The First Flame

The silver fire swirled around Kaelen, pressing against his skin like a living tide. His reflection stood before him, watching with those burning amber eyes—his eyes—but there was something other in them.

“Who are you?” Kaelen demanded, his voice hoarse from the fire’s searing heat.

The reflection smiled, tilting its head in that same, too-familiar way. “I am you.”

Kaelen’s muscles tensed. “No, you’re not.”

The reflection stepped forward, bare feet touching the shifting silver flames without harm. “What is a Vessel, Kaelen?” It spread its arms wide. “A prison? A gate? A guardian? Or something else entirely?”

Kaelen ground his teeth. “I don’t know.”

His reflection sighed, shaking its head. “Then we must change that.”

Without warning, the reflection moved.

Kaelen barely had time to react before a fist crashed into his ribs, sending him staggering backward. Pain exploded through his side—this was no illusion, no dream. He caught himself, gritting his teeth, and swung in return, but the reflection vanished in a blur of motion, reappearing behind him.

“Too slow,” it murmured.

Kaelen turned just in time to see the next attack—a flickering strike of silver fire aimed at his chest. He threw up his arms instinctively, bracing for impact—

But instead of pain, something answered inside him.

The silver glow beneath his skin surged outward, intercepting the blow with a burst of light. Sparks danced in the air where the two forces met. Kaelen’s reflection stepped back, studying him with something close to approval.

“There it is,” it murmured. “The power of the Moonfire is not separate from you, Kaelen. It is you.”

Kaelen’s breath came fast. His arms still tingled from the impact, but… he had stopped it. He had felt the fire respond.

The reflection smiled. “Again.”

It lunged, and the battle truly began.

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Chapter 9: The Weight of Power

Kaelen didn’t know how long he fought. Time meant nothing in this endless void of silver fire. The battle was relentless—his reflection attacked with the speed of a storm, shifting between solid form and flickering flame. Kaelen had no choice but to adapt, to feel the fire within himself and use it.

At first, he was clumsy, reacting on instinct rather than control. But with each strike, each block, each movement, the fire inside him grew more familiar. It was not just a weapon—it was a part of him, a second heartbeat that pulsed with something ancient and vast.

And slowly, he began to push back.

His reflection struck, and Kaelen moved before he could think, sidestepping with ease. He twisted, letting the fire guide his momentum, and drove his fist forward—

A shockwave of silver flame erupted from his hand, slamming into his reflection and sending it skidding backward.

Kaelen staggered, stunned. He had called the fire. He had willed it to act.

His reflection straightened, brushing ash from its tunic. Its smile was wider now, and for the first time, it spoke without riddles.

“Well done.”

Kaelen panted, still reeling from the power thrumming beneath his skin. “Is it… over?”

The reflection’s expression darkened. “Not yet.”

The silver fire around them shifted. The whispers that had lurked at the edges of Kaelen’s hearing grew louder, harsher. The void trembled.

And then, something else stirred.

Kaelen turned sharply, every instinct screaming a warning. The silver fire parted, revealing a shape that had not been there before.

A door.

Massive, ancient, its surface covered in twisting runes. It pulsed with a dark light, the silver fire refusing to touch it. And from the other side, Kaelen felt the presence waiting beyond it.

The same presence he had glimpsed at the well.

The reflection exhaled, its smile fading. “It knows you now.”

Kaelen’s throat tightened. “What is that?”

The reflection met his gaze. “The thing that was sealed away. The thing that has been waiting.”

A deep, hollow sound rang from the door. The runes shifted, unraveling.

Kaelen felt the air pull.

The seal was breaking.

And he was at the center of it all.

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