Chapter 108 The Origin Pact

• The flames of Moonclaw burned softer now. Not weaker — wiser. Where once every torch crackled with territorial pride, now they hummed in harmony. Each ember knew its name, and more importantly, knew its place beside others. But in the chamber beneath the Ember Courtyard, Lucy stood before something no flame had ever touched: a new genesis. The Origin Flame — once a theory, then a fragment, now whole. Reborn not from gods, not from void or grief — but from choice. And now, it waited. For a spark. For a soul. Virel stood across from her, palms folded before her chest.
• > “The Preflame are prepared to honor the Pact. We will lend our knowledge. Our language. Our memory. But we cannot enter your world freely. Not without a price.”
• Solwyn, seated beside the rune altar, frowned. “What price?”