The Emberheart Archives were sealed with seven locks—each bound to a former Sect Lord's flameprint.
Most thought the final vault a myth. Even the elders whispered its existence like a bedtime ghost tale.
But Kai had seen it.
In a vision sparked by the twin flames.
A chamber of old ash and older prophecy.
With Linya and Tao Ren by his side, Kai stood before the final gate—deep beneath the central mountain, guarded by the Molten Oathkeepers, statues that pulsed faintly with dormant fire.
"Only one way in," Kai murmured.
He placed his hand on the seal and summoned both flames.
The golden fire of tradition.
The crimson-black fire of change.
The Oathkeepers stirred. One turned its stone head slightly, then bowed.
The gate opened.
Inside lay a shrine. Simple. Ancient.
No gold. No treasure. Just a single scroll, sealed in volcanic glass.
The title carved in fading runes:
"The Fire Between Eras."
Kai broke the seal.
Ash burst outward—like the script had waited to breathe again.
Inside were truths no elder had dared utter aloud.
A prophecy:
"When twin flames awaken in one vessel, the Phoenix shall molt again—neither wholly ash, nor wholly sun, but something new."
"That fire shall burn across sects, bloodlines, and sky-bound rules."
"And from that fire… a new order shall rise."
Linya whispered, "It's you."
Kai felt the words settle in his bones like heat.
"It's not just me," he said.
"It's all of us. The ones they tried to bury."
He turned the scroll.
A map.
Not of Emberheart—but beyond.
To a place called The Embergrave—where old sects were buried in war, and a forgotten flame still lingered.
"This is where it begins," Kai said.
"And maybe… where it ends."
Far away, in the Blackflame Temple, Vaelorn awoke from meditation.
A spark had reached him.
"He found it," he whispered.
And for the first time, Vaelorn looked worried.