NOVEL WEB Chapter 19: When Thorn Meets Flame
🌫️ Somewhere Far from Gezana...
Lucien Virell stood barefoot on the black sand of a forgotten shore. Behind him, a ring of Thorn agents bowed silently, their masks carved from roots and bone.
A shadow approached—hooded, quiet, carrying the scent of ink and power.
> "He refused the Council," the figure said. "He stood. He spoke fire."
Lucien smiled faintly. "Then he grows faster than they feared."
He turned toward the restless waves.
> "And our friend in the chamber?"
> "Still loyal. Still afraid."
Lucien's voice hardened. "Good. Fear is fertile soil."
He turned sharply. "Tell our agent this: If the boy will not kneel… make him bleed."
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🏛️ Back at Eldemar – Two Days Later
Aaron sat in a chamber lined with ancient scrolls, reading by the soft glow of a mage lantern.
The door opened silently.
Councilor Sereth entered—her presence as cold and sharp as silver, her eyes flickering with a calculating light.
> "You surprised them," she said softly. "Especially the cracked mask."
Aaron did not look up. "Was that your plan?"
> "My plan is survival. And today, survival means understanding you."
She circled him like a hawk, serene but deadly.
Suddenly, a heat surged in Aaron's chest—foreign, unnatural.
His veins flared with burning pressure.
> "Poisoned ink," she whispered. "The Thorn's signature. Quick. Painless. Symbolic."
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🔥 Flame Fights Back
But Aaron did not fall.
The pressure within met something deeper.
Not rage. Not pain.
Memory.
His flame erupted—not outward, but inward—scorching the poison clean in a wave of brilliant blue light.
Sereth stumbled back, eyes wide with shock.
Aaron rose slowly, eyes blazing.
> "Tell Lucien," he said quietly, "the fire doesn't kneel. And it doesn't forget."
He raised his hand—
But she vanished in a blink, a glowing glyph shimmering on her wrist before she disappeared.
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🕯️ Final Scene: In the Library Shadows
Frankfurt watched from above, unseen.
> "So," he whispered, "the Thorn has roots in the Council after all."
Kain appeared silently behind him.
> "What shall we do?"
Frankfurt's eyes gleamed with cold fire.
> "We don't burn the Council."
> "We let Aaron do it."