Darkness.
But not empty.
Lucian floated in the void—no body, no breath, no sound—only sensation. Like drifting through a sea of ash and memory. Then the silence cracked.
A whisper.
> "Fire remembers."
Flames bloomed around him, not painful but alive—memories seared into light. Before him, visions began to unfold, each one sharper than the last.
The sky was red.
Armies marched across blackened fields.
Dragons, vast and terrible, shrieked as they fell from the heavens. Titans shattered mountains with fists wrapped in molten chains.
At the center stood a figure wreathed in fire—his face obscured by a mask of light, a burning crown upon his head.
> "The world was once shaped by myth. Until mortals forgot."
Lucian saw cities devoured by sand, oceans boiling under moonless nights, and ancient kings kneeling before flame.
Then—a battle.
The Cinder King stood at the edge of a dying world, battling beings of ice, wind, and light.
Among them… was Lucian.
Or someone who looked like him.
He wore golden armor, a flaming spear in his hand, eyes fierce with purpose. The mark on his palm was complete—not one shard, but seven—glowing with divine heat.
The vision-Lucian faced the Cinder King.
They clashed.
And the world cracked.
---
Reality — Babylon Ruins
Lucian gasped awake, choking on smoke and heat. His body trembled. His chest felt like it had been branded from within.
Yena knelt beside him, sweat streaking her face, blade still drawn. The ruins around them smoldered. Ashira and her soldiers were gone—vanished into the storm that had erupted during the awakening.
"You're awake," Yena breathed, relieved but wary.
Lucian sat up slowly, blinking against the glare of the rising sun over the desert.
"I saw… the war," he said hoarsely. "The true one. Before all this. Before history forgot."
Yena helped him stand. "That's what the shard does. It doesn't just awaken your power—it unlocks your bloodline."
Lucian looked at his hand.
The mark had changed.
Now it had two segments lit.
And above his brow, just for a flickering second, the image of a three-pointed crown shimmered before fading.
He turned to Yena. "I've fought the Cinder King before. In another life."
Yena didn't respond. But her eyes shone with something more than surprise.
Hope.
---
Elsewhere — The Ember Court
A citadel of black stone rose from a lake of fire. The sky above churned with smoke and embers. Here, in the heart of the Fire Realm, the Ember Court stood in silence as Ashira knelt before a vast obsidian throne.
Upon it sat a being so immense, his very breath shook the air—a figure cloaked in molten steel, a crown of ruin resting above his brow.
The Cinder King.
Ashira's voice was strained. "He has accepted the shard. Two now burn within him."
The King did not speak for a long time. When he did, his voice echoed with the weight of collapsed stars.
> "Then the Phoenix returns."
Ashira flinched. "Shall I hunt him again, my king?"
The Cinder King rose. The flames at his feet surged, coiling like serpents.
> "No. Let him burn."
> "The third shard will find him… or destroy him."
He raised one hand.
Far away, across the fractured Realms, a new sigil pulsed in the stone of an ancient ruin.
> "Let the trials begin."
---
Back in the Desert
Lucian and Yena stood at the edge of the excavation, watching as military trucks arrived—contacted by Yena's hidden network.
"We can't stay here," Yena said. "Ashira will strike again. But not alone. Now that the shards have begun to awaken, others will follow. Not just her."
Lucian nodded, still watching the flames die down over the ruins. "I saw other forces in the vision. Ice. Wind. Storm. They're real, aren't they?"
"They are," Yena said. "Mythborne like you. Descendants of ancient pantheons. Some lost. Some hidden. And some… very much alive."
Lucian looked at her. "We need allies."
Yena's smile was grim. "Then you'll want to meet the Oracle of Delphi."
Lucian blinked. "She's real?"
Yena nodded. "And she's been waiting for you."