The tension didn't fade.
It sharpened.
Kael could feel it in the way the air tightened, in the way every guard shifted just slightly closer to action.
And in the way Lira didn't move from behind him.
The figure tilted its head again.
"You're unstable," it said to Kael.
Kael's eyes narrowed. "You just figured that out?"
"No," it replied. "You're becoming something else."
The flame inside him stirred.
Not calm this time.
Not curious.
Reactive.
"You keep saying things like that," Kael said. "Start explaining."
The figure lifted its hand.
Dark fire coiled around its fingers—but didn't spread.
"Your flame listens," it said.
Kael frowned. "That's the point."
"No," the figure corrected. "It listens too well."
Kael felt it then.
A shift.
Not from the figure—
From himself.
The Ember Core pulsed harder.
Faster.
Responding to the presence in front of him.
Recognizing it.
Reaching.
"Stop," Kael muttered under his breath.
It didn't.
The heat spiked suddenly, rolling through his veins.
Not outward.
Inward.
Lira's hand caught his arm instantly.
"Kael—"
The contact steadied him—but only barely.
The flame resisted.
"No," Kael said, louder now.
The figure watched, unblinking.
"See?" it said. "You're already losing shape."
"I'm not—"
The heat surged again.
Kael dropped to one knee.
The courtyard erupted into motion—
But the figure raised a hand.
And everything stopped.
"Don't interfere," it said.
Kael's breath came sharp, uneven.
Inside—
The voice rose.
Stronger than before.
Let go.
Kael clenched his fists.
"No."
You are holding it back.
"I'm controlling it."
Wrong.
The word hit like impact.
Then—
A pulse.
Stronger than anything before.
Kael gasped—
And for a split second—
The flame slipped.
His eyes flared gold.
The ground beneath him cracked.
And the fire—
Answered something deeper.
Not him.
Not the Core.
Something else.
The figure smiled.
"There it is."
- End of Chapter 36-