🔄 Chapter 55 Recap The rıghtful source is noⅴelfire.net Velis delivered an ultimatum at the gates of Cael’dar: submit to the rising flame or be destroyed by it. The Third Seal loomed, fragile and ready to crack. Astra’s manipulation tightened its grip, Lyra’s vow to end Kai if he ever lost himself became chillingly real, and Yuri stood torn between love and blood-bound duty. As Kai confronted his past self, the seal inside him broke—and the god he was reborn from began to wake. The scroll turned to ash the moment Kai dropped it into the moonfire brazier. The flame didn’t burn white, or blue, or red—it turned black. The brazier cracked with a hiss like bone breaking. Leaves from the moon tree above fell like glowing feathers, and the air turned electric. A low hum pulsed from beneath the floor, like a heartbeat inside the stone. Kai took an instinctive step back. "This is it," whispered Astra from the veil. "The moment you stop pretending you’re still human." He spun. "You planned this." "I prepared for this," she said calmly, stepping from the shadows in her ceremonial robes. "It was always going to be you." Behind them, Lyra rushed in with her sword half-drawn, her crimson eyes burning with suspicion. "What did you do?" she snarled, pointing the blade at Astra. Astra smirked. "Why is it always the swords drawn first and the questions later with you?" Kai held up a hand. "Both of you—stop. Something’s... wrong." The floor beneath them cracked. Symbols flared across the stone in ancient draconic script. They twisted like vines across the altar, reaching toward Kai. He dropped to one knee, gasping. Pain lanced through his chest. He clawed at his tunic, tearing it open to reveal a glowing sigil: a dragon crowned in fire, coiled around a blade dripping blood. The mark of Kai’Zuran. "Seal Three," Astra whispered, a note of awe creeping into her voice. "He’s awakening." A burst of wind roared through the chamber. Lyra shielded her eyes. Kai’s mind was no longer his. He was standing in the ruins of a world he’d once ruled. Ash fell from the sky like snow. The horizon was aflame. Statues of his own face lay shattered, temples in ruins. A figure stood among the fire: Kai’Zuran himself. Clad in obsidian armor that bled light from the cracks, Kai’Zuran turned, his eyes glowing with golden fire. "You’ve kept me imprisoned far too long," the god said. Kai clenched his fists. "You’re not real." Kai’Zuran walked toward him, each step burning the ground beneath him. "I am more real than the boy you pretend to be." Kai roared. "I don’t want your power. I don’t want any of this!" "But you used it," Kai’Zuran said, raising a hand. Visions exploded in Kai’s mind— Yuri, stabbed and bleeding. Lyra crying in the rain. Velis, holding a dagger soaked in her sister’s blood. A kingdom in fire. A boy with a crown. A god with a soul made of knives. "You chose me the moment you chose to live," Kai’Zuran said. "You just didn’t realize it." Back in the chamber, Kai’s body arched off the floor. Runes burned down his arms, his eyes glowing molten gold. Lyra grabbed him. "He’s burning up!" Yuri burst through the doors, panic on her face. "What happened?!" "He’s breaking apart," Lyra shouted. "The seal—it’s gone!" Yuri knelt beside Kai, grabbing his face. "Look at me! Stay here, Kai! Stay in this world!" But Kai’s gaze was elsewhere—far, far away. Astra stepped forward. "We have to bind the god within him. Now." Yuri spun on her. "You did this to him!" "No," Astra said. "He did this to himself. I merely opened the door." The ground shook violently. From beneath the citadel, a deep, throaty rumble emerged. Like a beast awakening. The Third Seal was broken—and the power beneath the city stirred. 🩸 Bonus Scene – Yuri’s Letter That night, after Kai had been stabilized with Astra’s binding runes, Yuri sat alone in the highest tower. Wind tugged at her cloak, but she barely noticed. In her lap sat a letter. Old. Worn. Unopened. Her father’s seal stared up at her like a wound. She broke the wax and unfolded the parchment with trembling fingers. If you’re reading this, then the Third Seal must be breaking. I know you love him. I see it in your eyes when you speak of him, even in your silence when others curse his name. But you must remember what lies beneath that name. Kai is not merely a man. He is the vessel for something ancient—something terrible. We are of the bloodline sworn to end him should the Seals fail. You carry that oath. You are the last of us strong enough to do what must be done. Love... or the world." Yuri stared at the final line for what felt like hours. "Love or the world..." Was it even a choice? She looked out across the moonlit city. Fires still burned from Velis’s warning. Soldiers patrolled nervously. Astra’s followers whispered in hidden corners. And Kai lay unconscious in the chamber below, marked by prophecy, burdened by power he never asked for. Tears burned down her face. She drew her blade and held it against the moonlight. The same blade her father trained her with. The blade meant to end Kai if the time ever came. A single tear struck the steel. "I’ll find another way," she whispered. But even she didn’t believe it. ⚔️ Another seal. Another threat. Another betrayal waiting in the dark. 📚 Add this book to your library to follow Kai’s descent—or rise. 💬 Comment your theories: Is Kai still Kai... or is Kai’Zuran already in control? 🔺 Vote Power Stones to summon more divine war, painful confessions, and twisted loyalties. The gods are watching. And they are afraid. 🔥 🔮 Next Time on Chapter 57 – Lyra’s Choice As the full power of the Third Seal surges through Kai, he begins to remember things he shouldn’t. Lyra faces a choice—break her blood-oath and protect him... or end him before he loses himself. A divine assassin arrives with a dagger forged from stardust. And Velis, on the battlefield, speaks to something older than any god and calls down the first flame.