The new shard hummed in Kaelin’s hand, a gentle pulse like a living heartbeat. It was not hot, not cold. Not fire as she had known it—but fire reimagined. Where the others had burned to claim, this one offered presence. Warmth without command. Power without demand.
It was unlike any fragment they had encountered.
Myrra watched it with awe as they emerged from the depths of the First Kiln. “You realize what this means?”
Kaelin nodded. “This shard wasn’t born from fire. It was born from choice.”
Theron kept close, eyes scanning the surrounding Reaches. “And you forced the One in Embers to retreat.”
Kaelin gripped the shard tighter. “Not defeated. But pushed back. We won time, not the war.”
Elira’s voice was grim as she joined them. “And while we were underground, the world kept burning
