Chapter 52:
The hall of stardust trembled as Nezutsu stared at the name etched in flame:
Aeylara Vel'Inahr — The Forgotten Bride.
The heat of the inscription licked at his skin, but he couldn't look away.
Something in his soul shifted.
Not a memory—but a feeling.
A pulse.
A heartbeat that didn't belong to him... but beat in perfect sync.
Kaelith stepped back from the archway. "This is… this is not just a name. It's a trigger. A lockbreaker."
Eshryn's voice was tense. "If you say that name aloud, there's no undoing what comes next."
"I already whispered it in my heart," Nezutsu said, voice hollow. "And it whispered back."
Behind the Arch
They stepped through the arch, and reality fractured like glass.
Each step forward showed a reflection — a could-have-been version of Nezutsu.
One where he ruled beside Aeylara.
One where he burned the world for her.
One where she struck him down to save it.
Each version looked at him with eyes full of judgment — and grief.
"Are these… futures?" Kaelith asked, gripping her staff tightly.
"No," Eshryn muttered. "These are memories from other lives. Fractured timelines held in place by her will."
"She loved me through time," Nezutsu whispered. "And I… shattered every one of them."
The Corridor of Vows
The hallway led to a chamber carved in white flame and shadowglass.
In the center stood a wedding altar, untouched by age.
On either side, statues of Nezutsu and Aeylara stared into each other's eyes, mid-vow, frozen.
But the real Aeylara wasn't there.
Only her veil remained — resting atop a pedestal of broken rings.
"This… is where we were to be bound," Nezutsu said softly.
"And where she bound your fate to silence," Kaelith replied.
Nezutsu stepped toward the veil.
Suddenly, the walls shook.
A voice rang out — layered, ancient, trembling with wrath and sorrow.
"You dare return wearing the name of my flame?"
The statues cracked.
From between them descended a shadowy bride, her body stitched from lost memories and celestial thread. Her veil flowed like smoke, but her eyes—glowing violet—burned with heartbreak.
"Aeylara…" Nezutsu whispered.
"You abandoned me at the brink of eternity. You unmade the vow."
"I didn't remember."
"You chose not to. You begged the gods to tear me from your soul."
Nezutsu staggered back.
"Why would I—?"
"Because you feared what we were becoming."
Twist Reveal: The Flame Wasn't His Alone
Aeylara raised her hand, and the air twisted into written memory.
"The Flame you carry—it wasn't yours alone. It was ours. Born of two hearts refusing to die. You were the spark… but I was the breath."
A vision unfolded:
Two souls — Nezutsu and Aeylara — surrounded by collapsing gods, holding each other in a final embrace.
Together, they willed the Flame into existence.
"You sealed me away," she said bitterly. "And kept the power. You called yourself the Echo… but left me in silence."
Kaelith gasped. "You split the Flame… and survived. That's why you're magicless—your soul is only half."
"But why would I do that?" Nezutsu asked, his voice cracking.
"Because you saw the prophecy. You saw that we together would end this world."
The Bride's Ultimatum
Aeylara stepped forward, veil flickering with stars.
"I will offer you one choice."
"Return the other half of your soul."
"Join with me once more… and become what we were meant to be."
"Or keep hiding behind your guilt, and let this world fall without knowing truth."
Eshryn stepped in. "And if he chooses you?"
Aeylara's voice chilled.
"Then you will all burn in beautiful symmetry."
Kaelith looked at Nezutsu. "Don't trust her! She's not just your past—she's the weapon that ended time itself!"
A Kiss from Before the End
Aeylara moved closer.
The room dimmed.
Time slowed.
She leaned forward and whispered in Nezutsu's ear:
"I remember the night you told me you'd love me even if the stars died."
"They did. And I waited."
Then—she kissed him.
And Nezutsu remembered everything.
The wedding.
The betrayal.
The prophecy.
And one final truth that shattered him.
"It wasn't you who sealed her."
"It was me."
[TO BE CONTINUED...]