Flash Return - Two Hearts, One Lie

✦ 𝐂𝐮𝐭𝐚𝐰𝐚𝐲 — 𝐓𝐡𝐞 𝐖𝐚𝐭𝐜𝐡𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐂𝐫𝐨𝐰𝐝 ✦

In the stands, Kael’s jaw tightened. His fists clenched until his knuckles turned white.

“Blank…? Or hiding something?” Suspicion sharpened his glare, colder than ever.

For the first time, Kael’s fire felt cold.

Beside him, Archon Arval’s lips curved into a thin smile. 𝗣𝗲𝗿𝗳𝗲𝗰𝘁. 𝗟𝗲𝘁 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝘀𝗶𝗹𝗲𝗻𝗰𝗲 𝗱𝗼 𝗺𝘆 𝘄𝗼𝗿𝗸.

The crowd saw reverence. Arval saw opportunity. In silence, power learns to whisper.

(Archons’ 𝐒𝐮𝐬𝐩𝐢𝐜𝐢𝐨𝐧)

In the nobles’ balcony, whispers cut sharp as knives.

“If the heir falters… who will carry Heaven’s crown?” “Perhaps Heaven will need a new sun.”

Arval let the words linger, his silence louder than approval.

𝗔 𝗽𝗿𝗶𝗻𝗰𝗲 𝘄𝗵𝗼 𝗮𝘄𝗮𝗸𝗲𝗻𝘀 𝗻𝗼𝘁𝗵𝗶𝗻𝗴? 𝗧𝗵𝗲 𝗰𝗿𝗮𝗰𝗸𝘀 𝗶𝗻 𝘁𝗵𝗲𝗶𝗿 𝗳𝗮𝗶𝘁𝗵 𝘄𝗶𝗹𝗹 𝘀𝗽𝗿𝗲𝗮𝗱 𝘁𝗵𝗲𝗺𝘀𝗲𝗹𝘃𝗲𝘀.

✦ 𝐓𝐡𝐞 𝐑𝐞𝐭𝐮𝐫𝐧 ✦

Light fractured — sound forget itself and for a heartbeat, the world forgot how to move.

Every eye fixed on the Tree, waiting for the portal to spit me out like everyone before.

But it never did.

A soundless flash — gold and violet — blinked across the arena floor.

One instant empty.

Next instant — me.

No portal, no shimmer, no descent.

Just presence.

Gasps rippled late, like the world needed a second to realize I was already there.

Even the God King’s gaze twitched — a rare flicker of disbelief.

For the first time, the immovable looked unsure.

His eyes narrowed, molten gold flaring; even Tenjin’s breath skipped — a motion so small only those who carried the Crown would notice.

but the question rolled across Heaven like thunder.

“When?” whispered a High Deity. “How?” asked another.

The Tree still shimmered, open — untouched.

I dusted off my sleeve, the smirk already set.

“I’ve been out for a while,” I said, almost lazily. “You all just blinked late.”

Silence detonated — sharper than any roar.

Even my father’s expression broke for a fraction of a second — the faintest sign of something almost human: surprise.

He didn’t see me move.

Above, the Crown Hall flickered — one light pulse missing from Heaven’s rhythm.

For a breath, the universe itself lagged behind me.

I hit the arena stone; knees burned. Breath came ragged but steady.

My hands still burned with echoes of fire, water, wind, earth, light… and something else.

A sting crawled behind my eyes—small, sharp—like light trying to bleed out through my pupils. I blinked until it vanished.

The violet-gold ember thrummed inside my chest, steady and terrifying, like a heartbeat that wasn’t mine.

For a second, 𝑰 𝒕𝒉𝒐𝒖𝒈𝒉𝒕 𝑰 𝒉𝒆𝒂𝒓𝒅 𝒕𝒘𝒐 𝒉𝒆𝒂𝒓𝒕𝒔 — one mine, one Heaven’s — trying to sync and failing.

The roar hit me next.

The arena wasn’t silent anymore.

Thousands of voices crashed together into a single tidal wave — gasps, cheers, screams of awe.

The air itself shimmered, charged with color and heat. For a heartbeat, it felt like the world had forgotten what silence was.

Then the Divine Tree began to glow — veins of light racing upward through its trunk.

Above me, the Divine Tree towered, its leaves blazing one by one:

𝗥𝗲𝗱 — 𝗙𝗶𝗿𝗲

𝗕𝗹𝘂𝗲 — 𝗪𝗮𝘁𝗲𝗿

𝗚𝗿𝗲𝗲𝗻 — 𝗪𝗶𝗻𝗱

𝗕𝗿𝗼𝘄𝗻 — 𝗘𝗮𝗿𝘁𝗵

𝗩𝗶𝗼𝗹𝗲𝘁-𝘄𝗵𝗶𝘁𝗲 — 𝗟𝗶𝗴𝗵𝘁𝗻𝗶𝗻𝗴

𝗦𝗶𝗹𝘃𝗲𝗿-𝗯𝗹𝘂𝗲 — 𝗜𝗰𝗲

The colors rippled across my skin, each one humming against my veins like a forgotten song remembering its tune.

But beneath that music, something hummed off-key — an echo the Tree hadn’t taught.

Gasps rose when the rare colors flared — violet-white lightning and silver-blue ice, the kinds of affinities most priests only whispered about in bedtime myths.

But deep beneath that harmony, something else pulsed — quieter, older, wrong.

A rhythm that didn’t match the Tree’s song, like a second heartbeat trying to answer it.

The crowd erupted:

“The Prince of Heaven carries so many affinities!”

Far above, the skies rippled faintly — 𝗮 𝘀𝗼𝘂𝗻𝗱𝗹𝗲𝘀𝘀 𝗯𝗲𝗹𝗹 𝘁𝗼𝗹𝗹𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝘁𝗵𝗿𝗼𝘂𝗴𝗵 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗰𝗹𝗼𝘂𝗱𝘀, unnoticed by most but echoing in the bones of gods.

“Impossible!” “All at once — no one in history has carried this many!”

✦ 𝐓𝐡𝐞 S𝐨𝐮𝐥-𝐁𝐨𝐫𝐧 𝐆𝐢𝐟𝐭 ✦

It didn’t feel like light. 𝗜𝘁 𝗳𝗲𝗹𝘁 𝗹𝗶𝗸𝗲 𝘀𝗼𝗺𝗲𝘁𝗵𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝗿𝗲𝗺𝗲𝗺𝗯𝗲𝗿𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝗵𝗼𝘄 𝘁𝗼 𝗯𝘂𝗿𝗻.

“Every child carried a Soul-Born power alongside their elements — Kael with his, Lyra with hers, even the others before us. But mine…”

golden radiance wrapping me, shaping into a blazing projection of power.

𝗔 𝗦𝗼𝘂𝗹-𝗕𝗼𝗿𝗻 𝗗𝗶𝘃𝗶𝗻𝗲 𝗣𝗼𝘄𝗲𝗿

The Tree shimmered only with elemental hues — the gold that wrapped me came from inside: Soul-Born.

The gold bled through every color — calm, alive, infinite.

The Arena lost its mind. Priests fell to their knees, shrieking prayers. Scholars dropped quills, scrolls scattering across marble. Nobles fainted; their bodies carried back by attendants.

Even hardened soldiers stumbled, trembling under the weight of it.

No child in Heaven’s history had ever awakened most affinities and a Soul-Born gift together.

To the world, it was a miracle.

To me, it was a mask — because the real spark still caged inside was far worse.

✦ 𝐌𝐨𝐭𝐡𝐞𝐫 𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐅𝐚𝐭𝐡𝐞𝐫 ✦

My eyes found my mother first.

Yumi stood at the edge of the royal stand, silver hair spilling forward, eyes wet but unwavering.

She pressed her hand to her lips, then to her chest, like she was holding me with sheer will.

For once, I didn’t want to be divine — I just wanted to stay her son.

I knew those eyes. They said everything she couldn’t scream in front of the world:

𝗧𝗵𝗮𝘁’𝘀 𝗺𝘆 𝘀𝗼𝗻. 𝗠𝘆 𝗺𝗶𝗿𝗮𝗰𝗹𝗲. 𝗠𝘆 𝗛𝗮𝗶𝘀𝗲.

For once, my heart eased.

Then my gaze shifted to my father.

Tenjin — God King, the immovable storm. He didn’t smile, didn’t cry, didn’t even move. But his presence pressed on me like the weight of a thousand storms.

His vow to me — 𝗥𝗶𝗽𝗽𝗹𝗲 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝘄𝗼𝗿𝗹𝗱 𝗶𝘁𝘀𝗲𝗹𝗳 — echoed in the silence between our eyes.

𝗚𝗼𝗼𝗱. 𝗬𝗼𝘂 𝘀𝘂𝗿𝘃𝗶𝘃𝗲𝗱. 𝗡𝗼𝘄 𝗯𝗲𝗮𝗿 𝗶𝘁.

𝑵𝒐 𝒑𝒓𝒆𝒔𝒔𝒖𝒓𝒆, 𝒓𝒊𝒈𝒉𝒕?

✦ 𝐊𝐚𝐞𝐥 𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐋𝐲𝐫𝐚 ✦

Kael’s fists clenched so tight I thought he’d bleed. His fire and lightning should’ve made him glow with pride.

“He even bore a Soul-Born gift of his own — a mark every awakened child carried. But compared to me, it looked small, ordinary.”

Instead, his eyes locked on me — sharp, suspicious, smoldering.

A soldier’s eyes. Measuring me not as a friend, but as a rival.

I gave him a crooked grin and mouthed: 𝗗𝗼𝗻’𝘁 𝗽𝗼𝘂𝘁.

He didn’t smile back. Of course he didn’t.

Jealousy wears his face better than pride ever did.

In his eyes, I saw it — not hatred, just 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗮𝗰𝗵𝗲 𝗼𝗳 𝗯𝗲𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝗮𝗹𝗺𝗼𝘀𝘁 𝗲𝗻𝗼𝘂𝗴𝗵.

Lyra, though… she was different.

She pushed through the crowd, her soft hands slipping into mine without hesitation.

Her awakening had shown wind, ice, and the Soul-Born radiance that strengthened her healing — but when she looked at me, none of that mattered. Only me.

“You did it,” she whispered, breathless but smiling.

Her eyes sparkled with a warmth you can’t fake.

Something in me cracked — not power, not pain. Just… relief.

I grinned, trying to smother my racing heart with sarcasm.

“Yeah, sure. Piece of cake. Totally didn’t almost get eaten by emotional trauma and nightmare monsters.”

She giggled, but her hand squeezed mine tighter.

Her warmth reached where even the Tree hadn’t.

For a moment, the noise of the world faded.

✦ The Archons Whispers ✦

Of course, not everyone was clapping.

The Archons — vultures in silk robes — whispered sharp enough to cut glass.

Their eyes darted between the glowing leaves and me like I was a puzzle piece that didn’t fit.

I caught scraps, even over the roar of the crowd:

“Impossible.” “Not impossible,” another whispered, “unnatural. The Heart doesn’t err.”

“What did the Tree really see?”

Archon Arval Nyx didn’t even bother hiding his stare.

He studied me 𝗹𝗶𝗸𝗲 𝗮 𝗺𝗮𝗻 𝘀𝘁𝘂𝗱𝗶𝗲𝘀 𝗮 𝗯𝗹𝗮𝗱𝗲 𝗵𝗲 𝗶𝘀𝗻’𝘁 𝘀𝘂𝗿𝗲 𝗵𝗲 𝗰𝗮𝗻 𝗰𝗼𝗻𝘁𝗿𝗼𝗹.

His son Kael had fire — predictable, loyal fire.

And me? I was 𝘄𝗮𝗹𝗸𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝗰𝗵𝗮𝗼𝘀 𝗶𝗻 𝗿𝗼𝘆𝗮𝗹 𝗿𝗼𝗯𝗲𝘀.

Yeah, no way that wasn’t going to bite me later.

✦ 𝐓𝐡𝐞 𝐌𝐚𝐬𝐤 ✦

The applause thundered.

Children pointed. Soldiers bowed. Priests began spinning prayers before I’d even left the tree’s shadow.

And me?

I put on a smile. A perfect, rehearsed, royal smile. The kind that says:

𝗬𝗲𝘀, 𝗜 𝗮𝗺 𝘆𝗼𝘂𝗿 𝘀𝗵𝗶𝗻𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝗵𝗲𝗶𝗿. 𝗬𝗲𝘀, 𝗜 𝗮𝗺 𝗛𝗲𝗮𝘃𝗲𝗻’𝘀 𝗮𝗻𝘀𝘄𝗲𝗿. 𝗬𝗲𝘀, 𝗜 𝗮𝗺 𝗲𝗑𝗮𝘁𝗹𝘆 𝘄𝗵𝗮𝘁 𝘆𝗼𝘂 𝘄𝗮𝗻𝘁 𝗺𝗲 𝘁𝗼 𝗯𝗲.

It was a mask.

My cheeks hurt from smiling. My ribs from pretending.

But 𝗺𝗮𝘀𝗸𝘀 𝗮𝗿𝗲 𝗮𝗿𝗺𝗼𝗿 — and right now, I needed armor.

Because underneath the cheers, the ember inside me pulsed harder. Violet-gold. Cosmic.

Something no one had seen. Something no one was supposed to see.

✦ 𝐄𝐍𝐃 — 𝐂𝐡𝐚𝐩𝐭𝐞𝐫 𝟭5 — 𝐅𝐥𝐚𝐬𝐡 𝐑𝐞𝐭𝐮𝐫𝐧 — 𝐓𝐰𝐨 𝐇𝐞𝐚𝐫𝐭𝐬, 𝐎𝐧𝐞 𝐋𝐢𝐞 ✦