In the twilight of legacy, the world began to tremble—not from quakes of stone or shifts in the wind, but from the stirrings of flames that were never meant to burn again.
The Emberheart was only the beginning.
---
Location: Southern Reaches of the Spirit Tree — Under the Weeping Canopy
The ancient Spirit Tree wept.
Not in sorrow. Not in pain.
But in remembrance.
Its bark cracked open for the first time in millennia, revealing molten veins beneath—flame not of heat, but of history. Rei and his companions stood before it, unsure whether to kneel, speak, or run.
Mireille stepped forward, hand glowing with the Codex's latest imprint.
"The tree is showing us the Veins. The arteries that once carried the Sovereign Flame across all realms."
Noira crouched beside a vine leaking silver ash. "Then why do they feel like graves?"
Rei closed his eyes.
"Because every vein ends in sacrifice."
---
Spirit Vision — Flashback Sequence
The Codex shivered. The world around Rei blurred.
He saw visions of the First Bearers—those who lit the Sovereign Flame before the world had language.
A woman in a crown of mirrors screaming as her soul burned.
A child setting fire to his own memory to stop a war.
A man erasing himself to prevent a prophecy.
They weren't heroes. They were sacrifices.
Rei gritted his teeth.
"Then we remember them."
> [System Notification: Legacy Flame Channel Unlocked — Status: Dormant. Reactivation Requires Ritual of Threaded Names. Coordinates Stored. Caution: Fragmented Echo Entities May Manifest.]
---
Nightfall — Shrine of the North Wind
That night, the team sat in silence.
Each one processing what they had seen.
Eirenne finally spoke. "How much more of this is hidden? How many more flames?"
Karasu perched on a high rafter, eyes glowing.
"Thirteen remain dormant. Five are corrupt. Two… are waiting."
Noira stood. "Then we find them. All of them."
Velis entered, cloak dusted in spirit pollen. "The ritual you need? It's older than war. You'll need threads of name and truth—woven with memory."
Rei turned to Mireille. "How soon can we begin?"
She gave a tight nod. "If we travel through the Mirror Vale, we'll reach the first flame-thread within three days."
Rei rose.
"Then we walk into memory. Not as mourners. But as claimants."
---
Final Scene — Unknown Realm, Far Beyond the Sovereign Map
A lone figure watched the Spirit Tree from another realm.
Its form flickered—part Sovereign, part beast, part ruin.
From its mouth spilled ash and prophecy.
"They wake the flames of thread and oath. Then I will awaken the ones buried before oaths existed."
It vanished, leaving behind a circle of scorched names.
The balance continued to shift.
And Rei's path drew ever closer to thrones no one dared to remember.