Not after all this. Everything's changed now."

She didn't argue. Instead, she sighed, a quiet, almost imperceptible sound. "You will. You'll learn to trust them when it matters most. But right now, Kaelen…" She paused, glancing behind them toward the remnants of the battlefield. Her voice dropped to a whisper, thick with urgency. "There's something you need to know. Something that's been kept from you."

Kaelen's heart raced at the seriousness in her tone. "What are you talking about?"

She looked around one last time, as if searching for any eyes that could be watching. The air seemed to hold its breath in anticipation. Then, with a final glance to make sure no one was near, she spoke the words that would unravel everything Kaelen thought he knew.

"There's a deeper force at play, Kaelen. Something... ancient. The prophecy you've heard of, the one everyone's been whispering about, it's not just about the flames you wield or the battle between the realms. It's about you. All of you. You were born for this. Your bloodline your very existence is bound to something older than even the gods. And the price of victory... isn't just your power. It's your soul."

Kaelen felt the words land like stones against his chest. He couldn't breathe for a moment, the weight of her confession crushing down on him. "What are you talking about?" he managed, his voice shaking.

She locked eyes with him, her silver eyes glowing faintly in the dimming light. "You're not just a Flamebearer. You're the key, Kaelen. The key to the door that leads to the true war. The war that's been brewing for centuries. There are forces beyond demons and gods things that have been waiting for you to awaken. They've watched you, planned for you... They know your power, your lineage."

Kaelen staggered back, his mind reeling from the truth she had just laid before him. "No… That can't be true."

Solara's face softened, her gaze filled with a quiet sorrow. "It is. And the ones who've raised you? The people you've trusted? They've known. They've been keeping secrets from you, Kaelen. The Radiant Order, the King's Council… all of them. They knew who you were before you ever did."

The ground beneath Kaelen's feet felt unsteady. His thoughts spun wildly, like a storm tearing through his mind. All this time, he thought he had been fighting for the people he cared about, for the light. But what if he had been a pawn all along? What if every victory had been engineered, every loss part of a bigger plan? What if they were all just using him?

"Why didn't you tell me this before?" Kaelen's voice cracked. "Why now? Why wait until everything's already falling apart?"

Solara took a step closer, her eyes soft but resolute. "Because you weren't ready. You were still learning how to control the power inside you, still learning to trust yourself. You've had to grow, Kaelen. You've had to learn the cost of this war before you could understand the price of winning."

Kaelen closed his eyes, feeling the flames within him flicker restlessly, as though they were echoing his confusion. But something else was stirring now too. Something darker. A cold, creeping feeling that whispered to him in the silence of his thoughts.

"This is my burden," he said, barely above a whisper. "My fight."

"Yes," Solara confirmed, "and it always has been."

Kaelen took a deep breath, steadied himself. He couldn't let this revelation break him not now, not when everything was still on the line. But as he turned his gaze back to the horizon, his mind racing, the enormity of what was at stake hit him like a tidal wave.

The war between realms was just a fragment of the truth. There was something far darker lurking in the shadows, and Kaelen was its key. The echoes of fate were calling to him now, louder than ever, and he had no choice but to answer.

But the question remained would the world survive the answer?