The silence after Kaen's awakening was heavy.
The others watched him with a mix of awe and unease, like something ancient had just cracked open inside him—and none of them knew if what came out would burn them alive or light their path.
Kaen still felt the echo.
The Vault's pulse throbbed in his bones, like a second heartbeat. That vision, the battlefield of flame and falling stars—it wasn't a dream. It was a memory. But whose?
"Was that… from your past life?" Mira asked, softly.
"I don't know," Kaen said. "But it wasn't just a vision. It felt real. Like I was there… again."
Tane stepped forward, wiping ash from the altar's base. "The Ember Vault doesn't just preserve memory—it binds it. You've been marked by it now. Whatever you saw... it's yours, whether you remember it or not."
Selyra's staff began to glow. "The Vault is reactivating."
The chamber vibrated again—stone sliding against stone. A hidden passage opened behind the altar, revealing a spiraling staircase carved deep into the mountain's core. From below, golden light shimmered like waves, and a faint hum rose, melodic and ancient.
Kaen's body moved before his mind caught up.
He descended first, the others following in tense silence.
As they reached the heart of the vault, they entered a massive chamber ringed by twelve floating pedestals—each holding a flame of different color. Red. Blue. Violet. Green. Gold. Each fire hummed with energy, pulsing like stars.
In the center, a single pedestal stood empty.
And above it hovered a burning shard—twisting like a serpent, bleeding embers into the air.
Kaen stepped forward. He didn't know why… but he knew this was calling him.
Suddenly, the flames around the room flared.
One by one, they began to whisper—not words, but memories.
Visions of war. Of peace. Of betrayal. Of rebirth.
Then, a voice—booming, yet calm—filled the chamber.
"The soul that forgets is doomed to repeat. The flame that remembers… must choose."
Kaen's mind flashed with moments not his own.
A battle beneath a black sun. A friend falling into darkness. A god made of light turning its back on the world.
He dropped to his knees.
"I… I don't understand."
The shard descended.
It floated before him—then melted into his chest, becoming part of him.
In that moment, Kaen saw it.
A glimpse of the Prime Flame.
The source of his power. Of his curse. Of his potential.
He gasped.
Mira ran to him. "Kaen—what happened?!"
He looked up, eyes burning with golden light.
"I remember the fire now. But it's not done showing me the truth."
The chamber went dark again.
The Vault had given him a piece of the puzzle.
But with it came a cost:
The more he remembered…
The less human he felt.