The mountains loomed like silent gods.
Jagged and shrouded in mist, the range known only as the Black Spine had not been crossed in a thousand years—not since Amariel herself vanished beyond it.
Now Amina stood at its base, the key-stone warm in her palm, her companions quiet behind her.
"Do we even know what's on the other side?" Kai asked, his tone half-joke, half-dread.
Amina didn't look back. "Only that it's the last place Amariel feared to go."
Ashar stepped forward, hood pulled tight against the cold wind. "Then we go together."
---
A Night Before the Climb
They camped in a craggy alcove beneath stone teeth.
Lumeah drew ancient maps in the dirt—scratched from half-remembered lore and myth. Valec watched her, silent.
Tarin slept beside the fire, his skin still faintly glowing, the echo of the Phoenix whispering in his veins.
Amina pulled the stone from her satchel and pressed it to her heart.
The sigil inside pulsed—just once.
A line of heat traced across her chest, like a scar drawn by flame.
She looked down—and saw glowing lines crawling across her skin.
Not burns.
A map.
Written in the bloodline of fire.
---
Meanwhile – At the Dead Gate
The Red Weavers completed the ritual.
A monolith of black salt and bone rose from the wastes, humming with dark promise.
The Gate screamed once—just once—and then stood still.
From behind it, something pressed outward. Something vast. Ancient. Hungry.
"She walks toward us," said the silver-veiled Weaver.
"She must not reach the gate before the convergence," another warned.
"Then send the Hollow Knights."
---
Back in the Mountains
The higher they climbed, the colder it became.
Snow no longer fell as flakes—it shattered like glass around them, cutting the skin, biting the soul.
Ashar collapsed once. Kai carried him without a word.
Valec alone seemed unfazed.
Until they reached the summit.
There, the wind died.
There, the world held its breath.
Amina walked forward.
And the mountain moved.
---
A Guardian of Ice and Memory
From the snow, a shape rose—a giant of frozen light and forgotten names.
Its face was a mask of mirrored ice.
Its voice was wind over bone.
"Name the flame."
Amina stepped forward. "Phoenix-born. Flame-carrier. Daughter of Amariel."
The giant paused.
Then lowered its head.
And melted into light.
Behind it, a path opened in the stone.
Kai exhaled. "Was that supposed to happen?"
Valec's voice was tight. "No. That means something's changed."
---
In the Cavern of Whispers
The path led into a spiral tunnel, lined with glyphs that glowed faintly as Amina passed.
She felt their voices in her bones—echoes of the ones who came before. Of Amariel. Of others who never returned.
Then the ground trembled.
A screech echoed through the tunnel.
Kai drew his blade. "Something's coming."
From the darkness crawled figures—armored in rust and sorrow, faces hollowed to skulls. The Hollow Knights.
"They've found us," Lumeah breathed.
Amina summoned flame to her hands—but it flickered.
"No fire works in here," Valec said grimly. "We're too close to the Gate."
"Then we fight with will," Ashar growled, forcing himself upright.
And they did.
---
The Battle Beneath the Bones
The clash was brutal—blades meeting rusted weapons, light clashing against darkness.
Amina fought with raw instinct, her flame faltering but her resolve blazing.
Tarin, half-awake, whispered ancient syllables, each word peeling back the shadows.
Ashar, despite his wounds, stood beside Lumeah, defending her with every breath.
But for each knight they felled, more rose.
Until Valec stepped forward.
He pulled the shard of the Cradle from his chest—and plunged it into the ground.
The sigils flared.
And every Hollow Knight screamed, disintegrating into ash.
Silence fell.
Valec collapsed to his knees.
Amina caught him. "What did you do?"
"I used the shard's memory," he gasped. "That was the last of it."
---
At the Heart of the Mountain
The tunnel ended in a vast circular chamber.
In the center: a pedestal.
And upon it—another key.
A sword made of molten gold and starlight.
Amariel's blade.
Amina approached.
The flames on her arms surged.
"I know what this is," she whispered. "It's not just a weapon."
Kai looked around nervously. "Then what?"
She reached out.
"It's a test."
Her hand touched the hilt.
Light exploded.
---
Elsewhere – The Pale King Watches
"She has the blade," he murmured.
A figure beside him snarled. "Then the Gate will open."
"No," the Pale King said. "First, she must bleed."