The First Fire

The warning came at dawn.

The skies over Solara turned from pale blue to red, as if the sun had decided to bleed. Then came the low, unbroken hum of approaching engines.

Kael stood at the edge of the broken relay platform, gripping the hilt of his sword.

"She's here."

Behind him, Nyra finished strapping the last explosive to a support beam. "Scouts saw her ship land outside the lower district. Twenty soldiers. Maybe more."

BITS floated above them with a blaster arm that looked far too large for his frame. "I call this one Plan Defiance, version 7.1. Now with real consequences!"

Kael cracked a tired smile. "You sure that thing works?"

BITS' eye glowed. "Only one way to find out."

---

They didn't run.

Not this time.

They fortified the lower chamber of the Arkenspire — the access hall leading to the Relay room. Debris was stacked for cover. Old energy cells were jury-rigged as traps. The lights above flickered, giving the entire place a flickering, haunted glow.

Kael paced the hallway, tension wired into every step.

"She knows this place better than we do," he muttered. "She'll find a way in."

Nyra leaned against a pillar, arms folded. "Let her. We're not hiding."

"Big talk for someone with only six daggers," BITS muttered.

Nyra raised an eyebrow. "Six visible daggers."

BITS floated back slightly. "Noted."

---

Then, silence.

A long, crushing silence.

Kael stared at the doorway at the far end of the hall.

He felt her coming.

The city responded to her presence the way a body reacts to poison—tight, alert, on fire. Lights flickered more. Energy warped.

Then the door exploded inward.

A wave of concussive force knocked them back.

And from the dust, she stepped in.

Malrix.

Her armor was darker now, ridged with glowing red veins. Her helmet unfolded like petals of iron, revealing her scarred face and molten gaze.

She spoke only one word:

> "Veylan."

Kael stepped forward, blade humming to life. "You don't get to say that name."

Malrix tilted her head. "You wear it like you earned it. But it was given. Like everything else about you."

Nyra moved to his side. "Keep talking. It makes it easier to aim."

Malrix smiled. "Still the loyal shadow. I expected more from Lioran's sister."

Nyra's eyes flared.

Kael raised his sword. "You want the Starkey? You'll have to take it from me."

Malrix's gauntlet extended — long blades emerging from her wrist. "Gladly."

---

She moved like a storm.

Kael barely raised his sword in time.

Sparks flew as steel met relic-light. Malrix struck with precision and power, every blow threatening to shatter Kael's defenses. He blocked, dodged, countered—but she was relentless.

Nyra circled behind, blades flashing.

She struck low, aiming for the knees. Malrix twisted away, catching her mid-air with a burst of raw energy that sent her crashing into a wall.

"Nyra!" Kael shouted.

BITS opened fire. "SAY HELLO TO MY ILL-CONSIDERED WEAPON."

A bolt of plasma hit Malrix in the shoulder — she staggered, just long enough for Kael to drive his blade forward.

It struck true.

Her armor cracked — a burst of white energy flared out.

But she laughed.

"You think pain stops me, boy?"

She grabbed his blade, twisted, and flung him across the room.

---

Kael slammed into a pillar, vision blurred.

The Starkey, knocked from his belt, skidded across the floor.

Malrix marched toward it.

Nyra crawled to her feet, one leg shaking, blood at her lip.

"Kael—get up."

He blinked.

Everything felt heavy. His arms, his thoughts, his fear.

Then—

A voice in his head.

Not his own.

> "Spark-bearer. Choose."

> "Will you be the lock, or the fire?"

Kael grit his teeth.

And stood.

---

Malrix reached the Starkey.

Her fingers brushed it—

And it lit up white-hot.

She recoiled, screaming.

Kael's sword surged back to life, flaring so bright it lit the room.

The Relay above responded with a low, harmonic pulse.

Kael lifted the blade, eyes glowing now.

"I choose fire."

He charged.

---

The second clash shook the chamber.

Kael moved like a sparkstorm, his strikes fluid, light-guided. Malrix countered, but each blow now pushed her back.

Nyra joined the fight—flanking, harrying, striking fast and close.

BITS set off a trap charge behind her—collapsing a support wall and cutting off Malrix's escape.

"You're surrounded," Kael said.

Malrix bled relic energy from her side, her jaw clenched.

"Not yet."

She hurled a grenade at the ceiling and vanished into the blast.

---

Dust settled.

The floor cracked.

The Starkey hummed in Kael's palm, stabilizing the chamber.

Malrix was gone.

---

Kael collapsed to his knees, sword buried in the stone.

Nyra dropped beside him, breathing hard.

"You alright?"

He nodded.

BITS floated over, sparking slightly. "My entire processor screamed. But worth it."

Kael looked at the Starkey.

Then at Nyra.

"She's not done."

"No," Nyra said. "But neither are we."