Chapter 10 The Road Beyond

Nyxira POV

We walked away from the Archive.

The stars behind us glowed quiet.

The doors had closed. The fire was still safe-for now.

But I couldn't stop looking back.

Not because I was scared.

Because something felt unfinished.

Zeryn held my hand. His fingers were warm, rough. Strong.

Darian walked ahead. His cloak moved like smoke. He didn't talk much. Just kept walking.

We were heading for the edge.

The edge of the world.

I remembered it now.

The Forgotten Lands.

A place even shadows feared.

I didn't know what waited there.

But I knew this much-

If we didn't go, someone else would.

Someone worse.

Zeryn POV

The stars above looked normal again.

But I didn't trust them.

Not anymore.

They had watched us fall.

They had watched Nyx burn.

And they had done nothing.

I hated them for that.

But I didn't say it out loud.

Nyx was quiet.

She looked tired. Pale.

But she walked steady.

I stayed close.

Every few steps, she looked at her hands. Like she was waiting for the fire to go out again.

It didn't.

Not this time.

Good.

We'd need that fire where we were going.

Darian POV

We reached the cliff by dawn.

Below us-nothing.

Just mist. Endless, silver-white mist.

It rolled like waves.

And under that mist was the path.

A path no map showed.

Because no one came back from it.

Except us.

Once.

Long ago.

Nyx stood at the edge. She didn't speak.

I knew what she was feeling.

Fear.

But also... something else.

A pull.

The flame inside her remembered this place.

So did mine.

Zeryn stepped beside her.

"So where's the way down?" he asked.

I pointed forward.

He frowned. "That's not a road."

"No," I said. "It's a memory."

He stared at me like I'd lost my mind.

Maybe I had.

But that didn't change the truth.

I raised my hand.

Spoke a word I hadn't used in years.

The mist parted.

And the path appeared.

Black stone.

Old.

Cracked.

But real.

Nyx didn't wait.

She stepped on it first.

And the path lit up under her feet.

One step at a time.

Nyxira POV

Each step we took, the air got colder.

Not like snow-cold.

More like... old cold.

Like walking into a grave.

I tried to stay calm.

But the shadows around the path moved.

Whispers followed us.

Not loud.

Just soft.

Like a hundred voices saying my name.

Rayn. Rayn. Rayn.

Zeryn heard them too. He kept his sword close.

Darian walked like he didn't care.

Maybe he didn't.

Maybe he was used to ghosts.

But I wasn't.

Not these ones.

Not the ones I remembered now.

One voice stood out.

It was deeper.

Clearer.

"You left us."

I froze.

The voice came from the side.

In the mist.

I turned.

And saw her.

Zeryn POV

Nyx stopped.

She stared at the fog.

Her hands shook.

I looked too.

Something was there.

A girl.

No, not a girl.

A shadow shaped like one.

She had Nyx's face.

But it wasn't her.

Her eyes were black.

Empty.

Cold.

Nyx stepped toward her.

"Don't," I said.

But she didn't listen.

The shadow smiled.

"You left me to die," it said.

Nyx's voice cracked. "I didn't know."

"You forgot."

"I didn't mean to!"

The shadow's smile grew.

"I was your sister."

My heart stopped.

Sister?

Nyx looked like she couldn't breathe.

Nyxira POV

I remembered now.

The mountain.

The fire.

The screams.

And her.

My sister.

Liora.

We were both flames back then.

We fought together.

But I fell.

And she-

She burned.

Because of me.

Because I ran.

"No," I whispered. "I tried to go back."

"You didn't," she said.

She stepped closer.

"You forgot me. Left me in the dark."

"I didn't forget," I said. "I just didn't know."

Liora raised her hand.

Flames rose.

Black ones.

She was going to strike.

Zeryn ran forward.

So did Darian.

But I held up my hand.

"No."

They stopped.

I stepped to the edge of the path.

Faced her.

My past.

My guilt.

My pain.

"I'm sorry," I said.

Not a whisper.

A promise.

"I carry you. Always. But I can't stay here."

The shadow paused.

Then faded.

Gone.

Not erased.

But forgiven.

Just a little.

I stepped back.

Onto the path.

And we kept walking.

Darian POV

She passed her first trial.

There would be more.

This place didn't just test strength.

It tested memory.

Heart.

Truth.

I glanced at Zeryn.

He was watching Nyx.

Like he didn't know what to do.

He loved her.

I knew that.

He'd die for her.

But this wasn't a fight he could win with swords.

This path?

She had to walk it herself.

We followed.

But the ghosts came for her.

Always her.

Because the fire inside her was too bright.

And every shadow wanted a piece of it.

Zeryn POV

We walked for hours.

Or maybe days.

Time felt strange here.

Wrong.

Like it stretched and folded.

I didn't like it.

But I didn't complain.

Nyx didn't either.

Even after she tripped.

Even after her knees bled.

She just stood back up.

Again and again.

She was stronger than I'd ever seen her.

But also... sadder.

Like every step pulled more memories out of her.

Some good.

Most not.

Then the path changed.

It curved down.

Into darkness.

Real darkness.

No stars.

No sky.

Just black.

I grabbed her hand.

She held it tight.

Together, we walked into it.

Nyxira POV

There was no sound.

No wind.

No light.

Nothing.

Just the feel of the path under my feet.

And Zeryn beside me.

Darian behind.

I thought maybe this was the end.

Then I saw a spark.

Far ahead.

Very small.

Like a single firefly.

I walked faster.

The spark grew.

And then-I heard wings.

Not bird wings.

Not bat wings.

Dragon wings.

Big. Heavy. Powerful.

I stopped walking.

So did the others.

The spark flew toward us.

It circled me.

Then-

A voice.

Old.

Familiar.

"Child of flame."

I knew that voice.

I fell to my knees.

"Mother," I whispered.

Darian POV

The fire had called her home.

And now the past had, too.

The glowing spark became a shape.

A woman.

Tall.

With wings like the sun.

Eyes like golden fire.

Her face was calm.

Her voice was storm.

She looked at Nyx.

"You have come far."

Nyx was shaking.

"I'm not strong enough."

"You are."

"I failed them."

"You rose again."

"I'm scared."

The woman smiled.

"Good. It means your heart still burns."

Zeryn stepped forward. "Who is she?"

Nyx looked at him.

"My mother. The First Flame."

Zeryn blinked.

"Oh."

Zeryn POV

What else could I say?

I was standing in front of a god.

A fire god.

Nyx's mother.

No wonder she was so strong.

No wonder she glowed when she was angry.

The woman turned to me.

"You have guarded her well."

"I try," I said.

"You love her."

I didn't answer.

She nodded anyway.

Then looked at Darian.

"You, too."

He looked away.

The First Flame turned back to Nyx.

"You will face the heart soon. The true shadow."

Nyx looked up.

"Will I survive?"

"I don't know."

Nyx stood.

Her hands burned bright.

"I'll go anyway."

The First Flame smiled.

Then stepped back.

And became fire.

The path lit up.

And ahead-

A door.

Carved in stone.

Black stone.

With fire symbols across it.

The final gate.

Nyxira POV

This was it.

The last step.

Behind that door-

The truth.

The shadow that started it all.

The one that broke the sky.

The one that stole the first flame.

It waited for me.

And I was ready.

Kind of.

Zeryn stepped beside me.

"You sure?"

"No," I said.

He grinned. "Then we're doing it right."

Darian joined us.

"Once we go through, there's no turning back."

I looked at them both.

Shadows moved across the door.

Whispers leaked through the cracks.

But I didn't shake this time.

I pushed the door open.

The fire inside roared-

And the world changed.