5 Days before Damnation.
The Flame Lord and the Narrator stand facing a stone monolith, seemingly animate. It's thrashing around the wooded forest and destroying everything in its path. The monolith has humanoid, feminine-like features, and a toga-like clothing carved out of the stone it's made of. The Flame Lord and the Narrator to rush the being, striking against it with all their power.
"It's no use!" The Narrator said, "It's become too powerful."
"There's only one thing that I can think of," The Flame Lord responds.
Willing his divine energy, the Flame Lord blasts a divine insignia onto the beast's chest, and the stone around it begins to fracture. "Quick," The Flame Lord yells, "Attack it!" The Narrator, hearing this, launches himself toward the figure, his signature blue sword in hand. He lands a clean slice through the stone fragments, now weakened by the insignia. Soon, the stone shatters and breaks, leaving a woman's body.
A faint whisper is heard when the monolith dissipates. "You… Flame Lord… Darkness shall soon fall upon everyone you hold dear, and there is nothing you can do to stop it. Friends…Family… They will all die, and it will be by your hand. The shards of darkness are collecting, and you're their target. Prepare for damnation. It is soon upon you." The wind howls in the wake of these words. The Flame Lord's face goes pale, knowing all too well what that voice had meant. "Are you okay, Cameron?" The Narrator probes. The Flame Lord, hearing this, shakes himself out of his trance. "I'm fine," he responds, "I'll be fine. However, I'm not so sure she'll be." The Flame Lord gestures over toward the unconscious woman. The two head over towards her. The woman is unconscious, and is wearing a toga similar to that of the monolith.
"Whatever power she had, it seems to have drained from her," The Narrator said.
"I should be able to fix that," The Flame Lord responds.
The Flame Lord takes his hand and presses it to her, and a course of yellowish-orange energy seeps out from him and into the woman. Once this is finished, the woman no longer looks as pale as she did before, and her eyes begin to open. She has a deep, brown eye color and hair to match. The woman is lightly tanned, and the toga she was wearing is stained with mud, and rock debris. Slowly, she makes it to her feet. Her feet are bare, and they don't seem dirty or unkempt. It's as if she had been preserved while inside the statue. "Who…Who are you two?" She asks. "We are The Narrator and the Flame Lord," The Narrator responds, "Might I ask who you are?" The woman scrunches her face, trying to come up with an answer. The Narrator looks concerned with the amount of thought she's putting into her answer.
"You can trust us, if that's the problem," The Narrator said.
"No, no… It's not," the woman said, "It's not that I don't trust you…"
"What is it, then?"
"I… I can't…"
"You can't- what?"
"I can't remember!"
This revelation startles the Narrator. She doesn't remember her name, he thinks.
"What do you remember?" The Narrator asks.
The woman begins to struggle again, not able to recall her past.
"I don't know why or how I'm here… I don't know who you are… Or who I am," The woman continues, "Who am I?"
Who is she, the Narrator thought. The Narrator looked over to the Flame Lord, to see if maybe he knew what to say. The Flame Lord passes an equally puzzled look back to the Narrator.
"What is my name?" The woman asks.
What am I supposed to say to her? The Narrator thinks
"What do we tell her?" The Narrator whispers to the Flame Lord.
"I don't know," The Flame Lord responds, "Aren't you supposed to know, Mr. Narrator?"
"You do know I don't know everything, right?"
"I think it started with a 'K'," the woman states, "Even if it didn't, I've always wanted a name that started with a 'K'..."
"K…. K… Names that start with K…" The Narrator thinks, "Krystal, Kayla…"
"Kara," The Flame Lord says.
"Kara…" the woman responds, "I like it…"
"What did that… thing mean when it said everything would fall to darkness?" The woman, now named Kara says.
"It was… referencing a curse… A curse I cannot talk about."
4 Days before Damnation:
Only a day has passed since the Narrator and the Flame Lord rescued Kara from whatever demon held her captive, and some memories have returned. Foggy, distant memories. With that surge of power the Flame Lord gave Kara, she was able to obtain divine status after losing whatever power she had while possessed. The Flame Lord sits in the King's Castle over the city he rules, when a familiar figure walks forward.
"Alice!" The Flame Lord says.
"Yes, Cameron, it's me," Alice returns, "I've made sure to take good care of your new friend you brought back with you yesterday. She told me about a curse."
"You know too well about this curse," The Flame Lord, Cameron, responds, "and you know too well I don't wish to talk about it."
"I'm assuming you've recruited her so you can have a second ring on that finger?"
"You know you're my only one, right?"
"Yes, I know this. Those suppressors are quite powerful, are they not?"
Cameron looks down upon the ring on his right hand. It's a ring of gold, with an opal adorned in the center. It glows vividly, showing how hard it's working to repress the excess energy flowing through.
"I fear one isn't enough anymore," Cameron responds.
The Flame Lord gets up from his seat and walks down the corridor. Alice follows behind. The two end up outside the castle, and Alice's golden blonde hair flows in the wind, nearly obscuring her light blue eyes. Her royal wear shimmers in the sunlight.
"Flame day is almost upon us," Cameron says, "I am going to ask for her hand then."
"That is, if I'm still myself then," he whispers under his breath.
3 Days before damnation.
People have gathered in town square. The Flame Lord stands at a podium ready to speak to the crowd. He taps the microphone a few times and the crowd begins to settle. Looking on into the crowd, there are probably hundreds of people, if not thousands gathered from around Herotopia to hear the Flame Lord's Flame Day speech.
"As we all know, Flame Day is upon us, where our world merges with that of the Flame Realm for three days and three nights," The Flame Lord starts, "Some of you may also know that we have a new face with us." The Flame Lord gestures toward Kara, seated right behind him. Murmurs spread through the crowd as they now notice her new divine signature.
"During Flame Day, a special ceremony will take place to celebrate both the flame, and something else special to me." The Flame Lord looks over back at Kara. Kara nods in understanding. Before continuing with his speech, the Flame Lord looks back over to the opal ring. The energy is radiating faster than before, and the energy seems darker. The Flame Lord breaks a look of concern, and the audience murmurs to themselves seeing their leader's will falter.
The Flame Lord shuffles around his papers and tries to continue the speech.
"As we all know…" he starts, stumbling through his words, "We all know the importance of Flame Day. Flame Day is…" The Flame Lord stops speaking for a moment, and his eyes, once a beautiful, crimson red, now radiate a dark, oppressing black.
"Flame Day is the day you all will die," The Flame Lord muses, "All of you will feel the wrath of damnation, and you will all suffer. Mark my words. You only have 2 days." The black hue in his eyes leaves, and then they roll back as the Flame Lord slumps over and passes out. Kara wears a shocked look, and Alice is horrified. The Narrator sits back and watches the whole thing happen, a look of nervousness crossing his face before quickly dissipating. The Narrator pulls out a small radio and says, "Can we get a medical dispatch down to the Main Hall? It's starting…"
2 days before Damnation
The dark glow from the opal ring has subsided, and has resumed its regular glow. The Flame Lord was examined for the greater part of an hour before being held at the royal clinic for the remainder of the night. Soon he had jolted awake near the witching hours, and a team of staff came in again to examine his energy levels, which had returned to normal. He was then admitted out of the hospital and returned home.
Later that evening, The Flame Lord and the Narrator were setting up more things in the town square.
"Shouldn't you be resting?" The Narrator asked, "That was quite the episod you had the other day…"
"No," The Flame Lord responds, "If I let my guard down, then I'll lose control faster."
"But I mean with helping with decorations for the festival," The Narrator rebuttals, "I worry about you sometimes."
The two begin rolling out a banner.
"And don't think I haven't noticed your ring," The Narrator adds.
"You saw that?" the Flame Lord asks.
"Yeah. Before you… said what you said, I noticed a different energy signature come off of your ring. It was ominous and onerous."
"I'll be fine."
The glow coming off of the Flame Lord's ring begins to intensify, and grows a tinge darker.
Eve of Damnation
Kara sits in the throne hall, waiting for the Flame Lord to arrive. Some moments pass and she hears the main door close. Kara looks up to see the Flame Lord, dressed in Royal attire. The shimmering golden red reflects the dimly lit dawn sunlight coming in through the stained glass windows in the hallway, and billows like fire as the Flame Lord walks forward.
"You're here, finally," Kara states.
"How long have you been waiting for?" The Flame Lord asks.
"I've been here since dawn."
"Sorry that I've kept you waiting this long."
A strong silence passes through the air, before it is broken again by the Flame Lord.
"If you are to marry me, then there is something I should tell you…" the Flame Lord starts, "About my curse."
"What about it?"
"The reason this ceremony is even happening in the first place. Alice is making another suppressor ring for the darkness, and this ceremony is to keep everyone in the dark. I can't have a secret this big getting out. It would cause mass panic and the kingdom would fall."
"Then why am I here? Wouldn't this work with anyone else, then?"
"Because I like you, Kara."
"You've only known me for 5 days, or at least I've only known you for that long."
"But you do understand the importance of this ceremony, right?"
Kara looks away and sighs.
"I understand."
"Alright then… There's a royal dress in your room for tomorrow. I'll be wearing what you see right now." The Flame Lord turns around. "This ceremony MUST go to plan, lest the world end. I'll ask you again. Do you understand?"
"Yes, Cameron… I understand."
Day of Damnation.
Bells can be heard ringing in the distance. People are gathering around town square as the festivities commence, which will culminate in the grand ceremony planned by the Flame Lord. The sky is a brilliant orange, and the clouds look like dancing flames in the sky. The link between the Flame Realm and the Earth has tightened, and the two are leaking into each other. However, on the far side of the universe, a dark presence lingers. "I have waited so long for this day to pass…" an oppressive voice whispers in the cosmos. "My time has come." A dark force begins to drift along through the universe, with one target in mind. The force begins to manifest, first as a cloud of dust, which clump into hundreds of tiny specks, before one-hundred sharp fragments are seen drifting through space.
"The ceremony is going swimmingly," The Flame Lord says.
"Yes," Alice responds, "Our people are having a great time."
"The sky was always beautiful this time of year."
"You always say that when Flame Day rolls around."
"I know I do. There's just something so enchanting about the sky, the way the clouds roll past."
"Well you do have origins from the Flame Realm. You like to meditate there on occasion, too. Though, sometimes I wish you made time for me and the kids."
"I always have time for you, Alice. And Luke and Nashi."
The bells chime once again, signaling the main event.
"Well Alice, It's time for the ceremony to take place," The Flame Lord says, before leaving out on stage where a sitting Kara, dressed in the finest royal wear, waits for him.
The bells continue to chime as the Flame Lord walks down the pathway toward the main stand. Everyone watches in awe as their king walks down dressed in royal wear. Soon, the Flame Lord made it up to the stand, and the bells silenced. Kara and the Narrator sit in the back behind the podium as the Flame Lord begins to speak.
"As we all know, today is Flame Day. A special day, which we will conclude with a special ceremony," The Flame Lord starts, "Kara. Stand up please."
Kara stands from her seat behind the podium.
"Today will be the day I wed my second wife."
Murmurs spread through the crowd.
"I have asked my friend, the Narrator… Robert, to officiate the ceremony. Please stand."
The Narrator stands up. He's wearing a dark tuxedo with a decorative collar, and a light blue bowtie contrasting the dark, clashing against it. Slowly, the Narrator approaches the podium as the Flame Lord steps down in front of the stand. He gestures for Kara to follow.
Kara and the Flame Lord stand, facing each other. The Flame Lord has a genuine smile. Kara's smile looks forced.
"Kara," the Flame Lord starts. The Flame Lord begins to speak, and thoughts are beginning to race through Kara's mind.
"Well… I," Kara starts, trying to find the words. While kara was looking for what to say, The Flame lord looked at her with sincerity, love and compassion in his eyes, and he thought to himself, is this the right thing to do? I've seen the hesitation in her since I've brought this up…
The abhorrent energy made its way to Earth. "Soon, my time will come," the voice boasts, "Darkness shall cloak this land once again."
I have to do this… for the good of the people, but will I be able to forgive myself afterward…
The Narrator can be heard droning off the standard wedding speech, till death do they part. "Do you, Cameron "Flame Lord" Connett, take Kara to be your lawfully wedded wife?" He finally says.
The Flame Lord pauses for a second, "Kara, I promise you, after the ceremony has concluded, I will make sure to recover your lost memories." Kara smiles, a genuine smile.
"I do," the Flame Lord replies, slipping a gold ring onto Kara's hand.
"Kara," the Narrator starts, now looking over at Kara, "Do you take Cameron as your lawfully wedded husband?"
The Flame Lord looks at her with anticipation, waiting for her answer. The onlookers stare intently. A look of nervousness breaks over Kara, as she contemplates her answer.
"I do," Kara responds.
A wave of relief washes over the Flame Lord as he holds out his hand. Kara holds the specially crafted ring made by Alice to put on the Flame Lord's outstretched hand. The ring is a golden ring adorned with a small onyx gem, glimmering from the golden orange sky.
As Kara goes to slide the ring on his hand, a glance of shock passes through the Flame Lord. The output of the opal ring has increased exponentially and has turned a deep black. Suddenly, dozens of tiny shards start to assault the Flame Lord causing his body to jerk heavily with each impact until all one hundred shards have invaded him. Kara, in shock, dropped the ring onto the floor, making a small clink sound when it landed. The opal ring on the Flame Lord's finger continues to pour out energy as he lifts his hand up, and slowly slides the ring off.
"Cameron, what're you doing?" The Narrator asks, concerned.
"Are you alright?" Alice adds.
"What's happening?" Kara asks.
"What's happening, is that Cameron isn't here anymore," the possessed Flame Lord responds, "Now, it's me, the King of Flame, and harbinger of Darkness."