Cael Orin's remains lay under a sky filled with violet scars, its broken spires reaching toward the heavens like jagged bones. Kai Kael was at the *Stormspire*'s helm, the airship flying over a Dungeon—a thumping rift of black and violet—cut into the heart of the city. Darkness squirmed from its center, feeding on Cael Orin's remaining sorrow, the cries of its fallen magnified by Drevon Kael's Spires of Sin.
Kai's Wyrm-Sigil blazed, its prismatic glow pulsing with the second sun's cold light. His dragons—Flame, Ice, Storm, Earth, Void—churned within, their harmony strained by Graveth, the War-Tide, and Voryn, the resonance dragon, whose hollow hum countered the rift's despair. Master Venri, her stave glowing, scanned the ruins. "This Dungeon's worse than Norith-Kaal," she said, voice taut. "Drevon's Umbral Shard feeds on shame—Cael Orin's cursed."
Ryn, the fiery summoner, gripped his flame-etched blade, eyes blazing. "I'll scout ahead, Kai. No one touches you." His reckless devotion—last week's unsanctioned raid on a Claw outpost—had cost an ally's trust.
Lysa, the empathic healer, stood close, her silver eyes probing. "The shame's crushing," she murmured, her touch lingering. "Let me ease it, Kai." Her empathy, once soothing, now nudged his emotions, unnerving him.
Torren, the stone-shaper, adjusted his gauntlets, stoic but watchful. "I've fortified the ship," he said. "No threat reaches you." His silent killings of Claw spies sparked distrust.
Elara, the archivist, clutched her data-slab, eyes on Kai. "The shard's unstable," she warned. "Follow my readings, or we're dead." Her hoarding of stone-lore hid critical data last mission.
Kaelith, the warrior who was touched by a dragon, honed her claw-blades, the glint of her scales shining. "Drevon's arrived," she snarled. "I'll kill him for you, Kai." Her personal grudge against the Claw threatened the mission.
Kai breathed out, their commitment a burden. "We go together," he declared, voice steady. "Drevon's contaminating the stone with emotions—shame, sorrow. We cleanse it."
They descended into Cael Orin's heart, the Dungeon's entrance a toothed maw pulsing with negative light. The air stung, thick with ash and shame, whispering *You failed Aren… Aeron's gone…*. Kai's runes flared, the Sentinel's residue shimmering as he led, Venri at his side.
The Dungeon twisted, corridors of broken stone looping, shadows curling like tendrils. The whispers grew—*You're weak… alone…*—feeding on Kai's guilt and fear of Graveth's ruin. Venri's stave cast a ward, flickering against the emotional tide. "Stay sharp," she urged. "Drevon's shadows amplify doubts."
The way led into a large chamber, its ceiling veiled in purple mist. A Umbral Shard, a former cosmic stone, hovered at its center, black and purple, throbbing with shame. Shadows gave birth to creatures with empty eyes and despair-pawed claws. Above, Drevon floated, his purple- bordered eyes burning, shadow-cloak spilling entropy.
"You're indefatigable, Wyrm-Bonded," Drevon spat. "Harmony's a lie. I imbue the stones with truth—shame, sorrow, pain—to awaken the Heart."
Kai's runes flared with fire, Graveth and Voryn bursting. "You're shattering the world," he snarled. "This is over."
Drevon sneered, darkness rippling. "The Depths are hungry. I nourish them on your shame.
The shadow-beasts lunged. Kai summoned his dragons—Flame seared, Ice shielded, Storm scattered, Earth anchored, Void countered whispers. Voryn's hum disrupted the beasts' forms. Ryn charged, ignoring Kai's call, his blade igniting a beast. Lysa's empathy eased fear but fixated on Kai. Torren crushed a beast, eyes on Kai. Elara's readings guided strikes but withheld a shard instability warning. Kaelith slashed for Drevon, heedless of the team.
The Dungeon pulsed, and the Third Sin emerged—a feminine entity of jagged light, her form weaving shame into blades. The chamber fractured—Cael Orin's ghosts trapped in betrayal, Kai seeing Aren's death, Aeron's fall. Graveth roared, its gravity-warping power threatening to shatter the stone. Voryn's echoes countered shame, grounding Kai with the Sentinel's clarity.
"Kai!" Venri shouted, her ward flaring. "The shard's the key!"
Drevon watched. "You'll break, Kael, like Thalen."
Kai's rage ignited, the Wyrm-Sigil blazing. He merged with Graveth and Voryn, radiating ruinous light, gravity bending the chamber, echoes fracturing the Sin's form. The dragons unified, their vortex cleaving the Third Sin's flank. Kai struck the Umbral Shard, its light dimming, but Drevon vanished, his laughter echoing: "The Heart wakes."
The rift stabilized, Kai crashing, blood oozing. Venri caught him, her ward dissolving. "The First Wyrm-Bonded's relic," she breathed. "It's in the Spiral."
Cael Orin's ruins stabilized, but the violet scar expanded. Kai held the Wyrm-Sigil, Graveth and Voryn hanging back, the Third Sin's essence weak but living. He was the Catalyst, and the Depths beckoned.
"We find the Spiral," he said, his friends' eyes—determined, fanatical—on him.