The calm didn't last.
Though the beast had fallen, its roar echoed through the temple for hours. The ground trembled less now, but the tension lingered like smoke after fire.
Eli sat at the edge of the ruined chasm, staring at the ashes that had once been a monster. His gauntlets, still faintly glowing, pulsed in rhythm with his breath.
"You okay?" Mira asked gently.
Eli nodded. "I saw him. The boy inside the beast. He wasn't just a memory. He was... me."
Jericho blinked. "What do you mean?"
"Something about this power—it doesn't just burn. It remembers."
---
A Warning From Below
Alaryn approached, his face pale and lined with worry.
"That creature was a Warden Flame," he said. "An ancient protector twisted by corruption. But the corruption came from outside."
Mira frowned. "You mean someone did this to it?"
"More than that," Alaryn said darkly. "Someone knew it was sealed here... and tried to wake it."
Eli stood. "Velra."
Jericho hissed. "That witch again. How is she always one step ahead?"
Alaryn turned toward the exit. "Because we're only beginning to understand the war we've walked into."
---
The Ember Council's Decision
Back at the Ember Temple's upper halls, the council convened.
Twelve seats. Ten occupied. The absence of two Elders made the chamber colder than usual.
Alaryn spoke first, presenting the truth of what had happened beneath the mountain. Murmurs followed. Disbelief. Fear.
"The boy bonded with the creature's Ember," one Elder said. "That's forbidden."
Another stood. "And yet he subdued it. We'd all be dead without him."
A woman in gray robes leaned forward. "Then we make our choice now. Either train him... or exile him."
All eyes turned to the High Flamekeeper.
She stood slowly, her voice a whisper of fire. "We do both. We train him for war. But if he falters... we burn him."
---
A New Flamebound Joins
Later that evening, a new figure arrived at the temple gates. A girl, barely older than Eli, her silver braid swinging behind her as she walked with confident strides.
She wore a uniform marked by the seal of Ignora—the Northern Flame Fortress.
Jericho raised an eyebrow. "Who's that?"
The girl approached Eli, offered a short bow, and said, "I'm Kaelin. Top initiate of Ignora. I was sent to keep you alive."
Mira smirked. "He already has us for that."
Kaelin smiled faintly. "Then consider me the reinforcement."
---
Far in the West…
In a cold, desolate ruin known as The Hollow Reach, Velra and her cloaked disciples formed a ring around a burning symbol etched into the ice.
The oracle's voice was chilling.
"The Emberblood boy grows in power. But he is untempered steel. All flame. No direction."
Velra smiled. "Then let's give him direction."
She dropped a piece of black crystal into the fire.
It screamed.
The ice cracked.
And something ancient opened its eyes.