Chapter 192: The Nameless Flame
Chapter 192: The Nameless Flame
Adira’s POV
Without a name, I woke up.
Around me, there was no fire. Not a star. No wind. Only a faint radiance, a kind of memory mist, and an odd warmth on my face.
I couldn't recall who I was.
I couldn't recall who I was.
However, I did recall one thing.
The hurt of a broken heart.
With my body weightless, I gently sat up. The area surrounding me was unreal; it lacked a sky, walls, and an end. Under my fingers, there was only a gentle white light stretch. I put my hand to my chest. It had stopped burning. Nor was it chilly. It was... deserted.
Where was I?
“Hello,” a voice said gently.
I pivoted.
In front of me was a boy who was no more than ten years old. He glowed brightly like stars, with galaxies for eyes. His hair resembled silver smoke wisps. Nevertheless, his smile was human and compassionate.
He bowed.
He remarked, "I've been waiting for you."
I gave him a blink. "Am I familiar with you?"
"In a sense," he answered. "I'm the remnant of a flame that never decided on a shape. The first spark that didn't burn was me.
"I don't get it."
He responded, "You will," and moved forward. "But first, are you familiar with your name?"
I parted my lips.
Nothing was revealed.
Confused, I shook my head. "I... I had one. I believe. However, it is no longer there.
The boy gave a nod. That's alright. There are no names here—just the facts.
He extended his hand.
Images bloomed like reflections in water, and the emptiness behind him glistened. I saw faces I didn’t know. A man was yelling my name. A golden-haired child sobbing in a flaming circle. A blade. A crown. A tempest.
None of them, however, made sense.
The boy remarked, "They're all pieces of you." "However, you're not yet prepared to wear them."
"Why not?" I said.
He grinned. "Because you haven't decided what you want to do next."
Ash was shattering the fabric of time somewhere.
He ripped through a series of realities, each one bending as he pushed through long-lost timelines, dreams, and memories. He had been beaten. Like a dying star, his fire waned, yet he persisted.
He yelled, "Adira!" into the seam.
She didn't respond.
On one timeline, she was a flameless farmer, holding a child on her lap and grinning.
She was the queen of stars in another, but her eyes were icy.
She was a villain in another, a smoke-shadow queen.
With that one, Ash staggered back.
"No," he said. "That isn't her."
He clasped the silver feather, which had been Adira's final present before she disappeared, on his chest.
"I'll track down the true you."
The ember throbbed in Solenne's hands as she stood before a shattered star at the edge of the world. Although she was older, with years etched in her eyes, her soul was more radiant than ever.
The Council had dispersed. The kid was gone.
But she had waited for the sign, protecting the ember.
It took the shape of a gate.
Above the ground, a ring of fire emerged in the sky, humming like a heartbeat.
It wasn't created by magic. It was older than that.
"The Flame Before Flame," the flames said quietly.
Holding the ember toward the gate, Solenne took a step forward.
The flames went out.
Then the way became clear.
The boy sat next to me, back in the emptiness.
Around us, I had seen memory after memory blossom and fade. They were stunning. Odd. Unpleasant. They didn't feel like mine, though. They were all far from home.
"Why am I here?" At last, I inquired.
He cocked his head. "Because your flame was too intense." Sometimes, even the most intense flames lose sight of their former selves due to the heat.
Once more, I stroked my chest.
Still vacant.
"Am I ever going to remember?"
The boy got up. "You can. But there is a choice in remembering.
He gestured.
Behind him, a path of stars stretched into the distance. There was a throne at its edge, familiar but unfamiliar. Light and shadow combined to form its shape.
The boy said, "You can come back." "You can reign as queen once more. You are needed by the globe.
I had trembling hands.
"What if I don't?"
He grinned. After that, you remain here. Free. Secure. No name. Not a fire. No discomfort.
Between the road and the fog, I peered. I was unsure about my desires. I had no idea who I was. I just experienced a sensation in the pit of my chest.
That I was still getting calls from someone out there.
"I..." I began, then halted.
I looked from the throne away.
"I'm not sure yet."
The star-road dimmed behind me. However, the fire ahead started to flare up once more.