Chapter 81 The Third Flame and the Existential Migraine
Darkness.
Not the poetic kind. Not the “stars whispering secrets” kind.
Nope. This was the “I might’ve just broken reality. Something is bound to jump out and kill me at any second” kind.
I blinked. Once. Twice. Still dark. Still scary, even the air here tasted like a bad decision.
Then a voice—mine, but not mine—echoed in my head.
You touched both. You chose neither. Now you are neither.
“Okay,” I said aloud, “but have you considered shutting up?”
Light returned in a slow, dramatic fashion, like it was trying to win an award for Best Entrance. I found myself standing in a void. The Rift was gone. The others were gone. Even Milo—both versions—were gone.
Just me.
And the third flame.
It hovered in front of me, pulsing like a smug heartbeat.
“Let me guess,” I said. “You’re the evil one. The mysterious third option. The ‘what if Mo was a villain’ scenario.”
The flame didn’t respond. Rude.
Then, with a sound like a thousand regrets being whispered into a wine glass, the void cracked.
I fell.
Again.
I landed face-first in a pile of moss. Not metaphorical moss. Actual moss. Damp, squishy, and probably sentient. It smelled sweet and spicy, which was weird. I mean, moss is squishy and cold, possibly even wet, but I have never noticed the smell before.
“It’s sweet and spicy,” I said, allowing as I pulled my face from the moss.
“Mo?” Thessa’s voice rang out. “Are you alive or just dramatically unconscious?”
I groaned. “Define alive. And have you smelt this moss? It is sweet and spicy.”
Kael appeared above me, looking far too smug for someone who a magical void hadn’t just swallowed. “You missed the part where the Rift exploded. Again. Is it edible? We have almost eaten all our snacks. I am not opposed to eating moss if it tastes good.”
“Did it explode or just emotionally collapse?” I asked, sitting up.
“Both,” said Yuel. “It’s very versatile.”
The others gathered around, all looking mildly concerned and deeply annoyed.
“You vanished,” Milo said. “Both of you.”
“Which was honestly kind of peaceful,” Zeke added.
“Thanks,” I muttered.
“Do you think the moss is edible?” Kael huffs as he bends down to pick up some moss. Kael brings the moss close to his nose, and a large inhale can be heard before spitting and gagging.
“Nope! Totally don’t eat the moss,” Kael mutters between dry retching.
Ellira handed me a scroll. Another one. More royal wax. More passive-aggressive energy.
Dear Rift Tamperers,
We felt the explosion. So did the Council. And the goats. The goats are now unionizing.
We are sending Lord Varnish. He has already packed his enthusiasm and seventeen matching tunics.
Do not attempt to flee. He has a map. And a horse named Justice.
Fix it.
Or don’t. But if you don’t, we’ll have to hold a symposium on Magical Responsibility. You will be the keynote speakers.
Sincerely (but still not warmly),
The Queen & King of Aeloria
I handed the scroll to Kael. “Burn this.”
“With pleasure.”
“So,” Thessa said, arms crossed, “what did you see?”
I hesitated. “A third flame.”
Everyone went quiet.
“A third?” Talon asked. “That’s not in the records. Also, we can’t deal with two. Why the hell is there three?”
“Of course it’s not,” Yuel said. “The records are written by people who think turnips are dangerous.”
“It spoke,” I added. “In my head. Said I chose neither. That I’m neither.”
“That’s comforting,” Lira said. “In a ‘we’re all doomed’ kind of way.”
Milo stepped closer. “Did it feel… familiar?”
I looked at him. “It felt like regret. And bad decisions. So yes, very familiar.”
We stood in silence, the Rift now a jagged scar behind us in the earth. The flames were gone. The void was gone.
But something lingered.
A hum. A whisper. A presence.
“Okay,” Kael said, clapping his hands. “Let’s recap. Mo touched two flames, split into two versions, vanished into a void, met a third flame, and now reality is unraveling. And the moss isn’t edible.”
“Don’t forget the goats,” Zeke added.
“And Lord Varnish,” Thessa said. “We should really start running.”
“No,” I said, standing. “We need to understand what the third flame is. Why did it appear? What it wants. I can still hear Calyx in the wind.”
“Or,” Ellira said, “we could pretend this never happened and move to the coast.”
“I vote coast,” Kael said.
“Seconded,” Zeke added.
“Denied,” I said. “We’re solving this. We created it, so we have to solve this. The last thing we need is the Queen and King to blame us for more things. We have fixed so many that we can do this as well. We can make sure that Calyx doesn’t come back to this realm, and we can figure out what is now lurking because of the rift.”
The Rift pulsed again.
A shadow emerged.
Not a creature. Not a person.
A silhouette.
Of me.
But not me.
It stepped forward, eyes glowing with the same cold light as the third flame.
“Mo?” Milo whispered.
“No,” I said. “That’s the version that chose the third flame.”
The shadow smiled.
And then it spoke.
I am the choice you didn’t make. And now, I will make you. I will make you; I will make you, I will make you.
The words echoed around us, making me and the others shiver slightly.
“Well, that is disturbing,” Lira mutters as she turns this way and that.
“I would more say that it is more like the villain didn’t get any good lines,” Ellira adds with her daggers at the ready.
“Right, bad dialogue is the quickest way to end a villain,” Talon says
“I mean, what the hell is that ‘I will make you’, but there is no evil laugh, nothing. I am feeling slightly let down. There is no drama, just a villain that can only repeat a single sentence. Very disappointing.” Kael grumbles.