CHAPTER 1484: STORY 1484: THE VESSEL’S CHOICE

The waiting was worse than the chanting. The vessels stood in their fractured arc, bowed and silent, hollow eyes fixed on her as though she were the flame itself. Their stillness pressed on Elena’s lungs until every breath felt stolen.

Mira reached for her, shards orbiting faster now, as though her entire body threatened to unravel. “Elena, you have to listen. They’re not enemies. They’re mirrors. They’ll become whatever we decide.”

Elena shook her head, fire sparking at her fingertips. “I don’t want them to become anything. I want them gone.”

The third flame pulsed at her chest, a rhythm that didn’t ask, didn’t plead—only asserted. Her ember flared in response, unwilling yet unable to sever the tether. The vessels stirred at that signal, tilting their heads in unison.

One broke rank and stepped closer. Its faceless head leaned toward Elena as if to inhale her presence. She braced, summoning a burst of ember-flame, but again it refused to strike. The fire folded, curling into the vessel’s chest where it dissolved into brilliance. The hollow body rippled—and for an instant, Elena saw her own silhouette reflected inside it, warped and wavering.

Her stomach twisted. “That’s me.”

Mira’s voice trembled. “It’s not stealing you. It’s... offering. Do you see? They’re waiting for us to decide what shape they take.”

Elena staggered back, fists clenched. “No. That’s just another kind of cage—building soldiers out of our souls.”

The flame pulsed violently at her rejection. The circle of light widened, cracks spidering outward through the glass plain. More vessels climbed free, their bodies trembling like stringless puppets waiting to be strung. They stood tall, blank, eager, their silent anticipation heavier than the void had ever been.

Mira swayed, her glow fraying. “If we refuse, they’ll stay hollow forever. If we accept—”

“They’ll devour us,” Elena cut in, voice raw. But her conviction faltered when the flame’s beat slammed through her ribcage again, stronger, intimate. For a single terrifying moment, she wanted to yield. To let the hollowness spread, to pour herself into something larger than pain.

Mira stepped forward into the vessels’ arc, light dripping from her like molten glass. “What if becoming isn’t losing? What if it’s the only way to survive?”

Elena’s ember seared, furious, desperate to resist. But the flame beat once more, and the vessels moved. They knelt, their hollow eyes glowing faintly, their bodies trembling like newborns awaiting breath.

Mira turned back to her, shards orbiting so fast they blurred into rings of light. “Elena... it’s not choosing me. It’s choosing you.”

The words struck harder than any wound. The flame hovered closer, pressing its glow into her chest until every fracture of her body hummed with it. The vessels leaned forward in reverence, waiting for her to either give or deny them life.

Elena’s knees buckled. She clenched her teeth, whispering through fire and fear:

“If it wants me—then I’ll decide what I become.”

The plain trembled, and the hollow choir rose to their feet, their glow brightening in answer.