: The Prophecy of Glass and Flame

Chapter 38

The mirror shards rained down like falling stars.

Each one whispered voices — pieces of Nezutsu's forgotten lives. Some screamed. Some wept. One called his name like a lullaby drowned in fire.

Kaelith stood frozen beside him, staring at the place where the mirror-masked man had shattered.

"You heard it too, didn't you?" she whispered.

Nezutsu didn't answer. His grip on the flame-blade tightened, the blue fire crackling around his hand.

He had just fought… himself.Or a version of himself that should never have existed.

And yet, there was no time to breathe.

Because as the shards struck the ground, they began to move.

Forming words.

The Message in the Shards

The fragments rearranged in eerie harmony, glowing with soft violet runes.

Kaelith stepped forward, translating aloud from the old tongue:

"When the Echo meets its Flame, the Veins will burn red again. Time shall forget its order. And the Old Gods shall look upon the world… to decide if it is worth saving."

Silence.

Nezutsu's heart pounded.

"What does it mean?"

Kaelith didn't answer at first. Then, grimly:

"That someone is trying to awaken the Old Gods. And your flame — whatever it truly is — might be the key."

"But why me?"

"Because your fire doesn't obey the rules. You've already bent time, Nezutsu. You just don't know it yet."

Suddenly, a pulse rippled through the Vault — a deep, rhythmic hum.

Kaelith grabbed his arm.

"They're coming. The Watchers."

The Watchers of the Vault

From the walls of the floating ruin, shadows peeled away and formed into tall figures draped in black smoke, wearing no faces — only eyes floating where heads should be.

Seven of them.

"The Watchers guard this Vault," Kaelith said. "They punish those who steal forbidden truths."

"So… they saw the vision?"

"They were the vision."

The Watchers raised their hands.

Kaelith threw a spell — it fizzled into ink before it touched them.

Nezutsu stepped forward, the flame-blade still active. It was unstable, flickering blue and violet now. A pulse of power built inside his chest again.

He focused.

"If I bend time again… even a little…"

But the flame resisted.

A voice spoke in his head:

"Not yet. Not here. Not in front of them."

Kaelith's Last Gambit

Kaelith pulled a small coin from her cloak — black on one side, silver on the other.

"This was only for emergencies. I hate emergencies."

"What is it?"

"A skip-coin. It doesn't teleport you. It skips a moment in time — like ripping out a page in a book."

Before Nezutsu could reply, she slammed the coin into the air.

Reality ripped.

The Vault trembled.

The Watchers shrieked without sound as everything turned sideways — and in an instant, they were elsewhere.

The Forgotten Cliff

They stood at the edge of a cliff overlooking a ruined forest — petrified trees twisted like bones, a crimson river flowing upside down across the sky.

Nezutsu staggered, panting.

"Where are we now?"

Kaelith fell to her knees.

"A place the world no longer remembers. It's called Sairon Cradle. One of the last places the Flame was worshipped… before it was forbidden."

Nezutsu's head spun.

"Worshipped? I'm not a god."

Kaelith looked at him sharply.

"You're not just Nezutsu. We both know that now. The only question is…"

She stood slowly.

"…when will you admit it?"

Subplot Reveal: The Order of Ash-Tongues

From behind a ruined altar, figures began to emerge — clad in bone-white robes, each wearing a stitched mask over their mouths.

Kaelith's eyes widened.

"No. They shouldn't be here. Not yet."

"Who are they?"

"The Ash-Tongues. A sect that believes you're the reincarnation of the First Flame. They've waited centuries to see you rise."

"That's insane."

One of the figures stepped forward, and bowed.

"Nezutsu," the figure rasped. "The Sealed Ember. We have been waiting since the sky first cracked. You must come with us. The Trial of Becoming is ready."

Nezutsu stared in disbelief.

"Trial of what?"

"To claim the Second Name of Fire. Without it, your flame will die in ten moons."

Kaelith moved between them.

"You can't trust them. They're zealots."

"And she," said the robed man, "is hiding what she truly is."

All eyes turned to Kaelith.

Nezutsu narrowed his gaze.

"Is that true?"

Kaelith's silence said everything.

: The Flame Has Enemies in Both Directions

As the Ash-Tongues bowed again, and Kaelith turned away in shame, the sky above the Cradle split.

A tear in the clouds — not natural. Something watched from beyond. A massive eye of voidfire stared down.

The voice from earlier whispered again in Nezutsu's mind:

"They found the ember. Prepare for the Hollow Culling."

Nezutsu dropped to one knee, holding his head.

"What is the Hollow Culling?!"

No one answered.

But the eye in the sky widened.

And began to weep burning black tears onto the world below.

[TO BE CONTINUED...]