Chapter 15: The Ruined Vale
Three days.
That's all the time the Circle had to prepare before stepping into the lion's den. The scroll from the Revenant was more than a taunt—it was a declaration. A challenge wrapped in diplomacy. An invitation to battle laced with ancient magic that forbade refusal.
Lila stood at the Sanctum's highest tower, wind tugging at her red hair, her eyes locked on the distant horizon. Below her, the others trained in silence, their movements sharper, tighter—less about mastering elements now and more about readiness to kill or die.
Adrien joined her, quiet at first.
"He wants you shaken," he said at last. "That's what this is."
"I'm not shaken," Lila replied. "I'm ready."
Adrien didn't argue, but his eyes flicked to the amulet at her throat, which pulsed with light.
"You've changed," he murmured. "Not just your power. Your presence."
"I have to." She turned to him. "This isn't just about the Circle. It's about the world. And I'm tired of letting others fight for me."
His expression softened, but he nodded. "Then we move at dawn."
---
The journey to the Ruined Vale took them across scorched plains and forests long dead. The land itself seemed infected by the Revenant's reach—trees wilted mid-bloom, rivers ran dark, animals avoided their path.
They traveled cloaked, silent, moving like ghosts toward the graveyard of empires.
The Vale lay in the remnants of an ancient city swallowed by time. Shattered towers reached for a sky that no longer looked real, and broken streets stretched into mist. Magic lingered here—raw, unstable, echoing with memories.
"This was once Araveil," Saira whispered. "Capital of the old kingdom. Where the first Circle fell."
Lucien's voice cut through. "And where we finish what they couldn't."
Adrien led them to the heart of the ruins, where five stone thrones circled a dais etched with glowing runes.
"He chose this place for a reason," Adrien said. "The magic here remembers betrayal. He thinks it'll unbalance us."
"Then we remind it what unity feels like," Theo replied.
The runes flared suddenly. A fog crept inward, thick and unnatural. A chill crawled across Lila's skin.
And then he appeared.
The Revenant.
Not a shadow this time. Real. Solid. Wrapped in a cloak that bled into the mist, with eyes like twin stars collapsing inward.
He raised a hand. The runes stilled.
"Circle," he said. His voice was ancient stone cracking under pressure. "You've gathered. Again."
Lila stepped forward. "We're not like the ones you faced before."
He tilted his head. "A lie. You carry the same doubt. The same fear. The same inevitable end."
Kael unsheathed her blade. "Try us."
He ignored her, eyes locked on Lila. "You've tasted flame, but you've not burned yet. You will."
Lila summoned fire into her palm. "I've burned before. And I rose from the ashes."
The Revenant extended a hand. Between them, a portal of shadow opened, swirling with screams and broken memories.
"This is my offer. One of you joins me willingly. I will spare the rest. Refuse, and I destroy you all. Again."
The Circle shifted. Eyes darted. For a heartbeat, silence reigned.
Then Lucien laughed.
"You never change. Same empty promises. Same pathetic threats."
He stepped forward, shadows curling at his feet.
"You think death scares us? You think betrayal will tear us apart?"
He looked at Lila, then Kael, then the others.
"We're not afraid of you. We're afraid of letting each other fall."
Lila raised her hand.
"Your answer," she said.
Fire erupted from her fingers, slamming into the Revenant's shield. The Vale exploded into chaos.
---
The fight began instantly.
Saira vanished into the mist, her form becoming wind. Kael clashed with a creature of bone summoned from the Revenant's portal. Theo raised stone walls to protect the group while Lucien darted through shadows, blades flashing.
Adrien fought beside Lila, his sword clashing with a beast that looked like it had crawled from nightmare.
Lila faced the Revenant directly. Their powers collided—fire and shadow, light and void. Her pendant glowed with every strike, resisting the drain of his darkness.
"You are not whole," the Revenant hissed. "You don't even know what you are."
"I know I'm not alone," Lila growled, unleashing a wave of fire.
But he was strong. Too strong. With a roar, he shattered her flame and hurled her back. She crashed into broken stone, vision spinning.
He advanced, his blade of shadow forming in his hand.
And then Adrien was there.
He blocked the blade with his own, sparks flying. "You won't touch her."
Lila tried to rise, but the ground swayed.
From the corner of her eye, she saw Theo fall.
Kael screamed, water exploding around her.
The Revenant raised both hands.
Shadow swallowed the sky.
---
A flash.
Light.
From Lila's chest, the pendant erupted. The light was not fire—it was something older. Deeper.
Time slowed.
She stood. Her body moved without thought.
Memories surged—lifetimes of fight and failure, of love and loss. Her hands glowed with not just flame, but time.
She stepped forward.
Each footfall rippled through the battlefield. The shadows recoiled.
The Revenant froze.
"You've awakened it," he whispered. "The Chrona Flame."
Lila raised her hands.
"For every life you ruined. For every Circle you broke."
A beam of pure light burst from her palms, slamming into the Revenant. He screamed, the sound ripping through dimensions.
The portal shattered.
The sky cleared.
Silence.
Lila collapsed.
---
When she woke, the others were around her. Bruised. Bloodied. Alive.
"You did it," Adrien said. "You awakened it."
Lila sat up slowly. "What now?"
Kael answered, her voice low. "Now we find the rest of the prophecy. And end this."
Above them, the sun broke through the clouds. For the first time in generations, the Ruined Vale saw morning.