Underground Cavern – Beneath the Southern Temple Ruins
The Vessel charged, armor clanking like a war drum, each step shaking loose ancient dust and memory. Its blade, forged from corrupted shardstone, cleaved through the cavern air with unnatural speed, laced with green lightning.
Y/N barely dodged the first swing, the edge grazing his coat and sending a burst of corrupted energy through the fabric. He countered with a roaring burst of dragon flame, green and wild, the cavern lighting up like a storm. But the Vessel raised its gauntlet—absorbing the fire as if drinking it.
Masumi: "It feeds off dragon magic?!"
Diana launched forward, her twin daggers slashing for the joints in its armor. Sparks flew, but the blades skittered off a barrier just beneath the surface—some kind of hardened enchantment.
Erza switched into her Heaven's Wheel Armor, dozens of swords forming a ring around her.
Erza: "We break the armor. Focus fire on one point!"
Gray threw up a protective wall of ice between them and the Vessel as it swept its sword in a wide arc, cracking the ground.
Gray: "Not sure if I can freeze a dead guy, but let's find out."
Ice surged forward, catching the Vessel's legs, slowing it—just enough.
Y/N surged in.
Green fire burst from his feet as he propelled forward, claws of flame forming around his hands. He slammed into the Vessel's chest, green meeting green, light versus rot.
For a moment—just one heartbeat—the Vessel staggered.
And in that moment, its helm cracked.
Inside, a pale face stared back. Not undead. Not monstrous.
Human.
Eyes—once bright—now hollow.
Y/N froze.
Y/N: "You... You were one of them. One of the Six."
The Vessel coughed, green light leaking from the edges of his mouth like smoke.
Vessel: "I was... Aelric, the Flamebound. Champion of the Third Seal..."
Masumi: "He's aware?"
Diana landed beside Y/N, blades still ready but gaze narrowed.
Diana: "He's fighting it."
The Vessel staggered back, gripping his head.
Aelric: "They... they broke the seal from the outside. Pulled my spirit into this shell... My body is gone. My soul is twisting..."
Y/N: "Then help us stop them. Tell us where the next shard is."
Aelric's head snapped up. For a moment—just a flicker—clarity returned to his gaze.
Aelric: "The Bastion... deep within Egril Hollow. Beneath the obsidian forest... guarded by the last unbroken Seal. They seek the Heartfire. If they get it—"
His sentence cut off with a scream as green lightning surged through his armor. His body convulsed—violently.
A new voice echoed across the chamber.
Cold. Amused. Inhuman.
Voice: "You meddle too deeply, Verdant Vessel."
Y/N turned toward the sound, eyes blazing.
From the far wall, a portal shimmered—carved of runes and anchored in green flame. Within it, a silhouette stood: robed in tattered black and gold, face hidden by a mask of bone and vine.
Cultist Leader.
The one from the ruins. The one from Y/N's visions.
Y/N: "You."
Leader: "Aelric is ours. A whisper of the past, nothing more. But you, young dragon... you are the future."
He raised a hand. The Vessel screamed again—and green fire engulfed him.
Y/N: "NO!"
Y/N lunged—but Erza and Diana pulled him back as Aelric's form exploded in a flash of light, shards flying in every direction. When the smoke cleared, only dust remained—along with the broken blade of the Vessel and a smoldering crystal fragment.
The portal flickered—and the Cultist Leader's eyes glinted one last time.
Leader: "See you in Egril Hollow... Flameborn."
Then the portal snapped shut.
Silence fell.
Y/N dropped to his knees, fists clenched.
Y/N: "They're forcing the old warriors to awaken. Using their ties to the Seals like chains."
Diana picked up the fragment of the Vessel's blade.
Diana: "Then we cut every chain they forge."
Masumi slammed his fist into the stone.
Masumi: "Next time, we take that bastard down with them."
Erza placed a hand on Y/N's shoulder.
Erza: "We'll face them together. But we need answers—and we need to get to that Bastion before they do."
Gray picked up the smoldering shard that Aelric had left behind.
Gray: "Then it's settled. Next stop—Egril Hollow."
Y/N rose, the weight in his chest heavier than ever—but his fire burned hotter.
Because now it was personal.
To Be Continued...