In the kingdom of "Elytheria," where magic and desire meet, there was an ancient prophecy warning of a fiery woman with a dark heart, one who would carry both light and death. This woman was "Lyara," a girl from a neglected village, raised in obscurity. No one knew her true name, but she possessed something inexplicable: when she was angered, the ground beneath her feet would burn.
Lyara didn't know about the prophecy or her true origin. She lived as a simple seamstress, helping her sick mother and avoiding the world. All she wanted was to remain unknown. But the fire inside her started to grow uncontrollable, and one night, when a soldier tried to harm her village, Lyara screamed, and the soldier turned to ash.
That night, everything began to change.
The news reached the capital, to the palace of King "Serion," the handsome and mysterious ruler who had inherited the throne after his father's untimely death under mysterious circumstances. The king trusted no one except his old advisor "Eidrin," a man of shadows who read prophecies and moved kingdoms as though they were puppets.
Eidrin said to him:
– "The fire has appeared. She is the one. The blood and fire child."
King Serion, with his cold blue eyes, replied calmly:
– "Send the knights... but don't kill her. Bring her to me."
---
Lyara fled, knowing that the kingdom of Elytheria would show no mercy to those with such powers. She found herself in the "Heritage Forest," a place said to swallow anyone who entered. There, she saw someone she never expected: a young man with gray eyes and a black tattoo covering his neck, standing in the mist, staring at her as if he knew her from centuries ago.
He said to her:
– "You're late."
Lyara stepped back and asked:
– "Who are you?"
– "My name is Kain. I am the shadow of fire... and I am here to train you before they kill you."
She had no choice. She went with him, beginning a journey into the depths of herself.
---
In a hidden camp within the mountains, Kain began teaching her how to wield the fire, how to turn it into a sword rather than a curse. He was harsh, never smiled, but something in him made her feel at ease. One night, as she practiced conjuring flames between her hands, he told her:
– "The more you love, the more you burn… So it's better to hate."
She gasped, out of breath, and asked:
– "What about you? Do you hate the world?"
He smiled for the first time and said:
– "I am the world."
She didn't understand, but she felt her heart, despite everything, beginning to beat differently. Little by little, she started to feel that she was more than just a frightened girl. She started to see the pulse in the fire. She began to see herself.
---
In the palace of Elytheria, King Serion was examining maps. He knew war was coming. He knew Lyara's appearance meant something deeper. He didn't just want to control her; he was searching for something else… someone like him.
For he too, was not ordinary.
---
Weeks passed, and the king's army attacked the mountain. They killed half of the camp and captured Lyara. Kain tried to protect her, fought ten knights alone, but was wounded and fell. And when Lyara saw him bleeding, she screamed, and the earth exploded beneath them.
The fire engulfed the air. Half of the army was burned to ash.
But it was too late. She was captured by Serion himself, chained in "Yazmi," a metal that fire could not burn.
He looked at her and said:
– "I knew you'd be beautiful… but you're more dangerous than I expected."
---
In the dungeon beneath the palace, Lyara was struggling to breathe. She could not summon the fire. She had lost everything. But that night, Serion came to her. He sat before her and began to speak.
He said:
– "I'm like you. We are the curse of this world. But we can rule it."
She looked at him with contempt and said:
– "I won't be your tool."
He moved closer to her and whispered in her ear:
– "I don't want you as a tool… I want you as my partner."
That night, she couldn't sleep. Something in his words was honest, despite everything.
---
Days passed. He didn't torture her. Instead, he gave her a room, food, and books. And every evening, he would talk to her. They would argue, debate, and read from the book of prophecies. Little by little, she began to see him not as a king, but as a person.
One evening, she asked him:
– "What are you hiding from me?"
He said:
– "I am also from the fire. But my fire is black… it eats me from within."
Then he revealed his hand, and she saw his skin slowly burning away by a fire that wouldn't extinguish. She gasped.
– "Why don't you heal it?"
– "Because it is the power that protects me… and kills me."
---
On a cold night, he entered her room. He was silent. He looked at her with different eyes. She asked him:
– "Why am I really here?"
He moved closer to her, whispered:
– "Because since I saw you… I haven't seen anyone but you."
She stepped closer to him, not sure if it was fear or attraction. But he touched her hand, and suddenly, the fire inside him disappeared. He looked at her, stunned.
She asked:
– "My fire… puts out your fire?"
There was no explanation. But something had begun between them that night. It wasn't a relationship of power or lust. It was something between light and darkness. Between fire and shadow.
---
Outside, the kingdom was falling apart. Other armies were moving. The "Council of the Sorcerers" had ordered Lyara's execution, for she posed a threat to the world's balance. And Kain, who had survived by a miracle, was preparing to invade the palace.
Lyara stood in the middle. Between two men:
Kain, the shadow who taught her to be fiery.
And Serion, the black flame she had saved with her fire.
---
Kain reached the palace. He snuck into her room. She saw him, and ran to him, but he didn't smile. He said:
– "You've changed."
She said:
– "I saw the light in the darkness."
He said:
– "That's not light… it's deception."
– "Serion isn't what you think."
– "He's the one who destroyed everything. He killed your real father."
– "What?"
– "Yes, he was the rightful king. And Serion killed him to take the throne."
Lyara collapsed. She no longer knew who to believe.
---
She confronted Serion, and his face was emotionless. He didn't deny it. He said:
– "He was weak. And I… was forced."
– "You lied to me."
– "I loved you."
He said it as he collapsed, the black fire returning to consume him. But he didn't try to defend himself.
---
In front of the throne of Elytheria, Lyara stood. On her right was Kain, and on her left was the injured Serion. The entire kingdom watched.
The Sorcerer's Council asked her:
– "Choose. Who is the king? And who is death?"
She closed her eyes. She remembered everything.
Then she said:
– "I am the queen."
She raised her hands. The flames ignited, but they didn't burn anyone. Instead, they painted a sun in the sky for the first time in centuries.
Serion knelt before her. Kain stepped back in silence. The kingdom wept.
---
In the following days, she restored light to the kingdom. She made fire a weapon for life, not death. And Serion? He remained by her side, a shadow that never left her light.
And every night, she would whisper to him:
– "My fire is yours… as long as you never betray it."
And thus, a new era was born… the era of fire and shadow.