[Scene Opens – Inner Sanctum of the Citadel]
Elara collapses onto her knees, hands gripping the stone floor.
A strange hum fills the air — like a dragon breathing behind the walls.
Arav (rushing to her):
"Elara! What did you see?! What is this?!"
Elara (in pain, eyes glowing):
"It's not… me. It's... waking."
The crystal shard Orren gave Arav pulses in his hand.
The light from his mark responds — not with pain… but recognition.
---
[Scene: The Past Reawakens – Flashback Unlocked]
A vision forces itself into Elara's mind — not a memory, but a lock being opened.
She sees herself as a child, surrounded by flames — not afraid, but laughing in them.
Voices whisper:
> "She is the last Flamebearer…"
"Seal her before she consumes the skies…"
"The fire isn't cursed… it's conscious."
Elara screams — but not in fear.
In defiance.
Her body lifts into the air, hair burning with golden strands, her eyes like embers.
Arav (stunned):
"Elara… you…"
Elara (echoing voice):
"I am not just the Seeker.
I am the key to the Sixth Flame.
And you… you were never meant to see this."
---
[Scene: Elara vs. Arav – Power Clash]
Flames spiral around Elara, creating a shield that melts stone.
Arav (stepping forward):
"I'm not leaving you like this."
Elara (voice layered):
"Then you'll burn with me."
A blast of solar fire launches toward Arav. He raises the crystal just in time — deflecting it, barely.
But he's not fighting back.
Narrator (tense):
"She wasn't attacking him to kill.
She was trying to make him run."
---
[Scene: Memories Rewritten – Truth Revealed]
Elara suddenly gasps.
The fire dims — as her own reflected memory forms in the air.
Arav sees it — a moment from years ago.
A young Elara, hands glowing, standing over a crib — a baby with a strange birthmark.
Zia's voice (in memory):
"Hide her. She can never know what she is."
Another face appears — Arav's mother.
Arav (shocked):
"That's… my mother."
Elara breathes heavily.
Elara (tears streaming):
"I wasn't supposed to find you. I was sent to keep you away from the Citadel.
To stop you from becoming what you are now."
Arav:
"But you stayed. Why?"
Elara (softly):
"Because somewhere along the way… I stopped following orders.
I started following you."
---
[Scene: Aftermath – The Bond Reforged]
The fires die.
Elara collapses into Arav's arms, exhausted, the glow fading.
He holds her tight.
Arav (whispers):
"No more lies. Not from you. Not from anyone."
She nods, too tired to speak.
But even as silence falls… the walls shift again.
The Citadel has accepted her.
---
[Scene: Outside – Watching Eyes]
Far beyond the Hollow Citadel, in a cold, dark throne room, a figure cloaked in raven feathers leans forward.
Watching the scene through a mirror made of smoke.
Unknown Figure (female voice):
"So… the Flame awakens. The Eye chooses. And the boy dares stand…"
She smirks.
Unknown Figure:
"Time to send in the Fang."
She places a black chess piece — a knight shaped like a dragon — onto a board of living shadows.
---
[Scene: The Prophecy Unfolds]
The Eye shard in Arav's hand glows again.
A new line appears on the crystal — a glowing map forming.
It shows seven points — six dim… one glowing.
The glowing point throbs like a heartbeat.
Narrator:
"The next path lies beyond the Shrouded Teeth…
In the ruins of the first King's betrayal…
Where the Fang of Silence waits."
---
End of Chapter 34
Next: Chapter 35 – The Fang of Silence
> The Citadel has opened one door… and closed another. Now hunted, Elara and Arav must travel into cursed lands where no word can be spoken… and every secret is screamed aloud by the stones.