Chapter 18: Trial of Fire
Flames surrounded Kael.
But they didn't burn.
They judged.
The sky was gold, the ground made of cracked emberstone. The heat was not just around him — it was inside him. And across the glowing arena stood a figure…
…a boy who looked exactly like Kael.
But his eyes blazed with wild fire.
His voice echoed like cracking wood.
"You think you can carry the flame? You're weak. You're scared. You hesitate."
Kael stepped forward. "I'm not scared of you."
The other Kael sneered. "Yes, you are. You're scared of losing control. Scared of hurting people."
Kael clenched his fists. "I won't let fear stop me."
"Then fight me," the fire-double said, raising hands of flame.
🔥 The Trial Began.
The fire-Kael launched a wave of heat. Kael dove to the side, rolled, and sent out a stream of his own fire — but the double absorbed it.
"You don't control fire," the double growled. "It controls you!"
Kael ran, fire trailing from his feet, and leapt into the air. He smashed his fists into the ground — flame bursting in every direction.
The double vanished into smoke, then reappeared behind him.
Kael was too slow — a fiery punch hit him square in the chest.
He crashed to the ground, coughing.
"Give up!" the double shouted. "Let me burn everything for you!"
Kael lay on the ground.
Memories flashed:
The day he burned a tree by accident in the forge.
His master's words: "Flame must be forged, not feared."
Lira's smile when he saved her from the stone.
Serin standing beside him in the Temple of Winds.
Corren, trusting him — even with shadows in his eyes.
He stood.
"No," Kael whispered.
"I am fire. But I am more."
He raised his hands. The emberstone pulsed. His flames turned blue — calm, not wild.
"I choose how it burns."
He reached out — and touched his fire-double.
It shattered into golden sparks.
The arena faded.
Kael fell to his knees as the vision dissolved.
He was back in the Temple of Solkara.
The golden pool was calm again.
Raeh and the others stared at him.
Lira rushed forward. "Kael! You're alive!"
He stood slowly.
The emberstone in his hand had changed — it now pulsed with golden veins.
Kael smiled faintly. "I passed."
Serin's voice was quiet. "One trial down."
Corren stepped forward. "And four more to go."
Raeh nodded. "Each shard must face its truth. Or none will survive what's coming."
Far below the temple, in the depths of the sand…
Something stirred.
A deep growl.
The Sun-Tyrant's tomb had cracked.