By morning, the glacier had shifted. Cracks traced through the surface like veins, whispering of movement deep beneath. Thalen stood at the edge of a frozen ridge, staring into a chasm that hadn't existed the night before.
"It opened during the battle," he said. "Something below responded to us."
Elestria stepped up beside him. "Not something. The Echo Gate. It's been buried since the last war of embers."
Kael narrowed his eyes. "And now it's waking up?"
Ashara examined the edge of the chasm. Glyphs glowed faintly in the stone, etched by ancient hands. "It's not just waking—it's listening."
Liora's ember pulsed stronger as she drew near. "Then it's calling to us."
Without waiting, she stepped forward. The ice parted beneath her like fog, revealing stairs carved of obsidian and blue flame. The others followed, weapons at the ready.
The descent was steep and silent, broken only by the faint echo of their footsteps and the low hum of magic vibrating in the walls.
At the bottom, a massive door stood carved into the rock. Its surface bore the marks of flamebearers long past—handprints seared into the stone, each one glowing with a different light.
"This is a gate of remembrance," Ashara said. "Only those marked by flame may enter."
Liora pressed her hand against the door.
Her palm ignited with emberlight.
The stone shifted.
One by one, Elestria, Thalen, Kael, and Ashara followed. The gate rumbled open, revealing a vast chamber lit by floating fire—orbs and veins of silver-blue crystal pulsing like arteries.
At the center stood a mirror of ice and obsidian. It reflected not their faces—but their flames.
Thalen approached it. His reflection burned white with frost and static.
Elestria's shimmered silver, threaded with song.
Ashara's burned like a wild storm—blue lightning trapped in flame.
Kael's flickered like a dying star—quiet but steady.
But Liora's… hers burned gold at the core, ringed with violet.
Elestria gasped. "That's… not just the ember."
"What is it then?" Kael asked.
Ashara's eyes narrowed. "Something older. The First Flame, maybe. Or something even the gods couldn't control."
The mirror flared.
Glyphs scrawled themselves across the floor, forming a spiral around the group. The temperature dropped. From the far end of the chamber, cloaked figures emerged—pale and silent.
"Ghosts?" Thalen asked, his breath fogging.
"Memories," Elestria whispered. "They're echoes of those who came before."
The echoes moved in a slow dance, replaying moments of their deaths—betrayals, battles, sacrifices. Each one passed through the mirror and vanished.
Then a voice filled the chamber.
"Flamebearers. You who have defied death, who carry the light and frost. The Queen seeks dominion. But you… you must choose."
A spectral figure formed before them, robed in both fire and shadow.
"You carry the broken pieces of the Flame Pact," it said. "But unity demands sacrifice."
Ashara stepped forward. "What kind of sacrifice?"
"One must give up their flame to seal the Echo Gate—and awaken the hidden city below."
Elestria paled. "That city is sealed for a reason."
The echo nodded. "And its people sleep still. But within it lies the Emberforge—the only place the Queen cannot touch."
Thalen looked at Liora. "If we go down there, we lose one of us."
Liora clenched her fists. "We came to protect the world—not burn it trying."
Silence stretched.
Then Kael stepped forward. "I'll do it."
"No," Liora said. "We don't even know what it means."
Kael met her eyes. "I've walked through fire and come out scorched. Maybe it's time I became more than a shadow."
Ashara raised a hand. "Wait. Let's find another way. There always is."
But the mirror pulsed. Time was running out.
Above them, in the Queen's tower, Iridell watched a new ember flare on her map.
"So… they've found it."
She turned to her generals. "Ready the Obsidian Guard. The game ends beneath the ice."
Back in the chamber, Kael lowered his sword.
"I choose," he whispered.
And the gate began to open.