They rode into the north as the cold howled like a starving wolf.
Snow fell in sharp daggers, not flakes. The land around them was colorless — grey sky, grey earth, grey breath.
Jayden led the way, his face wrapped in a thick scarf, eyes narrowed against the wind. Beside him, Maggy was silent, but her eyes flickered constantly, reading every shape in the snow like a hidden script.
Crimson Hollow was supposed to be abandoned.
It wasn't.
As they approached, Mira raised a hand, stopping the convoy. Her pupils shimmered.
> "There are eyes watching. Three... no, five. Maybe more."
Callum slid down from his horse and vanished into the snow like a shadow wearing skin.
Ten seconds later, a scream pierced the silence.
---
They weren't Syndicate.
They were protectors — cloaked in red, armed with weapons that glowed faintly under the frost.
Jayden stepped forward, hands open.
> "We're not your enemies."
One of the figures lowered their hood. A woman — old, but regal. Her hair was white, her eyes completely black.
> "Everyone who walks here says that."
Jayden removed his glove and held out a crest — the ancient sigil of his mother's bloodline, a phoenix crowned with stars.
The woman stared.
> "That symbol hasn't been seen here in eighty years."
> "Then maybe it's time someone returned."
--
Beneath the Hollow, hidden under centuries of stone and sorrow, was the Vault.
It took them three hours to break the seal. Aria's blade, enchanted by Elira years ago, pulsed violently as the ancient door finally opened.
The air inside was warm.
Too warm.
They descended into the dark, torches flickering, shadows dancing like old memories.
At the center of the Vault was a single object: a black box, humming softly like it was breathing.
Mira stepped forward.
> "It's alive."
Jayden's chest tightened.
Something inside the box called to him — knew him.
And then… the voice.
Not spoken. Not heard. But felt.
> "Welcome back… my king."
--
Jeff grabbed Jayden by the arm.
> "You don't know what that thing is. Don't touch it."
> "I don't have to. It already touched me."
Jeff turned to the others.
> "We came to stop the Syndicate. Not to awaken… whatever this is."
Tension thickened the room. Linet stepped between them.
> "If the box is the Syndicate's goal, then keeping it from them is our duty."
> "Not if it turns him into something worse," Jeff spat.
Jayden looked at his team.
Some loyal.
Some scared.
Some doubting.
But he couldn't turn back.
Not now.
Not when the truth was this close.
---
That night, Jayden opened the box.
He didn't tell anyone.
Inside was a scroll.
Ancient. Bound in golden thread. Written in blood and light.
When he touched it, the Vault disappeared.
He was elsewhere.
In a burning city.
In chains.
And above him, a crown of flame — not worn, but fused into his head.
People knelt in fear. Children cried in worship. Buildings collapsed from the heat of his name alone.
And behind him stood Nadia — her eyes glowing red, her smile wicked.
> "This is what they feared. Not you. What you'll become."
Jayden fell to his knees.
> "No… this isn't real."
She touched his face.
> "Oh, but it is. It's your destiny."
--
Jayden woke with a scream.
Maggy was at his side instantly, gripping his hand.
> "Nightmare?"
> "A future."
He looked down at his hands.
They shook.
He'd never feared himself before.
But now… now the mirror showed something else.
Not a boy with burdens.
But a man with fire behind his eyes.
--
Far south, in the ruined city of Blackgrove, the Syndicate leader stood before an altar of bones.
A man approached.
His hood removed.
It was Jeff.
> "He opened it," Jeff said coldly. "He's starting to change."
The leader nodded.
> "Then we move on the Hollow. End the heir before he becomes the storm."
> "What about the girl?"
> "Kill her last," he whispered. "Make him watch."
-
The next morning, Callum found something disturbing — Syndicate symbols etched into the trees near the Vault.
> "They know we're here."
Jayden's mind raced. How?
And then… Jeff smiled too easily.
Too calmly.
And Jayden's stomach dropped.
Maggy saw it too.
> "Something's wrong."
They confronted him that night.
And when they searched his bag — they found the transmitter stone.
> "Why?" Jayden asked, voice barely above a whisper.
Jeff shrugged.
> "Because you were never supposed to win."
Jayden didn't hesitate.
He punched Jeff so hard, the traitor spat blood and fell to the floor.
> "Tie him. If they come, he'll watch us fight without a blade in his hand."
--
As snow began to fall again, Jayden stood outside, watching the sky.
Maggy joined him, wrapping her coat tighter.
> "Do you think we'll make it out?"
> "I don't know."
> "If we don't," she said, looking up, "promise me something."
> "Anything."
She took his hand.
> "Promise you won't forget how to smile. Not even if the world burns."
Jayden squeezed her hand.
> "Only if you promise the same."
She smiled.
> "I was born smiling. I'll die laughing."
---