NOVEL WEB Chapter 39: Chapter 39: Serai’s Echo
[Scene 1 – Whispers in the Flame]
Kun could no longer sleep.
Each time he closed his eyes, the fire within him whispered—not in tongues, not in riddles, but in songs.
Soft.
Ancient.
Sorrowful.
He saw a field of burning lilies beneath twin moons. A child running through starlight. A girl raising her hand toward a sun that never rose.
> "Serai," he whispered in the dark.
And in reply, a voice—not his—answered.
> "You shouldn't have remembered me."
---
[Scene 2 – Fractures of Identity]
Orlan observed Kun from across the forge chamber, scribbling in a new rune-scroll.
> "He's not just carrying Serai's memory," he said. "He's echoing her presence. Her fire is becoming... part of his."
Elira paced behind him, worry etched deep into her brow.
"Is that why he's different? He looks at me like he's seen me die. Like he's seen a hundred endings."
Orlan didn't answer at first.
Then finally: "Serai didn't just burn. She endured. Alone. In silence. For centuries."
"And now she's no longer alone."
---
[Scene 3 – The Dream of Serai]
Kun collapsed during meditation.
But he did not fall.
He woke up—in a dream.
A glass-like field stretched before him, where gravity bent sideways and stars blinked backward.
There, standing alone, was Serai.
No longer in her coffin.
She was his age—eyes gold and blue, hair braided with silver thread, flame dancing at her feet like petals caught in wind.
> "You shouldn't have opened the Vault," she said.
Kun took a step forward.
"I didn't mean to. Kael forced—"
> "You didn't mean to remember me. But you did."
> "And now I'm inside your soul. Echoing."
He hesitated. "Then help me. Tell me what you know."
Serai stared at him for a long time.
Then whispered, "I remember Kael."
---
[Scene 4 – Serai and Kael: The First Betrayal]
Through Serai's memory, Kun saw it.
Thousands of years ago, before the flames were fragmented, Serai and Kael had both been chosen by the Celestora.
He was the strategist.
She was the bearer.
They loved each other once.
But when the flames began whispering truths that could shatter minds, Serai chose containment.
Kael chose ascendancy.
> "He gave himself to the flame," she said bitterly. "Let it hollow him, carve him, remake him."
> "I locked mine away, in silence."
She looked up at Kun.
> "And now you've awakened both of us."
---
[Scene 5 – Consequences of the Echo]
Back in reality, Kun woke with a jolt.
And the ground beneath him cracked with blue fire.
Not memory.
Not sovereignty.
But something new—resonance.
Elira rushed to his side.
"Kun!"
He looked at her—and for a moment, she saw two people in his eyes.
Him.
And her.
Kun's voice trembled.
> "She remembers Kael's plans. But not all of them."
> "Some memories are locked. Behind seven doors. One for each flame."
Rhea muttered, "Of course it's seven."
Orlan frowned. "Which means if you awaken all of them—"
Kun nodded.
> "I won't become Kael's god."
> "I'll become Serai's ghost."
---
[Scene 6 – Kael's Reaction]
In the obsidian citadel, Kael stood before his mirror again.
But this time, the reflection twisted—distorted.
The mirror-Kun was flickering.
Unstable.
> "No," Kael hissed. "He wasn't supposed to remember her."
Maelis stood nearby, cautious.
"Shall we sever the link?"
Kael didn't respond.
He pressed his palm to the glass.
And on the other side—Serai's reflection appeared, standing where Kun should have been.
Kael recoiled.
> "So," she whispered. "You still fear me."
The mirror shattered.
Kael turned to Maelis.
> "Send in the Dreamcutter."
> "We're going to purge that memory—by force."