A Fire in the Flesh

Despite the news that Eythos’s soul is trapped within the Star, Nyktos still insists that he doesn’t want her to risk her life for his or his father’s sake. She lies and tells him that she’ll be fine and then uses the embers to summon the diamond. None of them know how to get Sotoria’s soul into the diamond or Eythos’s out of it, so Attes says that he will ask Keella for her help. 

Nyktos and Sera then shadowstep, using the diamond, to a secluded hot spring in the mortal realm. During their moment of respite, Sera explains the memory she saw when she first touched the diamond. She has a panic attack, and Nyktos calms her down. Afterward, she asks him to touch, kiss, and take care of her, and he complies.

While in the hot spring, Sera asks Nyktos what will happen to her soul after she dies. Nyktos tells her that he can’t foresee her journey in the afterlife because his bond with her prevents him from influencing her fate—a rule imposed long ago by the Fates to maintain balance. When Sera asks if the other Primals are similarly bound, Nyktos confirms that they are, except for the Primal of Life, who is expected to be more responsible than the others.

When the conversation turns to their time imprisoned by Kolis, Nyktos confirms that he shared the strange dreams with her due to the connection between them. They decide to leave the springs, and Nyktos shadowsteps away from the cavern to bring her some fresh clothing. While he’s gone, Sera begins bleeding from the mouth, signaling that her Ascension is intensifying. When Nyktos returns, she finally admits to him that she is dying. Her Ascension has progressed to the point where the embers are fully integrated into her, leaving her with only hours to live.

Sera and Nyktos shadowstep into the Bonelands, a lush place grown from the remains of countless beings who fell in battles with the Ancients. Nyktos explains that the war began because the Ancients lost their empathy over time and decided to cleanse the land of mortals, believing that otherwise, the world’s balance would be destroyed.

They walk to an old, ruined temple where their allies, Bele, Saion, Rhain, and others, are waiting for them. Bele tells Sera that they learned what happened to Kolis from Elias, who they have tied up out of caution. She also informs Sela that one of the draken, Orphine, fell in battle. 

Attes and Keella arrive and confirm that it will be difficult to transfer Eythos’s soul out of the Star diamond. While the Arae could do it, they would likely take the Star back. However, Keella tells them that the true Primal of Life could do it. Despite Nyktos’s protests, Sera decides to do it herself. She successfully summons Eythos’s soul from the Star, and it manifests as an ethereal presence that touches Nyktos’s face. Their triumph is short-lived as Sera collapses. Her heart stutters, and pain consumes her.

Sera awakens in Keella’s palace in the Thyia Plains, lying in Nyktos’s embrace. Her first concern is the Star, which Nyktos assures her is with Keella and Attes. He also explains that Eythos told him he was proud of him before departing for Arcadia. When Sera questions the strange taste in her mouth, Nyktos admits that he gave Sera some of his blood to stabilize her. Sera argues that he should conserve his strength after being imprisoned in stasis, but Nyktos will do anything to keep her alive. 

The argument is interrupted by the arrival of Nektas, Keella, and Attes. The group discusses the stakes of their situation. Sotoria’s rebirth is necessary to stop Kolis, but if Sera dies before her soul is extracted, their chance of defeating him will vanish. Sera insists on going through the process, and Keella, with Nyktos’s help, removes Sotoria’s soul and transfers it into the Star. As Sera feels the soul disentangle from hers, she hears Sotoria one last time, promising that they will see each other again.

Sera and Nyktos return to the Bonelands, leaving Keella and Attes behind. Sera apologizes to Elias for the hostility he faced upon his arrival at the temple. Rhain approaches and thanks Sera for saving his life, but Sera deflects his gratitude and gives him back Aios’s necklace.

The others banter and argue while Sera watches and wishes she had more time with all of them. She asks Nyktos to take her to her lake one last time, and the atmosphere grows somber as the others realize what’s coming. Before Sera and Nyktos leave, the others kneel before her and swear an oath to honor her forever.

Sera and Nyktos retreat to her lake. She debates visiting her stepsister and her mother but ultimately decides to prioritize her final moments with Nyktos. Sera urges him not to blame himself for what happened and asks him to promise that he will live fully after her death, even finding love again. At first, he angrily denies the possibility of moving on, but in the end, he reluctantly promises her that he will.

Not wanting her last memories to be of her captivity with Kolis or the somber aftermath, Sera and Nyktos have passionate sex on the banks of the lake.

Sera and Nyktos’s moment of peace is broken when they sense Kolis’s awakening, signaling the end of their borrowed time. Nyktos carries Sera into her lake, and she reflects on how Nyktos fulfilled the desires she’d always had to be seen, loved, and valued. She tries to comfort him, urging him to take the embers to secure the realms’ survival. 

However, Nyktos makes the defiant choice to try to Ascend her instead, risking both the embers and the fates of everyone else. Despite Sera’s protests, he forces his blood into her, clinging to the hope that it will save her. Sera, overwhelmed, drifts into memories of her past as she dies. Nyktos’s voice cuts through in her final moments. He begs her to stay and confesses that he’s in love with her.