Spirit Chamber – Sealed Wing, Midnight
Kien and Christian sat across from each other, palms touching, a flame-circle burning low between them.
The ritual had begun.
Kien had memorized the patterns, the breathwork, the mental syncing.
But nothing prepared her for the moment their minds met.
> One flame. One soul. One choice.
---
Inside the Shared Mindscape
It wasn't peaceful.
It was a storm of fire, shadow, and broken memories.
Christian screamed in pain—but no sound came out.
Kien reached through visions of his fears, regrets, the moment the Abyss touched him.
Then—
The spirit appeared.
No longer just a figure of flame, but a shape-shifting force of hunger and pride.
> "You offer yourself to cage me?"
> "Do you know how many have tried?"
> "Do you know what it costs to hold me?"
Kien stepped forward, defiant.
"I don't care what you were. You won't have him."
The entity surged toward her—
But something else interrupted.
---
A Voice in the Flame
A new figure appeared: tall, regal, cloaked in ash and golden fire.
Not the spirit.
Something older.
> "You have awakened more than the Ember."
"You've stirred the remnants of the Flameborn Pact."
> "And now… it watches you again."
Kien's breath caught. "What's watching us?"
The figure looked past her.
> "The First Sin."
> "The one that taught fire to devour rather than warm."
Then it vanished—leaving behind a burning sigil Kien didn't recognize.
---
Back in the Real World
Both Christian and Kien gasped awake, scorched but alive.
The flame-circle was gone. But something new pulsed on Kien's wrist—a glowing tether mark that matched Christian's Ember Mark.
The ritual had worked… partially.
The spirit was no longer in control.
But it was still there.
Watching. Waiting. Learning.
---
Closing Scene – Far North, In the Broken Wastes
A sealed monument cracked open for the first time in centuries.
Out stepped a being cloaked in flame, eyes black as void.
It looked toward the south. Toward Christian.
> "So the flame awakens… tethered, but unbroken."
> "Let the First Sin rise again."
---
To Be Continued…