CHAPTER 6- AWAKENING THE FLAME WITHIN
277 Words
Dawn never came in the Sanctuary.
Time flowed differently beneath the roots of the ancient oak. The glowing vines dimmed and brightened in slow cycles, marking hours without sun.
Cael led Alora to the center of the chamber.
“You must learn control,” he said. “Power without control is destruction.”
Alora remembered how exhausted she felt after pushing back the Obsidian soldiers. She nodded.
“Close your eyes,” Cael instructed. “Feel the magic — not around you. Inside you.”
She obeyed.
At first, she felt nothing but fear and confusion.
Then warmth.
It began at the mark on her palm, spreading like golden threads through her veins. It didn’t feel like fire. It felt like light — ancient and steady.
“Magic is emotion,” Cael said quietly. “What do you feel?”
Alora swallowed.
“Anger. Hope. Fear. And… longing.”
“Good. Do not suppress them. Guide them.”
She imagined the warmth flowing into her fingertips.
When she opened her eyes, soft light danced between her hands.
Not wild.
Not explosive.
Controlled.
Cael nodded approvingly. “You are stronger than your ancestors were at your age.”
Alora blinked. “Really?”
“Yes. And that is precisely why Nyxara fears you.”
Suddenly, a loud c***k echoed through the Sanctuary.
The Mirror of Origins darkened.
A black fracture spread across its surface.
Cael’s expression hardened.
“She has found a way in.”
The c***k widened — and through it, red eyes stared back.
Nyxara’s voice slithered through the chamber.
“You cannot hide her forever.”
The mirror shattered.
And darkness poured into the Sanctuary.
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