The cave was not empty.
It breathed.
Each wall pulsed with light like slow heartbeats. The stones glimmered with colors Elira had no names for—shades between purple and silver, between gold and green. Water dripped in the distance, counting time.
Kesh was the first to speak. "Where are we?"
Myn knelt beside the cave wall. She pressed her palm flat against it. "This is one of the Lantern Caverns."
Elira tilted her head. "Lantern? But there aren't any lanterns."
"There are," Myn said. "But they aren't made of glass or fire. They're made of memory."
She whispered something under her breath. A single stone lit up brighter than the others. It showed a picture—not drawn, but alive. A girl, younger than Elira, held a small glowing seed. She bent to the ground and planted it. The seed grew into a tree of flame.
Then the light faded.
"What was that?" Elira asked.
Myn stood. "A Lanternborn. A keeper of memory. The caverns hold their stories."
Kesh looked around. "So this place is... a library?"
Myn smiled. "More like a dreaming place. But yes. A kind of library."
Elira stepped forward. "Can they help us?"
"They already are," said a new voice.
All three turned fast.
A boy stood at the edge of the light. His skin was covered in glowing swirls like tattoos. His eyes were pale, almost clear, like water over stone.
"I'm Niro," he said. "I'm the last Lanternborn."
Myn narrowed her eyes. "We thought they were all gone."
"They almost were," Niro said. "But the light hid me."
He walked forward, not like a stranger, but like someone coming home.
"You're Elira," he said, stopping a breath away from her. "I saw you. The moment you touched the Oathstone, the Lanterns flared for the first time in a hundred years."
Elira's voice was small. "Why?"
"Because you're the spark," he said. "You're what they were waiting for."
He turned to the wall and waved his hand.
Hundreds of lights bloomed.
Every one showed a memory.
People gathering around a fire. Creatures dancing through fields of gold. Storms being swallowed by a girl with eyes like stars. A boy singing to a mountain that bowed in reply.
Elira couldn't look away. "These are all real?"
"They were," Niro said. "And they could be again."
He closed his hand. The lights vanished.
"But only if you complete the circle."
"What circle?" Kesh asked.
"The Circle of Flame. Seven flames, seven hearts. One to wake, one to listen, one to guide, one to fight, one to sing, one to mourn, and one to end."
Myn spoke, her voice soft. "She's the one who wakes."
"And you?" Elira asked.
Niro smiled. "I'm the one who listens."
He held out his hand.
Elira took it.
Something passed between them. A rush of warmth. A sound like a river running backward. And in her mind, she heard voices—not loud, not scary, but familiar.
Memories.
Not hers.
The Lanternborn before Niro.
"You can hear everything," she whispered.
He nodded. "Only when it's needed."
They sat together, the four of them, in the cave that remembered everything. Elira asked about the other flames.
Niro answered.
"The one who fights was lost in the Ice March, far north where nothing lives."
"The one who sings was taken by the Echo Queen."
"The one who mourns has no name, only a mask."
"And the one who ends?" Elira asked.
Niro's face grew sad. "That one doesn't know they're part of the circle yet. They think they're the enemy."
Kesh frowned. "We'll never find them all in time."
"You don't have to," Niro said. "You just have to be found."
Elira blinked. "What does that mean?"
But Niro just smiled.
Then he stood.
"You need to see the Flame Mirror," he said. "It's how you'll know who's coming next."
They followed him deeper into the cave. The walls narrowed, then widened into a round chamber filled with light.
At the center stood a pool.
It wasn't water.
It wasn't fire.
It was both.
Elira stepped forward and saw her reflection—but it wasn't alone.
Beside her stood a girl with silver wings and eyes like broken glass.
Kesh stepped up. "Who is that?"
"I don't know," Elira whispered.
But then the girl in the mirror turned and looked right at her.
And smiled.
Then she shattered.
The mirror rippled. Another face appeared.
A boy with a sword made of ice. He stood in a field of blue snow. Blood stained his hands. His eyes held no joy.
Then came a third.
A creature with no face, only weeping eyes. They knelt before a stone and whispered words the mirror didn't dare repeat.
Then the pool stilled.
Silence again.
Niro turned. "They're calling to you now. You've set the fire burning. It won't stop."
Elira touched the surface of the mirror. It was warm.
Kesh said, "So what do we do next?"
Elira turned to them, firelight in her hair.
"We find the rest."
Myn nodded.
Niro held out a lantern made of memory-light.
"For the road," he said. "In case the dark forgets who you are."
Elira took it.
And as they stepped out of the cave, she wasn't afraid.
The world was bigger now.
But she was brighter.