The sky burned.
Amina spun the Flameblade in her hands, its red-hot edge leaving glyphs of heat in the air. The beast before her—the Serath'Nul, Wyrm of the Abyss—roared, shaking the valley with a fury that cracked the mountain's bones.
"Scatter!" she shouted.
Ashar pulled Kai aside just as the shadow serpent lunged. Its mouth opened wide, fire coiling inside it like a dying sun.
But Amina ran toward it.
The Flameblade responded to her intent—becoming an extension of her will. With a cry that echoed through the storm, she leapt high, slashing downward.
Flame met shadow.
The impact shook the heavens.
For a moment, the serpent recoiled, screeching. Its obsidian skin cracked, glowing from within—but it wasn't dead.
Not even close.
Kai grabbed a bow of woven light from his back. "Aim for the eyes!"
He loosed an arrow. It whistled through the air—only to be swallowed by the beast's maw.
"No good!" he cursed. "It's absorbing elemental energy!"
Ashar cursed under his breath. "Then we bleed it the old-fashioned way."
Drawing twin blades forged from sky-iron, he dashed in, slashing across its exposed underbelly. Sparks flew. The beast shrieked, but the wound was shallow.
"It's not enough!" he shouted.
Then the earth rumbled.
Dozens of smaller creatures erupted from the cracked ground—scaled things with no eyes and too many teeth.
Aric stood his ground. "We've got company!"
He drew a circle in the dirt with his staff, muttering ancient words. Blue light exploded from the sigils, halting the monsters in their tracks.
"For now," he said, sweat beading. "But I can't hold them forever."
Amina felt the blade in her hand hum again. This time, it didn't ask—it commanded.
Let me burn. Let me purge.
She gritted her teeth. "Then show me what you're made of."
The Flameblade ignited fully, engulfing her in living fire. Her eyes blazed gold. Her voice deepened with power not entirely her own.
"By the pact of flame, I call forth the Rite of Ash!"
The ground split beneath her.
Fire shot upward in a pillar, consuming the sky.
The battle turned.
The serpent lunged, but Amina flew toward it, not walking—gliding on tongues of fire. She struck once, twice—each blow carving molten sigils into the beast's flesh.
The serpent wailed, stumbling.
Aric shouted from the warding circle. "Its power is tied to the Rift! Cut off its link!"
Ashar shouted, "Then we seal it!"
He threw Kai a glowing stone—a Rift Anchor.
Kai dashed forward, ducking under falling debris, leapt high, and slammed the anchor into the earth.
It pulsed once, then sent out waves of stabilizing energy.
The chasm hissed.
The serpent roared—and began to fade, like smoke losing form.
"No!" it howled. "The Flame is mine!"
Amina didn't stop.
She rose above the serpent and stabbed the Flameblade through its head. A soundless shockwave burst out.
The serpent collapsed in burning coils, disintegrating.
Silence fell.
Aftermath
The valley was scorched, broken—but calm.
Amina dropped to one knee, breathing hard. The Flameblade flickered, then went still.
Ashar walked up, offering her a hand. "You just called ancient fire like it was your birthright."
She took his hand and stood. "Maybe it is."
Kai looked to the ruins. "But that thing—what was it?"
Aric answered, grim-faced. "A herald. Not the end. Just the announcement."
They all turned as a strange humming filled the air.
From the crater where the serpent had died, a sigil began to glow—ancient, circular, inscribed with languages lost to time.
Amina's eyes widened.
"That's... a seal," she whispered. "There are more of them."
Suddenly, the sigil pulsed.
A beam of red light shot into the heavens, splitting the clouds.
In faraway lands, watchers stirred. Bells rang in temples. Scrolls unfurled on their own. And one man in a tower of ice opened his eyes for the first time in a thousand years.
"The Flamebearer has awakened," he murmured. "The game begins anew."
Back in the valley, Amina stared at the sky.
Ashar asked, "What now?"
She sheathed the Flameblade.
"We find the next seal," she said. "Before they do."