<p>Chapter Twelve</p>
<p><br></p>
<p>Preparing for War</p>
<p><br></p><p>The prophecy had spoken.</p><p>The Hollow Flame stirred.</p><p>And the time for waiting… was over.</p><p><br></p><p><br></p><p>---</p><p><br></p><p>All across the realm, signs of the coming war darkened the skies and cracked the earth.</p><p><br></p><p>In the Frost Monastery, the high monks—once silent observers—now marched beside Kaelara, cloaked in winter steel, bearing spears of enchanted ice. The great bells rang across the mountains, summoning allies bound by ancient pacts.</p><p><br></p><p>The Ember Keep, long thought impenetrable, opened its vaults. Seren led warriors from the southern clans, their blades lit with sunfire, their armor forged from volcanic glass. The old flame priests, long exiled, returned to the world, fire in their eyes and vengeance on their lips.</p><p><br></p><p><br></p><p>---</p><p><br></p><p>Kaelara stood atop the Vale’s edge, the wind sharp against her skin. She was colder than ever—but no longer alone in it.</p><p><br></p><p>Behind her, legions gathered.</p><p><br></p><p>Seren appeared beside her, fire dancing in her braid, her presence a heat Kaelara now welcomed.</p><p><br></p><p>“You’ve trained them,” Kaelara said, watching the flickering campfires. “But are they ready?”</p><p><br></p><p>“No,” Seren answered. “But neither are we. We fight anyway.”</p><p><br></p><p>Kaelara smiled faintly. “That sounds like something I’d say.”</p><p><br></p><p>Seren chuckled. “I’m a bad influence.”</p><p><br></p><p><br></p><p>---</p><p><br></p><p>Meanwhile, in the Voidspire, where the Hollow Flame now stirred fully, shadows gathered like vultures.</p><p><br></p><p>The Hollow Flame no longer whispered—it commanded.</p><p><br></p><p>It shaped creatures from ash and broken memories: flamewalkers wearing faces of the dead, frostbeasts who left silence in their wake. Worst of all were the Reflections—twisted copies of Kaelara and Seren, crafted from fear, rage, and doubt.</p><p><br></p><p>And at their heart, in a throne of burning bones, sat a figure wrapped in living voidfire…</p><p><br></p><p>It did not yet have a form.</p><p><br></p><p>But it had a purpose:</p><p><br></p><p>Break the bond.</p><p>Burn the balance.</p><p>Begin the end.</p><p><br></p><p><br></p><p>---</p><p><br></p><p>Back at Kareth, the sisters met alone one final time before the war began.</p><p><br></p><p>They did not speak of fear.</p><p><br></p><p>They spoke of strategy, memory… and trust.</p><p><br></p><p>Kaelara held Seren’s hand. “We don’t win this with just power. We win by staying together.”</p><p><br></p><p>Seren looked toward the rising ash in the east. “Then we don’t let go.”</p><p><br></p><p>And with that vow, they stepped into destiny.</p>