Chapter 54: The Awakening Storm
The skies over the Thalor estate darkened unnaturally. Clouds roiled like boiling ink, tinged with streaks of crimson and violet lightning. Animals had vanished into the forests. The very air trembled.
Mira lay in the Temple Wing, surrounded by wards older than the kingdom itself, inscribed by the last of the Flamecallers. Yet none of it was enough.
Her body glowed like a hearthstone pulled from the sun's center. She arched off the bed, screaming—not in pain, but in some ancient, otherworldly exertion. Her eyes burned gold and white, shifting between human and divine. Every breath shook the stones beneath her.
"He's trying to be born," Varalyth said grimly.
Jaxon paced nearby, face drenched in sweat, fists clenched. "It's too soon. She's only halfway through the term!"
"Time is unraveling around him," Varalyth replied. "He's not bound to your hours or days. Kael is making his own timeline. And it's merging with all others."
Servants had fled. Only a few ancient members of the Thalor line stood guard now, holding enchanted blades to prevent unseen spirits from breaking through the increasingly thin veil.
Suddenly, Mira bolted upright, her voice no longer her own.
"I am Valeria, Flame of Aeons! Let him pass or suffer the unraveling!"
The winds outside roared in agreement. The tower shook. And somewhere in the distance, bells rang—bells not rung by any human hand, but by gods who feared what came next.
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In the Divine Council chambers...
Kael's sudden appearance in the last vote had shattered protocol. Judicara stood in the center now, presiding with unsettling calm.
"He crossed the veil," Saryndil muttered, still dazed. "He looked me in the eye. How?"
Judicara offered no comfort. "Because you feared him, you gave him strength. Because you hunted him, he found the path."
Elvathra stood slowly. "If the child can travel between divine and mortal planes while still in the womb... then we have a greater problem."
Lord Kaithon's voice was cold. "Then we must strike before he is born. Even gods can be interrupted."
"No," said another voice—one that hadn't spoken since the first age.
From the shadows behind the thrones emerged a cloaked figure.
"Mother Salari," whispered Elvathra in disbelief.
The First Oracle.
"You abandoned the Council millennia ago," Kaithon growled. "You have no right—"
"I have every right," Salari said. "Because I saw this child long before any of you were forged. I knew he would come, and I knew you would fear him."
She turned toward the glowing orb that still hovered above the pool.
"Kael is not a destroyer. He is a mirror. What you see in him is what lies within you."
And with that, she vanished in a burst of gold mist.
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Back in the Thalor estate – Temple Wing
"Push!" Varalyth screamed.
Mira clawed at the mattress, eyes wild, sweat cascading down her face like rain. "He's not ready—he's not finished!"
"You don't understand—he's choosing to be born this way. He's reaching for you. You must choose him back!"
Then, a surge of energy erupted from Mira's stomach—wave upon wave of elemental fury. The room cracked. Mirrors shattered. Flame danced with water around her as Kael's divine essence poured through the skin of the world.
Jaxon caught her hand. "You can do this. Mira or Valeria—whoever you are—I see you. And I trust you. Trust him."
Her breath caught. Her fingers clenched his.
And with a final scream—
The room went silent.
Then came the cry.
Not a mortal infant's wail.
But a chime. A note. A perfect, resonant sound that echoed through dimensions, waking ancient beasts and slumbering titans, shaking bones beneath the oceans and stars in the sky.
Kael was born.
But he didn't cry. He opened his eyes, glowing like twin galaxies, and smiled.
---
Elsewhere...
In the Khaeryon depths, where the Unforged were imprisoned, every lock snapped open.
A woman of shadow and silk whispered, "He's come. Time to test the world's spine."
---
Back in the estate
Kael blinked. He hovered a few inches above Mira's chest, wrapped in light. The marks of fire on her skin vanished as his tiny hand brushed her cheek.
"Hello, Mother."
Mira burst into tears.
Varalyth gasped. "He speaks... in perfect prophecy."
Jaxon, speechless, took a step forward. Kael turned his glowing gaze toward him.
"Father. You protected the flame. I remember."
Jaxon dropped to his knees.
Laughter—sudden and unhinged—broke the silence.
"Oh my gods," Mira said between sobs and astonishment, "We have a talking baby. A flying, talking baby."
Kael giggled. "And I'm hungry."
"Of course you are," Jaxon muttered, burying his face in his hands. "We just gave birth to a god who snacks."
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End of Chapter 54