đ A Sky That Never Sleeps
Three nights after the battle with the Flame Swords, a star fell.
But it didn't burn.
It shimmered violet, twirling silently as it carved through the sky⊠and vanished over the Obsidian Rift â a place where even maps trembled.
The next morning, a raven made of glass and ember landed on Lumiera's shoulder.
In its beak: a scroll sealed with starlight wax.
> "Seek the Oracle. Beyond flame. Beyond bloom. In the Rift, where stars forget their names."
Rael looked at the message, then at the sky.
> "The legends said the Oracle hasn't spoken in a thousand years."
> "Then it's about time someone listened," Lumiera replied.
---
đŻ Journey to the Rift
Only three went:
Rael, for his fire.
Lumiera, for her soul.
And Dusk, whose silence could slip through unseen cracks in magic.
They crossed forests that whispered names they never gave. Climbed peaks where the snow melted under Rael's footsteps. Faced a storm of dreambeasts that Lumiera silenced with her blooming sigils.
But nothing prepared them for the Rift.
---
đ The Obsidian Rift
It wasn't a canyon.
It was a wound â carved deep into the world, filled with floating stone, weightless flame, and memory echoes.
Words spoken here never quite ended. Light moved in spirals. Gravity shifted like a heartbeat.
And at the center stood a monolith â The Oracle's Pillar.
A single figure waited there.
Face veiled in crystal threads.
Hands untouched by time.
Eyes glowing from within.
---
đź The Oracle Speaks
> "You are late," the Oracle said.
Rael stepped forward. "You sent for us."
> "I sent for flame. I did not expect bloom."
Her eyes flicked to Lumiera.
> "You are⊠an anomaly. A soul woven from two threads. A fire too soft to break. And yet too wild to bend."
> "I've been called worse," Lumiera muttered.
The Oracle smiled faintly. "You will be."
---
𧿠The Three Prophecies
With a single gesture, the Oracle summoned three orbs â each glowing differently:
1. One of gold and blood.
2. One of ash and shadow.
3. One of petal and storm.
She pointed to each:
> "First, the king who was crowned twice shall fall by the blade of mercy."
Rael's face hardened.
> "Second, the brother buried will riseânot to rule, but to burn what was spared."
Lumiera whispered, "CaelenâŠ"
> "Third," the Oracle said, eyes locking onto Lumiera,
"the flame that blooms will be asked to choose:
the one she saved⊠or the one who saves her."
---
đŹ Silence Falls
None of them spoke for a long time.
Dusk finally said what they feared:
> "All of us die in prophecy. It's just a matter of how long we delay it."
The Oracle nodded.
> "And that is why I called you. Because prophecy bends not for power⊠but for love."
> "Yours is twisted love. But it might be enough."
---
đ A Warning
Before they turned to leave, the Oracle's voice rang again.
> "Beware the Crescent Flame. It will burn through time itself."
Rael turned sharply. "That's myth. A spell no one's used in centuries."
> "Myths are memories, Crownless King. And time remembers what blood forgets."
---
đ Final Scene: A Future Seen
That night, Lumiera dreamed of two Raels.
One wearing the Flamebloom crown.
The otherâbloodied, broken, smiling through fireâas he whispered:
> "Let me be the one who dies this time."
She woke in a sweat, tears on her face.
And the air smelled faintlyâŠ
âŠof blooming ash.
---
End of Chapter 24