Sin Beyond the Stars

They left the Scorchspire at dawn. It burned behind them, not with fire — but with memory. As if the tower mourned their departure.

Kael hadn't spoken since Alenya's ghost vanished. But Lyra understood. Sometimes grief wasn't loud. Sometimes it was a silence that settled in your bones.

They journeyed east toward the Ashen Gate, the entrance to the first of the Flame Trials that guarded the lost Citadel. Along the way, the terrain shifted — glass gave way to scorched earth, and then to sand that pulsed faintly with buried embers. The path wasn't marked by signs, but by sensation. Lyra felt it — magic humming beneath her feet, older than even the Flameborn.

Kael halted at a ridge overlooking the valley. Below them stretched ruins swallowed by ash. In the center, a spiral of obsidian platforms rose from the ground, encircling a glowing archway made of chained flame.

"The Gate," he said. "But it should've been sealed."

Lyra frowned. "It's open."

Which meant someone — or something — had already passed through.

As they descended, voices began to whisper again. Not from memory, but the flame itself. The air thickened, not with heat, but with sorrow.

Kael drew his blade. "Stay close."

Lyra nodded, her hand wrapped around the sigil stone on her necklace. As they stepped through the Gate, the world shuddered.

They were no longer in Elaris.

Inside the Trial Realm, the skies blazed in shades of copper and crimson. Lava rivers cut across floating landmasses. Everything breathed — the rocks, the air, the sky. It was alive.

And waiting.

A massive structure rose ahead: a coliseum of fire, with four stone thrones arranged around its perimeter. One was shattered.

"The Four Flame Kings," Kael whispered. "Only one ever survived."

Lyra glanced at him. "You've been here before?"

He hesitated. "In dreams."

A deep, booming voice echoed across the arena: "The sinner returns… with the key."

A figure stepped forward — cloaked in molten armor, helm adorned with a burning crown. His voice cracked like thunder.

"You are not welcome, Kaelarion."

Kael stiffened. Lyra's breath caught. "Did he just—"

"Yes," Kael murmured. "He used my true name."

The Trial had begun