The victory at the Maw of Rithen had come at a price.
As dawn painted the sky with streaks of crimson and gold, the group broke camp. The river sang beside them, calm and indifferent to the trauma of the night before.
Amina stood alone, arms folded, watching the current.
"I saw her," she whispered.
Kai approached. "Your mother?"
A nod.
He didn't offer comfort. Not immediately. Just stood beside her.
"There's power in remembrance," he finally said, "but danger in obsession."
She turned to him. "You think I'm obsessed?"
"I think you're scared. And scared people hold too tightly to what's already gone."
Amina looked away. He was right. But the Flame inside her burned brighter than ever—more alive, more sentient.
She didn't just feel chosen now.
She felt… watched.
The City of Auron Vale
Their next destination lay beyond the jungles: Auron Vale, a city carved into the cliffs, known for its floating markets and masked rulers.
As they neared its borders, something felt wrong.
Guards stood in silence at the gates—eyes wide open, motionless.
"Why aren't they moving?" Ashar asked, drawing his blade.
A raven landed on the shoulder of one. No flinch. No blink.
Amina stepped closer and gasped.
"They're alive... but frozen."
Kai examined them. "Magic. Time-bound stasis."
Suddenly, a voice echoed above them.
"You brought the Flame here. Foolish."
A woman descended slowly on a floating platform—her silver robes glinting, her eyes hidden behind a bone-white mask.
"I am High Seer Lumeah, Keeper of Auron Vale. Speak fast. The Flame disrupts more than you understand."
The Memory Market
To gain entry, the Seer offered them a test.
"You may pass only if you survive the Memory Market. It sees into your soul. Barters your truths."
Within the city's heart, stalls floated in midair. Merchants wore no faces. Customers spoke only in whispers.
Each traveler was drawn to a stall.
Amina approached one glowing with firelight. Inside was a mirror—but not of her reflection.
It showed a version of her without the Flame.
Peaceful. Smiling. Normal.
She reached out—but her hand was burned.
"You must trade something," the faceless merchant rasped. "A memory for a path forward."
Amina clenched her fists. "Take my first day at the temple."
The merchant bowed. The mirror shattered.
And her path lit up.
Ashar's Cost
Ashar's stall was a forge. The blacksmith asked, "What would you give up to forget your failure?"
Ashar didn't flinch. "Nothing. I deserve the pain."
The blacksmith smiled. "Then you pass."
Ashar left—but not untouched. His sword now glowed faintly with red runes.
"What is this?" he murmured.
The blacksmith's voice echoed: "A weapon only truth can wield."
The Warning
Once inside Auron Vale, Seer Lumeah brought them to the Oracle Chamber—walls of cascading water showing flickers of possible futures.
"Two seals remain," she said. "But time collapses. The Flame stirs not just enemies, but the gods themselves."
She waved her hand—and a vision unfolded.
Amina, on a battlefield, screaming. Ashar bleeding at her feet. Kai surrounded by ash.
Behind them... a shadowed figure with eyes like galaxies.
"Who is that?" Amina asked.
Lumeah's mask tilted. "The one who watches. The Eye Beneath. It stirs now. Because of you."
The Eye Awakens
Far beneath the continent, past molten caverns and dead cities, something moved.
A lid opened. Not made of flesh—but stone and time.
And within that eye... was recognition.
"She carries the Flame," the voice whispered. "The Chosen walks."
With it came tremors. Cracks split across forbidden lands.
The world was no longer safe.
Departure and Dread
As they prepared to leave Auron Vale, Amina turned to Lumeah.
"What's waiting at the next seal?"
Lumeah didn't answer immediately.
Then softly, "Not what. Who."
Amina frowned. "Who then?"
Lumeah's voice dropped.
"The one who failed before you. The first Flamebearer."
Amina froze.
"I thought I was the first."
Lumeah's gaze never wavered. "History lies. Magic remembers."