"Is this really the end?".
Somewhere deep within the inferno of his mind, something stirred. A faint whisper, not in his ears but in his blood.
"No, not yet. You are a Wintalfeld".
The words pulsed through his veins like a heartbeat of molten fire.
A pressure massive and ancient coiled in his chest. His mana core, barely a flicker just moments ago, suddenly shuddered. Cracks ran through it not of destruction, but of release. The dam was breaking.
His eyes what was left of them snapped open and in that moment, everything stopped.
The flames no longer burned. They froze hovering in place like an illusion shattered by force of will. The purple fire turned gold, then white, before being sucked inward into Sol. The demon's laughter died in his throat.
"What!?".
Sol floated, his charred body glowing faintly. His wounds they weren't healing but something was holding him together. A second force. A presence. Something old. Something buried.
The sky above rippled. The ground trembled.
A mark faint and glowing emerged on Sol's chest, etched over his heart. An ancient crest. Not of House Wintalfeld but older something primordial.
The demon stepped back, uncertain for the first time. "That symbol, it can't be. Y-you what are you!?".
Sol's remaining eye glowed with a searing golden hue. Mana pure, untamed mana poured from him in waves, warping the air around him.
He raised a hand. Not with strength. With will. The demon hissed as the wind howled and the shadows recoiled.
"You what have you become?!".
Sol didn't answer.
A single word echoed across the space not from his mouth, but from everywhere.
"Burn."
And the world did.
A massive shockwave of white hot flame exploded outward from Sol's body. The fire was different divine, ancient, cleansing. It didn't scorch. It erased.
The demon screamed not in pain, but in fear.
"That flame NO! That's not human magic!That's—"
He didn't finish.
The fire swallowed him and burned him to a crisp not a single particle was left of the monster.
Sol hovered in the air his body suspended. The flames that had once roared with divine fury now flickered and faded, withdrawing slowly from his scorched form. Sparks danced briefly around his limbs before vanishing into the night, as if reluctant to let go.
Then… silence.
His body, unconscious and broken, began to fall.
The heat that once made him untouchable now left him vulnerable. The wind screamed past as he plummeted through the ravine, his limbs limping, his face bruised and bloodied.
But fate was not yet done with Sol.
From the jagged cliffside, barely visible in the darkness, was a narrow ledge and just beside it, a shadowed opening. A natural cave.
Sol's body struck the ledge with a sickening thud his fall was broken just enough to save his life. He rolled, ragdoll-like, until he lay crumpled just at the mouth of the cave.
One more inch, and he would've tumbled into the abyss.
The last flickers of white flame around his chest dimmed and disappeared. All that remained was a faint warmth where the ancient sigil had been.
The snow fell gently, covering the blood and ash. The world went quiet again.
And Sol he slept, inches from death, sheltered only by fate and the ancient fire now burning faintly within his soul.
(Extremely short ik my bad hehe was just trying to blue ball u guys from the last chapter ಡ ͜ ʖ ಡ)