CHAPTER 43: CHAPTER 43 – “THE PRISON BREAKS”

Ren’s breath burned like fire in his lungs. The black water still pressed against him, choking, heavy, but it no longer swallowed him whole. His flames had carved out a sphere around his body, an ember of defiance amid endless dark.

The chains binding him hissed, glowing red where his fire licked against them. The reflection—his doppelgänger with those hollow, glass-like eyes—watched silently, almost curiously, as if measuring how much more Ren could break before shattering.

"You’ll burn yourself hollow," the reflection murmured. "But isn’t that what you’ve always done? Pretending heat makes you alive, when all it does is consume."

Ren grit his teeth. His voice was ragged, but it carried.

"I don’t care if it consumes me. As long as it reaches her."

The vow-thread at his chest pulsed again. He could feel her—struggling outside, wings bleeding light, holding off three chained versions of himself. Every time her heartbeat stumbled, it made his flame surge higher.

He forced himself upright against the crushing weight of the water. The chains around his shoulders cracked, just barely, with the sound of stone under too much strain.

The reflection tilted its head, and for the first time, there was a faint smile. "Interesting. Show me, then. Burn until nothing remains."

Ren roared, his fire flaring outward, scorching the black water itself until it writhed and recoiled. For the first time since he’d been pulled under, a fissure appeared in the prison wall—a jagged, glowing crack of crimson light.

And outside—

The girl staggered back as the knight’s chain-blade slammed into her wings. Sparks erupted, shards splintered into the air. She barely had time to cross her arms, the unstable wings flickering dangerously.

The serpent slithered low, striking at her ankles, while the beast loomed above, waiting for the perfect strike.

Her arms trembled. Her body screamed in pain as her unstable wings threatened to tear her apart from within. She could taste iron in her mouth.

But then—she felt it.

A surge. A sudden, violent pulse through the vow-thread. Her head snapped toward the mirror wall encircling the battlefield. For a brief instant, she saw it—a crack glowing crimson, like a heartbeat of fire bleeding through glass.

Her lips curled into a broken smile. "Ren..."

The knight’s blade came down. She moved—not away, but forward. Wings blazing, she slammed her entire body against the knight’s armored chest. The impact sent the chain-blade skittering off course, cleaving the ground instead of her flesh.

Shards of her wings embedded into the knight’s armor, hissing like molten metal. The serpent struck her leg, teeth piercing deep, and she screamed—but her eyes stayed fixed on that crimson fissure.

"Come through, Ren..." she whispered through clenched teeth. "Don’t leave me here alone."

Inside the prison, Ren’s flames roared higher, spilling into the crack. The reflection stepped forward, chains writhing like serpents, its glassy eyes narrowing.

"Fine. If you want to break free..." The reflection raised its hand. Chains gathered into a blade, jagged and shimmering with mirrored light. "...then I’ll carve you apart myself."

Ren clenched his fists, fire wreathing them until they looked less like hands and more like burning weapons.

The vow-thread pulsed between them, brighter than ever.

For the first time, Ren felt not just his heartbeat—but hers, inside his chest.

And he charged.

The crack widened with a sound like shattering glass under a hammer blow. Crimson light bled through the fissure, splitting the mirror-dark prison with trembling veins of fire.

Ren’s reflection moved first. The chain-blade shot out like lightning, tearing through the black water, aiming straight for Ren’s chest.

Ren didn’t flinch. His fist, wreathed in flame, shot forward.

Steel and fire collided with an impact that made the entire prison shudder. The water convulsed, waves rippling outward, and shards of glowing glass rained down like broken stars.

The reflection’s voice was low, steady.

"You can’t win against yourself."

Ren snarled, pushing harder, flames pouring from his arm. "Then I’ll burn myself away if that’s what it takes!"

The chain-blade wrapped around his arm, hissing against fire. For a moment, his flames faltered under the weight, suffocating in the black water’s grip. The reflection leaned close, glassy eyes reflecting Ren’s furious face back at him.

"You’re already shackled," it whispered. "By guilt. By desire. By her."

At the mention of her, Ren’s flames detonated.

The chain-blade melted at the contact point, dripping liquid steel into the water. Ren ripped his arm free, swung wide, and slammed his flaming fist into the reflection’s face.

The glass-skinned figure flew back, cracking against the prison wall. Splinters of mirror fractured outward, opening more crimson light into the darkness.

For the first time, Ren saw something flicker in the reflection’s eyes—pain. Not his own. Not yet.

Outside—

The girl gasped as venom burned through her veins. Every step felt heavier, every breath more ragged, but her unstable wings still burned with wild, radiant shards of light.

The knight advanced, unrelenting. Its chain-blade whirled like a storm, and each strike forced her back. Sparks rained as the knight’s weapon clashed with her glowing shards.

The serpent slithered low, circling, waiting for her falter. The beast above prowled at the edge of vision, like a nightmare stalking the final heartbeat before it pounced.

But she kept moving. She had to.

Her body screamed at her to collapse. The venom tore through her blood like wildfire. But every time she felt her knees buckle, she looked at the mirror wall. She looked at that crimson crack bleeding fire into the battlefield.

And she smiled, weak but unbroken.

"Come on, Ren. Break through. Show me you’re real."

The knight’s blade slammed down. She raised her wings, shards exploding outward like a storm of broken stars. The impact shook the ground, the light searing across the battlefield.

For an instant, she swore she felt warmth—not hers. His.

Inside the prison, Ren’s flames surged brighter than ever, spreading across the cracks. The reflection rose again, glass face shattered but still smiling faintly.

"You’re changing," it said. "But change has a cost. Every flame eats away at you. What will you become when nothing’s left?"

Ren’s breath came heavy, but his eyes were steady, unyielding.

"I don’t care. If burning is the only way forward..." His fire flared so bright it painted the prison crimson. "...then I’ll burn until even you vanish."

The reflection raised its chain-blade. Ren raised his fists of fire.

And as they collided once more, the vow-thread pulsed between them like a living flame—each heartbeat stronger, fiercer, as if the girl’s will was pushing through the mirror with him.

The prison walls trembled, spiderweb cracks spreading further.

Something was about to give.

The cracks across the prison walls spread like veins of fire, each heartbeat making the glass tremble louder, sharper. The water around Ren hissed, steaming as his flames boiled it away. His reflection’s chain-blade thrashed, fighting to bind him again, but every strike now met a blaze too fierce to suppress.

They clashed once more—steel against fire, mirror against flesh.

And then, with a thunderous shatter, the prison split open.

The glass ceiling overhead ruptured, sending shards spiraling upward like crimson meteors. The black water drained away in torrents, vanishing into the light. Ren and his reflection were thrown apart, suspended between falling shards and rising fire.

The reflection’s mask of calm finally cracked. It clutched its weapon tighter, cracks spiderwebbing across its glass skin. Its voice trembled, caught between rage and grief.

"If you burn everything... you’ll destroy her too."

Ren floated in the storm of broken glass, his body wreathed in uncontrollable fire, his voice steady and defiant.

"Then I’ll find another way. My fire won’t consume her. It’ll reach her."

The reflection lunged, chain-blade whipping forward with desperate speed. Ren met it head-on, both fists blazing brighter than ever, the vow-thread pulsing between them like a vein of living flame.

The collision detonated.

The prison walls collapsed entirely, and with a deafening roar, Ren’s fire surged outward—consuming the reflection, devouring the last of the black water, and tearing through the veil that bound him.

Outside—

The girl staggered as the battlefield trembled. Her unstable wings shattered outward in fragments of light as she fell to one knee. The venom in her blood flared with the quake, her vision blurring. The knight raised its blade for the final strike.

But the mirror behind her exploded.

A flood of fire and shards erupted outward, sweeping across the battlefield like a living storm. The knight’s blade recoiled, the serpent writhed and shrieked, the beast above let out a guttural roar that shook the air.

And from the storm of glass and flame, Ren stepped through.

His body still burned, steam rising from his skin, his eyes blazing like twin embers. The vow-thread glowed between him and the girl, no longer faint, but blazing bright enough to split the battlefield into light and shadow.

The girl, blood running from the corner of her lips, laughed breathlessly as she collapsed fully, her wings flickering out. "Took you long enough..."

Ren caught her before she hit the ground. His fire dimmed just enough not to scorch her. She was trembling, fevered, her veins dark with venom, but her smile was still there.

The knight raised its blade again. The serpent coiled to strike. The beast above began its descent.

Ren stood, holding her against him, and raised his gaze to the chained horrors. His voice was low, steady, carrying through the battlefield.

"You tried to chain her. You tried to chain me." His fire rose higher, crimson flames wrapping him like armor. "But chains break. And fire doesn’t bow."

The vow-thread pulsed one final time, brighter than ever.

And with a roar, Ren unleashed a torrent of flame that split the battlefield in two.

The knight staggered back, chains melting. The serpent shrieked, its scales cracking under the heat. Even the beast above faltered, its shadow torn by light.

The prison was gone. The battlefield was no longer theirs.

Ren was free.