The Ember God's Bargain
Ashen Vale burned behind us.
Cain's words still echoed in my head, but Aria didn't speak. Neither of us did. Not until we reached the edge of the Emberreach Wastes and stood before a ruin shaped like a fallen god—part temple, part machine, all pulsing with low, rhythmic thuds like a dying heartbeat.
The priest was waiting.
He was ancient.
Half machine, half man, all wires and whispering sigils. He sat on a throne of scorched gears and floating screens, his eyes glowing a dim crimson as we approached.
> "Welcome, Contract-Bearer," he rasped. "Welcome, Devil's Bride."
Aria stiffened. "Say that again, and I'll burn your remaining spine."
He chuckled. "Fiery. I like her."
I stepped forward. "We were told you survived a meeting with Lucien."
"I did."
"How?"
"By offering him something he couldn't take—truth."
He waved a hand, and a glyph circle activated under our feet. My system screamed warnings, but it was too late.
> [WARNING: Memory Sync Initiated]
[Reliving Primary Fragment: Contract Origin - FILE UNSEALED]
Everything vanished.
---
Darkness.
Then fire.
I was somewhere else. Not Flare anymore. Not fully. Just a shadow of my younger self.
I stood in a broken realm—a place where stars bled and gravity screamed. Before me towered a throne of bones, and on it… he sat.
Lucien.
Younger. Harsher. Wearing a smile that didn't reach his eyes.
"You came," he said, voice echoing through dimensions. "I knew you would. You always do."
I stepped forward, trembling.
"I want power," I said.
"No. You want vengeance."
"I want to protect someone."
"Same thing," he whispered, amused. "Very well."
He reached out. A contract—living, pulsing, made of void and sin—floated between us.
"This is the original bond," he said. "But know this—once signed, your soul is no longer your own. It will fracture. Rebuild. Break again. And one day, it will belong to Him."
I should have run.
But I took the contract.
I signed it.
The explosion of agony was indescribable. My system burned. My body died and reformed. A second heartbeat appeared in my chest—foreign, eternal.
And then, I heard the voice.
> "You are chosen," it said.
"You are ours."
---
I snapped back, gasping.
Back in the Ember Temple.
Sweat drenched me. My hands shook.
"You remember now?" the priest asked, solemn.
I nodded. "I signed the contract years ago… but I forgot."
"You didn't forget," he said. "The system buried it. To keep you sane."
Aria crouched beside me, her hand on my shoulder. "You okay?"
"No," I admitted. "But I'm awake now."
> [New Skill Unlocked: Voidstep — Phase through space for 1.5 seconds. Cooldown: 10s.]
[System Note: Origin memory retrieved. Path to full Sync: 1/5 Unlocked.]
"You still want to face Lucien?" the priest asked. "Even knowing you're his seed?"
I stood slowly, eyes burning.
"No," I said. "I want to end him."
---
As we left the temple, the priest called after us:
"Find the others. Before Cain does. And beware the Third Pair… they've already merged."
Aria glanced at me. "What's that mean?"
I wasn't sure.
But I had a feeling we were about to find out.