The passage narrowed, forcing Tahir to crouch as he pressed forward. The whispering winds of the dunes had faded behind them, replaced by an eerie stillness broken only by the soft crunch of boots on ancient rock. A ghostly blue hue bled from the moss clinging to the stone walls, illuminating their path with a faint glow.
"We're close," Amira whispered, her voice taut with caution. "I can feel it."
Sabir, ever skeptical, glanced around. "I feel like we've walked into a tomb."
Tahir halted as the tunnel opened into a vast cavern—no, a chamber. High above, the ceiling resembled the night sky, dotted with glimmering crystals in patterns that mimicked constellations. At the center stood a single obsidian pillar, inscribed with runes that shimmered like fire.
Layla stepped beside Tahir, her breath caught. "What is this place?"
Tahir took a step closer to the pillar. The runes pulsed as he approached.
"It responds to you," Amira said quietly, watching. "It recognizes you."
He reached out instinctively—and the moment his fingers brushed the stone, everything shifted.
The ground trembled. A wave of warmth surged through his chest. His vision blurred.
A Flash of Fire and Memory
Tahir found himself standing under a crimson sky, in a vast throne room of glass and gold. Before him, warriors in obsidian armor knelt. At the far end stood the throne—ancient, majestic, carved from molten rock and cooled by divine hands. Upon it, a man sat—a king with Tahir's eyes and his blood.
"You are the last flame," the man said. "The throne remembers. The sands remember."
And then it all shattered.
He stumbled back, gasping for air. Layla caught him before he fell.
"I… I saw…" His voice cracked. "The throne. A city of flame. My ancestor…"
Amira's eyes narrowed. "You've connected with the memory stone. The mountain's breath revealed what it holds for you."
Sabir's voice echoed in the chamber, bouncing like an accusation. "You saw yourself as a king?"
"No," Tahir said firmly. "I saw what I must become."
Amira stepped forward. "This confirms it. The Ember Throne was real—and your bloodline was cast out long ago. This city, this cavern, was once part of its domain."
Suddenly, a tremor rattled the walls. Cracks split through the pillar, and a voice like grinding earth echoed around them.
"Unworthy shall not pass."
A stone guardian emerged from the far end of the chamber—ten feet tall, chiseled from the mountain itself, eyes glowing molten gold.
"Run?" Sabir offered.
"No," Tahir said, standing his ground. "This is another test."
Trial of the Guardian
The guardian moved with surprising speed, arms sweeping in heavy arcs. Tahir dodged left, rolling to the side as the stone fist shattered the ground where he'd stood.
"Sabir! Distract it!" Layla shouted, launching a knife toward the creature's face. It clanged off harmlessly.
"I am not built for distracting stone beasts!" Sabir yelled, but obeyed.
Tahir ducked beneath a swinging arm, and for a moment, he could feel something guiding him—not instinct, but memory. Movements he didn't know he knew. Steps his ancestors had taken. He flowed like wind between the guardian's attacks until he reached its back.
"Hit the core," Amira cried, pointing at the glowing rune on the guardian's back.
Tahir didn't hesitate. With a borrowed dagger, he plunged the blade into the center of the rune.
The guardian froze. Cracks raced through its body, and with a deafening groan, it collapsed into rubble.
The chamber stilled.
A staircase emerged from beneath the fallen pillar.
"Only one way to go now," Amira said.
The Depths Below
As they descended the stone stairs, the air grew warmer. Symbols lined the walls—tales of kings and traitors, of an empire swallowed by sand and time.
"This place…" Tahir whispered. "It was once a sanctuary. Then a prison."
Amira nodded. "And now it's a graveyard of truth."
At the base, they found a door of fireglass. Carved into it was a single phrase in the ancient tongue:
"The Flame shall rise again by the blood that remembers."
Layla touched the door. "That's you, Tahir."
He didn't speak. He was beginning to understand the gravity of what lay ahead.
As he reached out to open it, a presence stirred in his mind—Om'bara.
"This is only the beginning," the deity's voice echoed. "You may seek the throne, but the throne will also test you. It has no place for tyrants, only keepers of balance."
Tahir nodded slowly. He understood now.
He wasn't just reclaiming a throne.
He was reclaiming a purpose. A duty lost to history.
He opened the door.