The battlefield was still smoking, and the air smelled of burned earth and ash. Small glowing embers drifted through the air, flickering before they disappeared.
Everything was quiet after the warlord's defeat, like the world was waiting to see what would happen next.
Micheal stood in the center, hiw veralune staff on the ground, his arms trembling a bit. His body no longer burned with golden fire, but a warm glow still attached to his skin, a flame waiting to be lit again.
His breathing was slow, but beneath that, chaos and confusion vanished within him.
He had won. They had all survived. But something was not as it should have been.
Kai broke the silence, planting his glaive in the ground for leverage. "That… was crazy." His breathing was strained, but there was a note of excitement and fear.
"Micheal, I don't know what the devil that was, but you were like a damn god out there."
Selene drew near, violet eyes flashing brighter as she approach Micheal. "It was not power alone." Her voice was gentle, "It was something else. That flame. it was living.".
Riven wiped blood from his lip with the back of his hand, his twin swords still clutched tightly. "We've been fighting side by side for some time now, but I've never seen you like this." He paused. "Hell, I've never seen anyone like this."
Micheal did not answer immediately. His hand flexed on the hilt of his sword. There was only one being in this place who could tell him what he needed to know and the being was Jade.
He walked over to her. She had not uttered a single word since the battle ceased, standing on the edge of the blackened earth, arms crossed, face expressionless.
"You knew," Micheal said, his words cutting through the silence. "Didn't you?"
Jade's golden eyes flashed, but she didn't say a word.
Kai stared between them. "Wait..what does she know?"
Selene's eyes narrowed. "Jade?"
Jade released a soft sigh, rubbing the back of her neck. "It's… complicated."
Micheal advanced a step. "Then make it simple." His voice was still, as he commanded.
Jade finally turned to face them, her usual smug confidence all gone now replaced by something more guarded. "I've seen flames like yours before." Her voice was low but clear. "Once, A long time ago."
The others exchanged uneasy glances.
"You mean there was someone else like Micheal?" Selene asked.
Jade nodded slowly. "Not just someone. A warrior, a myth,a legend." Her voice rose high slightly. "He was called the Last Flame King."
The name sent a shiver through the group. Even Kai, who never took anything seriously, stood up straight.
"That's a myth," Riven growled. "A fairy tale."
Jade's smile was crooked. "Stories always have some basis in fact."
Micheal's heart raced."What does that have to do with me?"
Jade gazed at him with an intense look. "Because you fight just like him."
There was silence among the group as both jade and Micheal pressed on.
Micheal shook his head. "That's impossible. I've never even heard of him before today."
Jade's expression softened but just for a moment. "That's the scary part, isn't it?"
Micheal took a slow breath, but inside, his mind was racing.
Fuzzy pictures filled his head. A burning battlefield. A sword covered in golden fire. Someone calling his name,it sounded familiar, but too far away.
No matter how much he tried, he couldn't remember it clearly.
"Do you know what happened to him?" Selene asked.
Jade shook her head. "He vanished. No body, no grave. Just vanished after the last great war."
"Could Micheal be… his descendant?" Kai asked.
Jade's eyes turned black. "Or his reincarnation."
The words hung in the air like lead.
Micheal wanted to deny it, to say it was ridiculous. But deep inside, something in him stirred, as though hearing a truth it had always known but never spoken aloud.
"I'm not a king," Micheal said quietly. "I'm just… me."
Jade's smiled. "Maybe. Or maybe you're someone who forgot who they were."
Before anyone could respond, a low, distant rumble echoed across the sky. The ground trembled just slightly but enough to set everyone on edge.
Selene immediately turned, her daggers back in her hands. "Seems we got another company"
Micheal's senses became sharper, his exhaustion pushed away by instinct. Whatever strength he had roused, it had enhanced him to become fully aware of the world around him, more than ever before. He could feel the faraway pulse of some energy, faint but increasing.
Jade approached him. "They felt it."
Micheal's brow furrowed. "Felt what?"
"The moment you unleashed that power, every high level force in this region felt it." Jade's voice was grim. "And now they're coming."
Kai shouted. "Can we ever catch a break?"
Riven twirled his swords, a tired but determined smile on his lips. "We've made enough noise for a lifetime."
"Who's coming?" Micheal asked.
Jade's gaze turned to the horizon, where dark shapes were slowly coalescing out of the distant mist. "Everyone."
A World Shaken
The Crimson Warlord's demise was supposed to be a victory in their fight. But rather, it had turned into a beacon, and it was drawing to them every warlord, mercenary, assassin and ancient hatred in the world.
Selene set her eyes up. "We have to go."
Micheal hesitated. "Go where?"
"There's only one place left we can find out." Jade said with a smirk.
Micheal's gaze met hers. "Where?
Jade's grin was sharp. "The Ruins of Solara. Where the Last Flame King was coronated."
The air shifted, carrying the scent of distant fires and something else-something ancient awakening from slumber.
Micheal's grip tightened on his sword. Whatever the truth was, whatever secrets Jade held, he would find them.
But first, they had to survive what was coming next.
"We move at dawn," Micheal said firmly.
Kai stretched, groaning. "You're gonna owe me food for all this."
Selene's smile was faint but real. "You'll survive."
Riven glanced at Jade. "You're leading us into hell, aren't you?"
Jade with a faint smile. "Always."
And with that, the next chapter of their journey began not with victory, but with a question.
Who was Micheal?
And what was he truly meant to become?