The Scream in the Ash
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🌑 Scene 1: After the Flame
Ash rained down like snow.
The throne room was nothing but ruin now—
walls crumbled, glass melted into black rivers,
statues cracked and groaning like dying gods.
The great dome above had collapsed entirely.
The sky overhead wept only gray light.
At the center of it all…
Two figures lay still.
One, sprawled against a broken column.
The other… kneeling in front of him, unmoving.
Riven.
Alive.
Barely.
His breath was ragged.
His cloak torn.
Ignivar—gone.
Only the hilt remained, the blade shattered beside him.
And before him—
Caelen Valtoris.
Eyes wide.
Chest bleeding.
The Brand of Valtoris flickering like a candle in the wind.
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💔 Scene 2: The Last Look
Caelen's lips moved faintly.
Riven leaned closer, despite the pain. Every rib in his body screamed, but he had to hear it.
> "Why… didn't you kill me?"
Riven's voice cracked.
> "Because… I never stopped being your brother."
Caelen blinked slowly.
> "I did."
A pause.
> "Long ago."
His hand twitched.
He looked toward the shattered throne.
> "I wanted to… sit there once.
Just once.
To see if it felt like… enough."
His eyes glazed over.
Riven grabbed his hand—
But the warmth was already leaving.
Caelen smiled—
> "You're stronger than me…
because you lost everything… and still didn't become me."
And then…
He was gone.
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🩸 Scene 3: The Scream
At first, Riven didn't move.
He just sat there.
Eyes wide.
Blood pouring from his side.
Hands still clutching Caelen's lifeless arm.
And then—
A whisper escaped his lips.
> "Caelen…"
Again, louder.
> "Caelen…"
And then—
He screamed.
It wasn't rage.
It wasn't agony.
It was everything he never said.
Every time he looked away.
Every time he thought they'd have more time.
Every time he knew… but refused to feel.
The scream shattered the last of the stained glass.
Even Selene, rushing down the stairs with Lyara behind her, stopped in her tracks.
And wept.
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🌫️ Scene 4: Selene's Silence
She knelt beside Riven.
Laid a hand on his shoulder.
He didn't flinch.
Didn't speak.
Didn't breathe right.
He was somewhere else—
In memories not even the flames could burn away.
Selene whispered:
> "He made his choice."
> "No," Riven rasped.
"I forced it.
I always forced it."
She touched his face.
> "You gave him every chance to stop.
You didn't kill him.
Fate did."
Riven's eyes finally met hers.
> "Then why does it still feel like I did?"
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🕯️ Scene 5: The Funeral of Flame
They buried him under the remains of the throne.
No ceremony.
No crown.
Just stone, silence… and a single sword.
Riven didn't speak during the burial.
Neither did Selene.
Lyara sang a small, wordless hymn—an ancient one meant to carry the soul across the Veil.
The Brand of Valtoris, now dormant, was sealed into the stone.
And etched upon it, in old flame script:
> Here lies Caelen Valtoris.
A prince who wanted to be more than shadow.
A brother who walked too close to the fire.
Burned. But never forgotten.
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🌌 Scene 6: Nightfall
That night, Riven stood alone on the broken ramparts.
The stars above looked distant.
Colder.
He reached into his cloak.
Pulled out the last fragment of Ignivar.
It still pulsed.
But not like before.
It was quiet now.
Like it, too, was mourning.
He clenched it in his palm—
And whispered:
> "I need to become more than the fire now.
I need to become… who he couldn't."
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