The tension in the Ember Grounds had grown thicker with each passing day. Kael couldn't shake the images from his dreams—his friends in danger, the training grounds engulfed in flames, his mother's cold voice echoing through the smoke. Even surrounded by his companions, he felt isolated, as if the flames inside him were burning a wall between himself and the rest of the world.
During morning drills, Kael moved like a ghost. His fire strikes lacked their usual force, and his responses were slow. Ravon watched closely, but chose silence over intervention. Elira and Daran tried to include him in their banter, but the weight pressing on Kael's shoulders made conversation hollow. The illusion Nyra had planted continued to fester—seeding doubt, feeding fear.
Ravon finally pulled Kael aside during one of the evening meditations.
"You've been drifting," he said. "The others see it. I see it."
Kael hesitated. "I'm just… tired."
Ravon's eyes narrowed. "Tired, or haunted?"
Kael looked away.
"Whatever it is," Ravon continued, "you must face it. Or it will consume you."
That night, the moon hung low and red in the sky, its eerie light casting long shadows across the landscape. Kael sat alone by the stream, where the sound of water had once comforted him. Tonight, it was silent, as if holding its breath.
He stared into the surface, watching the ripples distort his reflection. His thoughts spiraled: Why couldn't he summon his water powers? What if he hurt his friends? What if the fire really was too much?
Then, he heard it.
A whisper echoed through the trees.
"Kael…"
He turned sharply. No one was there.
"Kael… help me…"
His heart raced. That voice—it was his mother's.
He stood and followed the sound into the trees. It called him deeper and deeper, past the training grounds, beyond the protective wards Ravon had placed.
"I'm close… Kael… don't stop."
Branches clawed at his arms and face, roots tugged at his feet. The whisper grew louder, more urgent. Finally, he burst into a moonlit clearing—and stopped.
There she stood.
His mother.
Pale. Hollow-eyed. "You have to run, Kael. They're coming."
"What? Who's coming?" he gasped.
"They'll take everything from you. Just like they took your father."
Kael's breath caught. "Who?"
But the image flickered—and twisted.
The clearing darkened. His mother's face warped into a grin too wide to be human. Her form melted into shadow.
Nyra.
"I knew you'd come," she hissed, stepping forward. "You always were easy to lead."
Kael ignited fire in both hands, stumbling back.
From the trees, Urshifu emerged, his armored form gleaming in the moonlight, eyes glowing.
"You're far from your friends now, little ember."
Kael stood his ground, but his hands trembled. "I'm not afraid of you."
Urshifu laughed. "You should be."
He lunged, a blade of shadow forming in his hand. Kael dodged, barely avoiding the strike, and countered with a burst of fire that lit up the clearing. Nyra waved her hand, twisting the flames into snakes that turned on Kael.
He leapt back, slamming both fists into the ground and sending a wave of flame outward. Urshifu raised a dark shield, blocking the blast with ease. "Still raw. Still reckless."
Kael gritted his teeth. "I'm not the same boy from before."
"No," Nyra whispered from behind him. "You're worse. You think you can control it. But the fire will always consume you."
She summoned illusions—visions of Ravon falling, of Elira screaming, of Daran turning to ash. Kael's concentration faltered. The fire sputtered in his hands. "No… this isn't real!"
"It feels real enough, doesn't it?" she said, circling him. "And when you fail them… that will be real, too."
Kael dropped to one knee, gripping his head. Flames licked at his skin, threatening to spiral. He felt the heat build beyond his control. The fear returned—the same fear that plagued his dreams.
But then he heard something else.
Footsteps. Real ones.
Elira's voice cut through the fog. "Kael! Get up!"
A gust of wind shattered the illusions. Daran leapt through the trees, launching a kick at Nyra that knocked her back. Ravon followed, staff in hand, eyes blazing.
Kael blinked, stunned. "You… you came?"
"Of course we came!" Elira shouted, deflecting a shadow dart. "You think we'd let you wander off to your doom alone?"
Urshifu growled. "This wasn't part of the plan."
Ravon stepped between them and Kael. "Plans change."
A fierce battle erupted. Nyra summoned illusions, but Ravon dispelled them with precise strikes of elemental energy. Daran fought with swift acrobatics, distracting Urshifu while Elira sent gusts of wind to destabilize his footing.
Kael remained on the ground, eyes wide. He had nearly given up. But they hadn't. They came for him. They believed in him.
He rose, hands aflame once more. The fire was still wild—but this time, it was focused. Controlled by purpose, not fear.
He charged Urshifu, flames roaring.
The impact sent both of them flying. Kael landed hard, coughing—but Urshifu staggered, his armor scorched.
Ravon called out, "We need to fall back. This fight is not on our terms."
Together, they retreated into the forest, the group covering one another until they crossed back over the wards. Nyra and Urshifu halted at the edge, snarling.
"We'll come again," Urshifu promised. "And next time, he won't escape."
Back in the Ember Grounds, Kael sat in silence, wrapped in a blanket beside the fire pit. His friends sat near, bruised but safe.
Ravon knelt beside him. "They came for you because you matter. Your fire didn't consume you—it protected them."
Kael looked into the flames, his eyes reflecting both fire and something deeper.
"I'm not afraid anymore," he said. "But I have to be ready. Because they won't stop."
Ravon nodded. "Then let's make sure the next time they come, you're more than ready."
And far beneath the fortress, the hidden depths of Kael's power stirred again—this time, faint ripples of water rising behind the fire.
The balance had begun to shift.