The silence on the battlefield was deafening.
Guild members stopped mid-strike. The wind stilled. Even the Rift behind the commander pulsed more slowly, as if it too were listening.
Her six-eyed mask turned slightly. Those unblinking lights fixed on me with such intensity that my stomach twisted.
"She knows who you are," Kael murmured beside me.
"She shouldn't," I whispered back. "Not unless—"
Riven stepped forward.
The commander tilted her head.
And then she bowed.
A deep, formal, reverent bow.
The Guild of Ash followed. One by one. Every masked figure dropped to their knees and lowered their heads, as if we had suddenly become royalty.
"No," Kael breathed. "That's impossible."
Riven stood frozen, his daggers still gripped tightly. "What are they doing?"
"She's bowing to you," I said slowly.
And then the commander spoke.
Her voice was both distant and familiar, layered like multiple people speaking at once. "He has returned. The Scorched Heir. The Prince of the Forgotten Flame."
Kael grabbed Riven's arm. "Tell me you don't know what she's talking about."
Riven looked dazed. "I don't—I don't remember—"
The commander removed her mask.
Her face was marked by ash-colored runes, her eyes glowing faintly orange. Her skin was scorched in swirling patterns that almost looked like fire had tried to write on her bones.
"I am Embershade," she said. "I served you before the Betrayal. I watched you fall into the Loom to protect us all. And now... I see the curse did not kill you."
I could barely breathe.
Kael had drawn his sword again, his body tense. "It's a trick. Some Guild illusion."
But Riven was shaking.
"Why would they bow to me?" he whispered.
Embershade stepped closer, her voice soft. "Because before the world cracked, you were their leader. You were the fire in the dark. And now, you carry the curse that once broke the heavens."
The wind stirred again, and for a moment, I could feel it too—heat. A slow, steady burn beneath Riven's skin. His shadow flickered unnaturally, as though fire lived in his bones.
Riven looked at me. "Who am I?"
My heart raced. "You're Riven. You're still you."
But in my soul, I wasn't sure anymore.
Not after seeing what he could become.
---