The embers that crackled in the sacred hall dimmed, and an unnatural silence filled the Firelight Temple. Kaen stood at the threshold of the Great Hearth, still shaken from the vision he had glimpsed in the flames. His fists trembled—not from fear, but from a weight he couldn't explain.
Behind him, Kairo adjusted his cloak. "You saw something, didn't you?"
Kaen didn't answer at first. "A place. A face. And... a scream. But it felt like it came from inside me."
Eris stepped forward, her golden eyes glowing faintly. "The Firelight doesn't show falsehoods. It reveals only what is etched into your soul."
Kaen looked at her, the firelight dancing over his pale skin. "Then why does it feel like someone else's pain?"
Before Eris could answer, the ground beneath the temple rumbled. A wave of dust fell from the high ceilings. Kaen instinctively drew his training blade—though it was dull, it was all he had. Kairo readied his sigil scrolls while Eris pressed her palm against the stone floor.
"The Ember Vein is active," she whispered. "But this… this shouldn't be possible."
From the far end of the temple, a series of ancient symbols flared into view along the walls—pulsing red like a heartbeat. The hearth roared to life again, the flames now blue and twisting unnaturally.
Suddenly, a figure emerged from the fire.
A man—no, a presence—shrouded in cracked obsidian armor, with hollow eyes that seemed to stretch into eternity. His form flickered like smoke, his voice like a chorus of forgotten voices.
"The cycle turns again. The heir dares to awaken."
Kaen stumbled back. "Who—what—are you?"
The figure tilted its head. "I am the flame that once guided gods… and the shadow that remained when they turned away. And you, Kaen of No Origin, are walking into a fire you do not yet comprehend."
With that, the figure vanished—dispersed like ash in the wind. The flames calmed. The temple stilled.
Silence again.
Kairo was the first to speak. "That... wasn't just an illusion."
Eris's face had gone pale. "No. That was him. The Ashbound Shade. He hasn't been seen in over two centuries."
Kaen took a step forward, toward the now-flickering hearth. "Why did he call me the heir?"
No one answered. But deep down, Kaen already knew—whatever had just awakened wasn't just ancient.
It was waiting for him.