Chapter 2: The Flame That Remembers

The garden was silent, wrapped in ivy and forgotten prayers.

Seo-ah stared at the man kneeling before her — **Kael Ardentis**, the last of the Flame Guard. His cloak smelled of ash and old battles. His eyes, sharp and gold like embers, never left hers.

*“You… know who I am?”* she whispered.

*“I know what was stolen,”* he said, rising slowly. *“The Crimson Princess — firstborn of the Valmoran bloodline. Born under the Eclipse of Flames. Marked by the True Sigil.”*

He reached into his cloak and pulled out a small, tarnished locket.

Inside — a faded portrait of a woman holding **two babies**.

One wrapped in white silk.

One in red.

*“Your mother,”* Kael said. *“Empress Elindra. She gave birth to twins on the night the stars burned red. You were the elder — born with the sigil glowing on your wrist. But the High Oracle declared you a threat.”*

Seo-ah’s breath caught.

*“A threat? Why?”*

*“The prophecy said: *‘The Crimson Princess shall burn the empire.’* So they hid the truth. Announced only one heir — Prince Lucien. And sent you into the mortal world to live… and die… in obscurity.”*

Her hands trembled.

*“But I didn’t die as a baby. I lived. I grew up. I—”*

*“—died saving a child,”* Kael finished softly. *“And the universe remembered. The flame within you never went out. It waited.”*

He stepped closer.

*“You weren’t reincarnated, Princess. You were **called back**. The empire is dying. Magic fades. Crops fail. Children are born without oaths. Because the **true heir is absent**.”*

Seo-ah looked down at her wrist.

The sigil no longer burned — but it **pulsed**, like a heartbeat.

*“So… I’m not a fraud?”*

Kael’s voice turned fierce.

*“You are the only one who is real.”*

### 🌌

That night, in a hidden chamber beneath the garden, Kael lit a circle of red candles.

*“The Crimson Flame isn’t just fire,”* he said. *“It burns **lies**. It awakens **forgotten memories**. But it demands a price — your life force. Every use shortens your time.”*

Seo-ah touched a candle.

The moment her skin met the flame —

**her mind exploded with visions.**

### 🌀 **Flashback: The Night of the Eclipse**

A palace in chaos.

Priests chanting.

The sky bleeding red.

A young Empress, pale and sweating, holds two newborns.

*“She is first!”* a midwife cries. *“The sigil appears on her wrist — she is the True Heir!”*

But the High Oracle steps forward — eyes blind, voice cold.

*“She will destroy us. The prophecy is clear.”*

The Empress weeps.

*“Then let her live… but not as a princess.”*

A knight takes the red-wrapped baby — Seo-ah — and vanishes into the storm.

The white-wrapped twin — Lucien — is presented to the court.

*“Our one and only prince,”* the king declares.

And the world forgets.

### ❄️

Seo-ah gasped, snapping back to the present.

Tears streamed down her face.

*“I was never dead,”* she whispered. *“I was erased.”*

Kael handed her a dagger with a hilt shaped like a flame.

*“Then remember. And learn to fight.”*

But before training could begin, a **sharp pain** shot through her chest.

She clutched her heart.

And in her mind — a voice.

Not Kael’s.

Not the Empress’s.

A boy’s.

*“…Why does this flame feel like home?”*

### 🏰

In the royal palace, **Prince Lucien** stood before a mirror.

His ice-blue eyes narrowed.

He had dreamed again — of fire. Of a girl with black hair and red eyes, calling his name.

He touched the candle on his desk.

The flame flickered — then **turned crimson for a single second**.

He froze.

*“Impossible,”* he muttered. *“Fire magic doesn’t exist anymore. Not since the Crimson Line died.”*

But his hands were trembling.

And deep in his chest… something **ached**.

A memory?

A bond?

A sister he never knew?

His advisor entered.

*“Your Highness, the guards report a disturbance in the East Garden. A girl… with a burning mark.”*

Lucien’s voice turned cold.

*“Then find her. And bring her to me.”*

Not to kill.

Not to imprison.

But to **understand**.

🔚 End of Chapter 2

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