đ«ïž Echoes in the Morning
The next sunrise at Bloomfire Citadel was strange.
Not because of an attack, but because of how⊠quiet everything had become.
Rael didn't join the Court for the morning flame-meal.
He didn't train with Bran.
Didn't spar with Dusk.
Didn't steal flowerfruits from Lumiera's garden and leave fake poems behind.
He sat in the vault below the citadel, alone â staring at the Flamebloom Crown, untouched.
His reflection shimmered faintly in the polished gold surface.
> It flickered.
Then smiled back at him.
> "Soon," it whispered.
---
đŻ The Problem of Two Kings
In the council chamber, the Court debated.
Ashren tossed down a dozen scrolls. "Crownfire theory says only one bearer can exist. Echoes fade."
> "He's not fading," Lumiera snapped. "He's growing."
Bran leaned on a stone table. "So what? We go hunting ghost-Rael now?"
Nira threw up her hands. "I vote we trap him in a time-loop box. I've got just the prototype. Might explode. Might make soup. Either way, exciting."
Dusk finally spoke. "We need to bind him. Not kill him."
> "But how?" Lumiera asked.
Silence.
Until Rael entered and said:
> "We find the Mask of the Mirror Flame."
Everyone stared.
Rael's voice was quiet. Serious. Afraid.
> "And we use it to chain him inside me."
---
đȘ What Is the Mask?
The Mask of the Mirror Flame was a relic of legend â a cursed device created during the Second Flame War.
Worn once by a mad empress who split herself into three souls, it was forged from glass scorched by phoenix breath and cooled in sorrow.
Whoever wore it could see all versions of themselves across timeâŠ
âŠbut they could also become them.
> "It's buried in the Sea of Dust," Rael said. "Under a collapsed flamevault once ruled by the Ember Saints."
> "You know this how?" Ashren asked, narrowing his eyes.
Rael looked at Lumiera.
> "Because he showed me."
---
đ§ Journey to the Sea of Dust
They departed that afternoon.
The skies above the desert shimmered unnaturally â warped by old spells, bent heat, and something that pulsed like a heartbeat buried under sand.
The expedition included:
Rael
Lumiera
Dusk
Ashren, who insisted on bringing "half the library"
And Nira, who had⊠six bombs and one explosive-flavored snack
They rode wyrmskiffs across the sands â floating crafts pulled by bound wind-spirits.
But the closer they came to the vaultâŠ
âŠthe stronger Rael's double echoed through his mind.
---
đȘ Inside the Vault
The buried flamevault opened with a scream.
The sand rolled back to reveal obsidian steps lined with molten runes â a temple of shattered reflections and burning statues.
Every mirror they passed flickered â showing not themselves, but possibilities.
A Rael who never betrayed Caelen.
A Lumiera who wore a black veil and ruled a death cult.
A Dusk who laughed.
The further in they went, the more Rael stumbled.
Until finallyâ
They found the Mask.
It sat on a throne of scorched stone, humming with power.
Made of glass. Veins of goldfire. Screaming silently.
---
đ§ The Choice
Ashren stepped forward. "This thing⊠it's not just a mirror. It eats futures. Rael, if you wear itâ"
Rael nodded. "I know."
Lumiera grabbed his arm. "Then don't."
> "If I don't, he wins."
> "If you do, he becomes you."
Rael looked at her, soft fire in his eyes.
> "Then you have to promise me something."
> "Anything."
> "If I turn⊠burn me before he does."
---
đ©ž The Binding
Rael put on the mask.
The room pulsed.
Everyone vanished.
He was aloneâin a hallway of mirrors, each showing a different version of himself.
One stepped forward â the Echo, wearing the crown.
> "You invited me," the Echo said, smirking. "Now I'll be you."
They clashed.
Not with swords â but will.
Every lie Rael told himself, the Echo used against him.
> "You killed your brother."
"You hesitated when she bled."
"You wear a crown but refuse to rule."
But Rael stood firm.
> "You're not the king," he growled.
> "And I'm done being afraid of my own fire."
He slammed his fist into the mirrored flame.
And the Echo screamed.
---
đŻ Return to the Real
Rael collapsed as the Mask fell away.
Lumiera caught him.
His flame flickered wildly.
But then â he opened his eyes.
No echo.
No shadow.
Just Rael.
> "He's sealed. For now."
But Dusk was already looking at the sky.
> "We bought time. Not peace."
---
đ Meanwhile: Caelen's Weapon
In the ruins of the Timeforge Temple, Caelen placed the Crescent Sigil into the center of a broken sword.
It lit up.
The blade glowed with temporal fire â golden and black.
> "This was meant to kill gods," he whispered.
> "Now it will kill a king⊠across every version of himself."
---
đ Final Scene: A Glimpse Beyond
That night, Rael dreamed again.
But it wasn't the Echo this time.
He saw Lumiera â older. Wiser. Wearing the Flamebloom Crown.
Alone.
In a world covered in ash.
And she whispered to the wind:
> "You chose to die so we could bloom."
Rael jolted awake â chest tight.
And the crown, now beside his bed, was glowing faintly.
---
End of Chapter 26