The flame's embrace tightened, not burning but illuminating. Soren staggered under the onslaught of sensations, not pain, but a pressure that threatened to crack him open from within, revealing something buried so deep he hadn't known it existed.

Visions flashed before his eyes, fragmented but vivid:

A throne constructed entirely of blades, their edges gleaming in torchlight.

A battlefield over which loomed a dragon's shadow, massive and ancient.

A crown wreathed in flames that matched the color of the fire now surrounding him.

The chains around his wrists began to glow red-hot, the metal softening, scripture warping as hairline fractures appeared in the links.

From the gallery came sounds of confusion, gasps, muttered prayers, a chair scraping back as someone rose in alarm.

Soren could barely focus on them through the curtain of light that enveloped him, but he caught glimpses of wide eyes, pale faces, hands clutching religious symbols for protection.

"Impossible," someone whispered, the word barely audible over the flame's roar.

The lead Inquisitor's marble composure cracked for the first time. His winter-cold eyes widened as he stepped back from the brazier, one hand raised as if to shield himself.

"The corruption twists the Flame!" he shouted, voice rising with what might have been fear. "This is not blessing, it is proof of taint! The heresy is so deep it perverts even sacred fire!"

But whispers rippled through the assembled clergy, uncertainty spreading like cracks through ice. Some murmured of divine favor, ancient texts that spoke of those chosen by the flame itself.

Others looked terrified, as if witnessing something that threatened foundations they had believed unshakable.

Soren remained standing, engulfed but unconsumed. The visions continued to flash before him, each one feeling like a memory he had never lived yet recognized to his core.

Through the curtain of flame, he saw Ser Calvian rise from his seat in the gallery, golden perfection marred for the first time by an expression of naked shock. The knight's burning eyes fixed on Soren with something new, not contempt or righteous certainty, but confusion. Perhaps even fear.

For Calvian knew, as did everyone in that chamber, that the Eternal Flame bent toward Soren instead of consuming him. Bent toward him instead of its supposed champion.

"If Solmir's own Flame spares him," Veyr's voice cut through the growing chaos, precise and carrying, "who among us dares dispute the will of the divine?"

The heir had risen in the gallery, chains still binding his wrists but posture straight and commanding. His pale eyes surveyed the assembled clergy with cool calculation.

"The sacred texts speak of those who cannot be consumed," Veyr continued, each word carefully chosen. "Of vessels the Flame recognizes. Is it heresy to acknowledge what we all witness with our own eyes?"

Soren knew Veyr didn't believe a word of it, the heir's faith was in knowledge, in ancient texts, in political calculation. But he wielded these words like perfectly balanced knives, striking at the heart of the Cathedral's narrative.

The nobles and clergy present shifted uncomfortably in their seats, forced into hesitation by the spectacle before them. No one could simply condemn Soren now, not when the Church's most sacred relic had refused to burn him.

The flame gradually receded, withdrawing back into the brazier with reluctance that felt almost sentient. As its embrace loosened, Soren nearly collapsed, legs trembling with exhaustion.

Only the chains around his wrists, held by Inquisitors who had backed away during the display, kept him upright.

The lead Inquisitor stepped forward again, composure partially restored though something haunted lingered in those winter-cold eyes.

"The trial is... inconclusive," he declared, the admission clearly painful. "The subject requires further purification before final judgment can be rendered."

It wasn't victory, but it wasn't execution either. Soren felt the reprieve like cool water on parched skin, relief so profound his knees threatened to buckle beneath him.

The Inquisitors surrounded him again, their grip on his chains tighter than before, as if they feared what might happen should they loosen their hold. They dragged him backward from the brazier, from the Eternal Flame that had refused to consume him.

As they pulled him toward the iron door, Soren caught one last glimpse of Veyr in the gallery, those pale eyes fixed on him with new assessment, measuring his value against whatever political advantage this spectacle might yield.

Ser Calvian remained standing, golden perfection now marred by the first uncertainty Soren had seen in that marble-carved face. The knight's burning gaze followed him as he was dragged from the chamber, tracking him with an intensity that promised this was far from over.

The shard against his chest settled into its familiar cold, Valenna's presence receding slightly though her voice remained clear as they pulled him into the corridor beyond.

"Now they see you," she whispered, calm and cutting. "Now they'll fear you."

The iron doors clanged shut behind him, cutting off the roar of the Eternal Flame. Soren stumbled as the Inquisitors dragged him down the corridor, his legs still weak from the ordeal.

The scripture-forged chains bit into his raw wrists, but the pain felt distant now, overwhelmed by the echoes of what had just happened.

'You are marked now,' Valenna whispered, her voice clearer than it had been since their capture. 'Neither heretic nor faithful. Something they cannot categorize.'

The Inquisitors' grips tightened on his arms, their fingers digging into muscle with bruising force. Beneath their hoods, Soren caught glimpses of pale faces tight with confusion, perhaps even fear.

They had expected to witness an execution. Instead, they had seen something none of them could explain.

"Take him to the holding cell," one of them ordered, voice strained. "The Archon must be consulted."

They rounded a corner, and Soren nearly collided with a figure in midnight-blue robes trimmed with silver. The man stepped back, pale eyes widening as he took in the disheveled prisoner and his escort.

"High Scribe Dalen," an Inquisitor acknowledged with a slight bow. "We are returning the subject for—"

"I know what you're doing," the scribe interrupted, his gaze fixed on Soren with unsettling intensity.

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