Chapter 99

Chapter 99 Seraphina's POV The Heart Tree loomed before me like a cathedral of corruption, its ancient branches reaching toward a sky that seemed to recoil from their touch. Each step closer brought waves of heat that had nothing to do with temperature—this was the burning of souls, the kind of fire that consumed hope itself. Magister Vex watched my approach with the patience of a spider in its web. Behind him, cultists formed a ritual circle around the tree's base, their chants weaving harmonies that made my bones ache. The possessed villagers had gone still as statues, their flame-filled eyes tracking my movement like compass needles pointing toward true north. "You feel it, don't you?" Vex called out, his voice carrying easily over the sounds of battle behind me. "The pull. The recognition. The First Flame knows its own." He was right, and that terrified me more than any army could. With each step, the sigil on my palm burned brighter, responding to something in the corrupted tree t