Chapter 9: Smoldering Ember

The mist had lifted from Elheim, but the chill of war still hung in the air. After sealing Arcren and strengthening the Gray Pact, Kalea and Eiran returned to the Nyxterra Palace with heavy steps. They knew that peace was only the shadow before the storm.
Upon arrival, Elsera greeted them with grim news.
“Rebels from the Lightwing faction have moved,” she said. “They attacked our fortress at Zevarin’s border.”
“Who leads them?” Kalea asked, seated on her obsidian throne, her eyes once again twin lakes of glowing violet.
“His name is... Cyrion. A former knight of the Solvane Kingdom.”
Eiran stiffened. “He used to be my teacher.”

---
Zevarin was an ancient fortress standing between the foggy mountains and the field of old bones. It was the place where the First War between humans and demons once ignited. Now, it bore the heat of war again.
Kalea decided to lead personally.
“If the rebels dare touch my land, I’ll make them taste their own blood.”
With her shadow army and Eiran at her side, Kalea led the expedition to Zevarin. Along the way, the voices of the pact-bound souls whispered constantly. They were hungry. They wanted vengeance.
“Patience,” Kalea whispered in the dead of night. “You’ll have it soon.”

---
When they arrived at Zevarin, smoke veiled the sky. The fortress had been attacked from within. Betrayal.
Kalea walked through the ruins, finding her own shadow soldiers sacrificed. But there was no grief—only cold rage.
In the fortress’s main hall, she met Cyrion face-to-face.
“So, you’re the Queen of Sorrow,” Cyrion said, sword of gold raised. “A girl who once fell from a rooftop... now a demon queen.”
Kalea stepped forward slowly, her dark aura trembling the floor.
“And you’re the knight who once vowed to protect the kingdom... and now you burn it yourself?”
Cyrion smirked. “I simply choose who is worthy to rule. And you’re not.”
Eiran stepped between them.
“Master... please don’t.”
“Eiran... my boy, you can still return to Solvane. Don’t let yourself drown in shadow.”
But Eiran didn’t budge. “These shadows... are the only place that ever recognized me.”

---
Battle erupted.
Cyrion moved like lightning, striking toward Kalea. But the Queen of Sorrow stood still. Shadows burst behind her, forming spears that blocked his blow.
Kalea raised her hand, and thousands of pact-bound souls launched forth, a rain of violet energy.
But Cyrion was no ordinary knight. He wielded light magic that neutralized darkness.
Zevarin Fortress became a battlefield of light and shadow. Each swing of a sword sparked explosions. Walls collapsed. The earth cracked.
Eiran tried to intervene, but there was no space for words.

---
At the climax, Kalea allowed herself to be struck.
Cyrion’s sword pierced her abdomen.
“Why... didn’t you dodge?” he asked, breathless.
Kalea smiled—a broken, cunning smile.
“Because now... you’re mine.”
Kalea’s body glowed—not from magic, but from the final seal of the Gray Pact: the Curse of Eternal Sorrow.
Cyrion’s soul was pulled into Kalea, sealed with the weeping voices within her.
His body collapsed. Empty.
Eiran rushed to Kalea, catching her as she fell to her knees, blood dripping from her lips.
“Why would you do that?!”
Kalea looked into his eyes, weak yet resolute.
“Because the world must remember... who turns smiles into sorrow.”

---
Days later, they returned to Nyxterra. Kalea was treated in the soul healing chamber by Elsera and the spirit priestesses. Her physical wounds healed fast, but the ones inside... remained unfathomable.
Eiran stayed at her side each night, holding her cold hand.
“Why are you still here?” Kalea asked one evening.
“Because I won’t let you fight alone anymore.”
Kalea looked at him. For the first time—without crown, without magic, without darkness—she was just a woman once hurt, and he, a man who wanted to heal her.

---
Elsewhere, in the ruins of Solvane’s tower, a hooded woman stood over a map.
“Cyrion has fallen,” she whispered.
Behind her, a humanoid shadow stepped forward.
“Then the time has come,” the being said.
“Awaken... ‘Him’.”

---
Darkness spread.
And Kalea’s true destiny... had only just begun.