The ancient stairway spiraled deep beneath the Flameheart Bastion, lit only by the soft glow of emberstones embedded in the walls. Heat pulsed faintly through the rock, like the heartbeat of the world.
Kael led the way, the Flameheart strapped tightly to his back. Behind him, Serenya walked in silence, her hand still faintly glowing. Selira brought up the rear, her daggers drawn and eyes constantly flicking over their surroundings.
They had escaped, but it didn't feel like a victory.
"The flame above is gone," Serenya murmured. "It's… empty. I can feel it."
"They burned the Bastion," Selira said flatly. "We were lucky to escape."
Kael clenched his fists. "We didn't come this far to be lucky. We're being guided."
Just ahead, the tunnel opened into a wide cavern filled with glowing streams of lava and bridges of blackened obsidian. Ancient carvings marked the walls—depictions of the First Flamebound, who once wielded the relic to forge peace across the realms.
Serenya slowed, stepping closer to a mural of a woman crowned in flame, standing between two warring armies. "She looks like Queen Virelya," she whispered.
"She was her ancestor," Kael replied. "The first Flamebound queen. Before the bloodlines fractured."
Selira stepped onto the bridge. "And now the bloodlines are colliding again."
They crossed the cavern cautiously, following the ember path laid out by Vaelorn's pendant. With every step, the pendant pulsed brighter, as though reacting to their presence.
Halfway across, the lava shifted.
Kael stopped. "Did you see—"
A roar echoed through the cavern.
The surface of the lava exploded upward as a massive creature erupted from the depths. Its body was formed of molten stone, and its eyes glowed with ancient fire. It let out a soundless snarl and slammed onto the bridge, cracking obsidian beneath its weight.
"A flame guardian," Serenya gasped. "It's protecting the ember path!"
The creature lunged.
Kael unsheathed the Flameheart. The blade ignited, gleaming white-hot. "We don't have time to run."
Selira threw one dagger, the blade embedding between molten plates—but it only slowed the beast for a moment.
Kael charged forward, dodging a flaming swipe and slashing across the creature's chest. The sword hissed against stone, carving through—but the guardian didn't fall.
Serenya stepped forward, her palms blazing. She hurled a stream of controlled flame at the creature's eyes. "Now, Kael!"
With a cry, Kael drove the Flameheart directly into the beast's exposed heart.
The cavern flashed white.
Then silence.
The guardian let out a final groan before crumbling into pieces of cooling stone, its core melting into the lava below.
The bridge steadied.
Kael fell to one knee, breathing hard.
Selira offered him a hand. "We'll need to get stronger. That was just one."
Kael stood, gripping the sword tighter. "We will."
Serenya looked ahead—toward a narrowing tunnel that sloped upward and pulsed with a strange blue fire.
"The next trial lies beyond that tunnel," she said.
Kael nodded. "Then we move. The Bastion may have fallen, but our purpose hasn't."
As they walked into the flickering blue glow, none of them noticed the rune carved into the back wall of the cavern—a symbol watching, burning quietly.
The mark of the Hollow Flame.