The Temple of the Exiled Flame stood behind them like a crumbling memory.
Kairos looked back once.
His old world — pain, doubt, exile — was gone.
Ahead lay unknown lands.
Ruins, secrets… and maybe, just maybe, the truth behind who he really was.
Beside him walked Ayaka, still silent, her aura dimmer than before, but her gaze sharp — always scanning the horizon.
They had stolen a map from the bounty hunter's fallen satchel before he escaped.
It was crude, marked with coordinates only a Guild enforcer would recognize.
One red dot blinked brighter than the rest.
"Vault 37. Sector: Ruinfall."
Kairos squinted at it. "What is Vault 37?"
Ayaka didn't answer for a moment.
Then quietly:
"Where the first spark died… and where another might be sleeping."
---
Two Days Later – The Wastes of Ruinfall
The wasteland stretched like an endless sea of sand, bone, and steel wreckage.
Ancient machines, rusted towers, and broken airships lay buried.
Old warzones — reminders of the Severance War, where the Guild wiped out all who defied them.
Kairos stepped over a cracked skull.
It was still wearing a soldier's helmet — one that bore the symbol of the Order of Ardent Flame.
"Do you think they were like me?" he asked.
Ayaka looked down. "No."
Pause.
"They were braver."
Kairos didn't reply.
---
Vault 37 – Beneath the Earth
They found the vault hidden under the wreckage of a fallen dreadnought.
A metal hatch covered in vines and ancient glyphs.
Ayaka placed her hand on the symbol.
The glyphs lit up—
Not from her power… but from his.
Kairos stepped closer. The fire inside him pulsed.
Like a heartbeat calling home.
The hatch opened with a screech of age and rust.
They stepped into darkness.
Inside, the vault was cold, circular, and smelled of dust and memory.
Crystal tubes lined the walls, filled with faded figures — men, women, children — preserved in stasis.
Most were shattered. Dead.
Only one chamber flickered with blue light.
Subject ID:
"No. 13 — Ren Aya. Status: Semi-active. Risk Level: Black Flame."
Kairos's voice dropped. "Who is she?"
Ayaka stiffened. "One of the original seven."
"The Seven Sparks?"
Ayaka nodded.
"They were prototypes. Experiments created after your father's failure. Each one built from the ashes of broken worlds."
Kairos swallowed. "And she's still alive?"
Ayaka looked uncertain. "Barely. But we shouldn't wake her. Not yet."
---
The Whispering Room
In the vault's center stood a black stone pedestal.
On it — a cracked journal.
Faded pages, soaked in dried blood and ash.
Kairos opened it.
The handwriting was shaky. Familiar.
> "To my son…
If you ever find this, then the fire chose you.
They lied to us, Kairos. Even Ayaka. Especially her.
You were never the only one. But you are… the last key.
The Ember Gate cannot be opened without you.
Don't trust the Purifiers.
Don't trust the moonborn girl.
I'm sorry. I only wanted to protect you…"
Kairos's fingers trembled.
"This is my father's…"
Ayaka turned away.
"Some truths are better burned."
He stared at her.
"What does he mean? Why would he warn me about you?"
Ayaka's silence said everything.
---
Sudden Activation
Behind them, alarms lit up.
The cryo-chamber of Ren Aya blinked twice—then a loud hiss.
Cracks formed on the glass.
Kairos stepped back.
"She's waking—"
BOOM.
The chamber burst open, steam pouring out.
And from within emerged…
A girl.
Pale, silver-haired, maybe 16. Eyes closed. Her skin shimmered like frost.
And when her eyes opened—
They were pitch-black. No pupils. No light.
Ayaka moved to attack, but Kairos grabbed her wrist.
"Wait."
The girl stepped forward.
"...Kairos?"
Her voice was cracked, brittle — like someone waking from a dream centuries old.
"You're… real," she whispered.
Then, before anyone could speak—
She collapsed in Kairos's arms.