Bound by Flame

Evan ran a hand along the wall, fingers brushing ancient runes buried under moss. Something in the air tugged at his bones—familiar, yet wrong.

David stood before the altar, his back to him.

“I thought you were done with these places,” Evan said, his voice steady.

David turned, a tired smile on his lips. “Old habits.”

“I need answers.” Evan stepped forward. “Something’s wrong with Eva. Since she came back, there’s this… energy. It burns through her. She doesn’t notice it, but I do.”

David said nothing.

Evan’s eyes narrowed. “She’s not just my sister. Is she?”

David's silence was an answer in itself.

“I’ve remembered everything,” Evan said, softer now. “I’ve always known I was Zyrian. I was with Lucifer through every fall. Every war. I didn’t forget who I was. But her—Eva—there’s something missing.”

David finally spoke. “Her soul is older than this world.”

Evan froze.

“She was called Diana, once,” David continued. “The keeper of souls. Your sister. Not by blood—but by essence. You fought beside her until the veil tore everything apart.”

“Diana,” Evan echoed. The name hit him like a storm. Visions flickered—her silhouette in white flames, laughter over shattered realms, her hand reaching through the dark.

“She… she’s Eva?”

David nodded. “Reborn. Bound. Sealed.”

Evan’s fists clenched. “Why didn’t she remember?”

“Because if she remembered too early,” David said, voice low, “the world would’ve burned again.”

“And you?” Evan stepped closer, suddenly wary. “You know too much.”

David looked him in the eye.

“I’ve known you both longer than you remember.”

And then the air changed.

The temperature dropped. The walls breathed. Shadows bled across the floor.

Evan reached for his blade instinctively, every cell screaming.

“What the hell are you—?”

David exhaled—and the mortal shell shattered like glass.

Power burst outward—cold, eternal, endless. Light twisted into shadow. His form stretched, regrew, solidified into something ancient and terrible.

A crown of black flame formed on his brow.

“I am HADES,” he said, voice rumbling like the gates of death. “King of the Netherworld. The final silence. And your sister once served me.”

Evan staggered back.

“What—? No. David—”

“You came to me for help,” Hades said, stepping down the altar. “But you forgot who you were really talking to.”

“You lied—”

“I never did. I waited.” His gaze turned steel. “You remembered yourself. Now remember her.”

Evan’s eyes burned, the room spinning.

Eva is Diana.

Not just his sister. She was a force. A flame. A protector of lost souls. A key.

And now she was right next to Lucifer—power stirring inside her.

Evan fell to one knee, overwhelmed by truth.

“She doesn’t know,” he whispered.

“Not yet,” Hades said. “But when she does… the world will change. Again.”

---

Chapter Title: "Restless Souls"

Some days had passed…

Sleep had become a stranger to both Aaron and Eva.

For Eva, the nights were filled with fragments of visions—flashes of war, whispers in languages long forgotten, and a pair of eyes that always felt too close. For Aaron, the darkness was heavier than usual. Restlessness crept beneath his skin, like shadows waiting to speak.

They hadn’t spoken since that night.

But the silence didn’t feel like distance. It felt like waiting—for something neither of them could name.

So when Eva’s message came—simple, just “Can we talk?”—Aaron was already halfway out the door.

Scene: Midnight – Old Garden Behind Elite Hospital

The garden wasn’t used anymore. Ivy had started reclaiming the stone benches, and the lamp posts flickered half-heartedly. But there was quiet, and tonight, that was rare.

Aaron stood beneath the largest tree, his coat half-buttoned against the chill. He heard her footsteps before he saw her.

Eva appeared out of the shadows, arms wrapped around herself.

“You’re not sleeping either?” she asked, half-smiling.

Aaron shook his head. “Not for days.”

They sat down on the stone bench. For a long moment, neither spoke.

Then Eva whispered, “Do you ever feel like… your soul is tired?”

Aaron’s gaze lingered on her profile. “Yes. Like it’s been carrying something for too long.”

They sat like that, side by side, as the silence wrapped around them—not heavy, but intimate. Familiar.

“I keep seeing things I shouldn’t remember,” Eva murmured. “But the more I try to hold onto them, the more they fade.”

Aaron looked up at the night sky. “Sometimes I feel like I’ve already lost something I never even had. And I can’t even name it.”

Eva turned to him. “Do you believe in fate, Aaron?”

His voice was low. “I believe… some souls are meant to find each other. No matter how many lifetimes it takes.”

Their eyes met.

There was no declaration. No grand confession.

Just a moment—shared, timeless, sacred.

Something in the air shifted.

And though they were still wrapped in uncertainty, that night under the old tree, something deeper settled into place.

Something real.

---

Chapter Title: "Veiled Truths"

Eva leaned back on the cold bench, her fingers gripping the edge tightly. “I don’t understand why everyone’s walking around like they know something we don’t.”

Aaron’s eyes darkened. “They do know something.”

She turned to look at him. “David, Adam, even Evan—they’re all hiding something. I can feel it.”

Aaron nodded slowly. “Adam’s been acting strange. Careful with his words. Like he’s filtering every sentence around me. Around you.”

“David won’t even look me in the eyes when I ask him things directly,” Eva said, frustration creeping into her voice. “He talks in riddles. Hints at pain, past lives, fate—but never says what happened.”

Aaron stared straight ahead, jaw tense. “And Evan… he’s always been loyal. Always by my side. But lately, I can tell. He knows who David really is. Maybe even who you are.”

“And no one’s saying a damn thing,” Eva muttered, voice tight.

Aaron looked at her, his voice sharper now. “Why? Why would they hide it from us? What are they protecting us from—us or the truth?”

“Or maybe themselves,” she said, quieter now. “Maybe they’re scared of what happens when we remember.”

Silence. Just the wind rustling the ivy above them

...tilted his head, watching the branches sway. “Or maybe… they’re not just scared of us remembering. Maybe they’re scared of what we become after.”

Eva looked at him, the moonlight catching the curve of her jaw. “You think we were dangerous?”

“I think we were powerful,” Aaron murmured. “Enough to scare even gods.”

A hush followed—thick with unspoken things. The shadows around them seemed to pulse for a heartbeat, then settle again.

Eva drew a shaky breath. “I had this vision… a place burning. Screams in the air. And me—standing in the middle, unharmed, watching everything fall.”

Aaron’s brows furrowed. “That sounds like the War of the Realms. Before the Binding.”

“You know that name?” she asked, eyes narrowing.

He hesitated. “I didn’t before. But lately… things come to me. In dreams. In whispers.”

She turned on the bench, facing him more directly. “Aaron… who are we?”

The question wasn’t light. It wasn’t metaphorical.

And he didn’t answer right away.

Finally, he whispered, “I don’t think we were just lovers in a past life, Eva. I think we were something ancient. Something born of fire and fate.”

Eva's throat tightened. “Then why were we torn apart?”

Aaron’s hand gently found hers. “Because together… we could rewrite everything.”

In the distance, a faint chime echoed—one that didn’t belong in the hospital garden. Not man-made. Not from this world.

They both heard it.

Their eyes met.

And deep in the shadows beyond the ivy wall, something watched.

Aaron leaned forward, his elbows resting on his knees. “This... thing between us. It’s not new. We feel it. In every look. Every silence. But if we’re part of something bigger... don’t we have the right to know?”

Eva’s throat tightened. “I just want to understand why I was brought back like this. Why I lost everything... even the memory of someone I loved.”

Aaron’s hand instinctively brushed against hers, a silent, comforting touch. “And I want to know what I did that cost me you.”

Their hands stayed there—close, barely touching, yet connected by a pulse older than the stars.

Aaron’s voice dropped to a near whisper. “Tomorrow, I’m confronting Adam. I won’t let him keep me in the dark anymore.”

Eva met his eyes, fire slowly returning to hers. “And I’ll deal with David. If we’re being kept from the truth... we’ll tear it out ourselves.”

The vow hung between them—not loud, but powerful.

Something was shifting now.

And nothing would stay hidden much longer.

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