The Devil's Bride
by Rapwizzy Debaron.
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Episode 88: Shadows Beyond the Flame
Silence.
Not the peaceful kind—but the kind that hums with the threat of something unfinished.
Lucian sat alone on the broken altar where Yurelia had fallen. The world around him was still healing—patches of sky sewn back together, the earth trembling beneath every cautious step.
He stared at the horizon.
No flame. No war.
Just quiet.
Yet his heart wouldn't rest.
Seraphina approached, her gown stitched in celestial threads, her wings slowly folding behind her. "You feel it too," she said softly, sitting beside him.
Lucian nodded. "That wasn't the end."
"No," she said, voice like the wind before a storm. "It was the beginning of what comes next."
A soft rustle came from behind them.
Gabriel limped forward, his horn cracked but his eyes sharp. "The First Spark is gone."
"What do you mean?" Seraphina asked, rising quickly.
"She vanished," Gabriel said. "Right after Yurelia fell. One second she was here, the next—nothing. Not even the gods can trace her."
Lucian's eyes narrowed. "No one just disappears."
"They do," said a cold, unfamiliar voice.
A boy stood at the edge of the ruins. Pale skin, eyes too ancient for his face, and a sword shaped like a thorned flame.
"Who are you?" Seraphina asked, stepping in front of Lucian.
He tilted his head. "You destroyed Yurelia… but not the source."
Lucian stood. "Explain."
The boy smiled. "I am Kareth. The Keeper of Embers."
"What embers?" Gabriel asked.
Kareth raised his sword—and the ruins caught fire.
Not red.
Not gold.
But black.
The fire didn't burn—it erased.
Chunks of memory vanished with every flicker. Names forgotten. Faces lost.
"You thought the First Flame was your enemy," Kareth said calmly. "But she was only one echo."
Lucian growled, stepping forward. "Then we'll end every echo."
Kareth smiled sadly. "You don't understand. You're already inside the true flame."
"What?" Seraphina whispered.
Kareth pointed to the sky.
It was no longer blue.
It was flickering—like the inside of a candle.
"This world," he said, "was created inside the fire. Yurelia didn't start it. She was born from it. Just like you."
Lucian's blade pulsed. "You're lying."
"I wish I was."
And then he vanished, swallowed by the same black fire.
Lucian turned to Seraphina, gripping her hand tightly. "We need answers."
She nodded. "Then we go deeper."
Gabriel raised what remained of his horn. "To the core of creation."
Lucian looked to the sky, his voice low. "To the truth behind the flame."
And somewhere in the dark, something began to stir.
Older than fire.
Older than light.
Watching.
To be continued…
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