The Sickened Land
They left the river's memory behind, moving deeper into the forest where the light turned grey, filtered through branches choked in lichen the color of bruises.
The path twisted, an old hunter's trail long abandoned, littered with bones half-buried beneath the mulch, their whiteness stained by black streaks crawling along the surface like veins.
Birdsong had long ceased here. Instead, there was the soft groan of trees swaying under a weight they could not see, and the hush of wind that smelled of smoke, though there was no fire.
Aeris felt the ember under his ribs stir with each step, its warmth turning to heat, the edges of it scraping against him like shards of glass. The closer they moved toward the Blight's heart, the more it reacted, no longer a quiet passenger but a presence asserting itself within him.
Not just a seed anymore, Aeris thought as sweat traced down his spine despite the cold air. It's awake.
The Ember's Hunger
They stopped to rest beneath a gnarled pine, its lower branches dead, draped with grey moss that dripped as the morning mist thickened.
Evin crouched, checking his sword, eyes scanning the gloom with restless sharpness.
Mira brewed something in a small tin cup, steam curling in the stale air. She watched Aeris as he leaned against the tree, his breath ragged, eyes distant.
"How bad is it now?" she asked quietly.
Aeris closed his eyes. "It's…"
The ember flared suddenly, heat rushing through him, a wave of light washing over the inside of his eyelids, showing him shapes—twisted limbs, mouths screaming, ash falling like snow.
He dropped to his knees, clutching his chest, a low cry torn from his throat.
Mira grabbed his shoulders, steadying him as the ember's light leaked out of him, thin lines of gold and white threading along his veins before fading.
Liora rushed over, bell in hand, pressing it against Aeris's chest. The bell pulsed softly, not ringing, but vibrating, as if resonating with the ember.
The pain eased, leaving Aeris panting, hair plastered to his forehead, the ember settling into a hot, steady glow.
"It's waking up," he whispered, tears pricking at his eyes from the lingering pain.
"It's not supposed to hurt you," Liora whispered, voice shaking.
Aeris met her gaze, the ember reflecting in her grey eyes.
"It's alive," he said. "And it's hungry."
The Ash Garden
They walked again, the forest shifting as they moved closer to the Blight's center. The trees thinned, giving way to a clearing littered with mounds of blackened earth, like graves that had been dug and refilled.
Flowers bloomed here, impossibly vibrant, petals red as blood, leaves black as pitch. Their fragrance was sweet, cloying, twisting the air into something that made Aeris dizzy.
Mira stepped forward to examine one, her hand hovering over a petal. "These aren't natural," she whispered.
The flowers shivered as if breathing, turning subtly toward her hand.
Evin grabbed her wrist, pulling her back. "Don't touch them."
A hiss escaped from the ground, as if the flowers exhaled in disappointment.
Liora's bell rang softly on its own, and the flowers recoiled, folding in on themselves, petals closing like fists.
Aeris felt the ember flare again, an echo of the flowers' hunger, pulling at him, urging him to step closer, to kneel and touch the earth where something beneath it was pulsing in time with the ember in his chest.
He resisted, forcing himself to breathe, to remain standing.
"Let's keep moving," he managed.
Nightfall at the Edge
By the time night fell, they had found shelter beneath the low arch of a stone outcrop, a place dry enough to light a small fire without suffocating themselves with the smoke.
Evin kept watch, pacing with restless energy, his blade at his side.
Mira sat near the fire, grinding herbs, preparing a poultice for Aeris's arms where the veins had begun to glow faintly, lines of ember light visible beneath the skin.
Liora knelt beside Aeris, pressing the bell to his forehead. It was cool, and the ember within him responded, dimming for a moment, giving him a breath of peace.
"Thank you," he whispered.
She nodded, tears in her eyes she didn't let fall.
The Conversation
Evin finally sat across from Aeris, the fire casting deep shadows across his scarred face.
"You're going to tell me," Evin said, "exactly what that ember is doing to you now."
Aeris swallowed, the ember's warmth making his throat dry.
"It's… it's feeding on the Blight," he said. "Every step we take closer to it, the stronger it becomes."
"And what does that mean for you?" Evin pressed.
Aeris looked into the flames, seeing shapes dance within them.
"It means it's becoming part of me," Aeris whispered. "Or I'm becoming part of it."
Evin's jaw tightened. "Are you going to lose control?"
Aeris closed his eyes. "I don't know."
Silence fell between them, broken only by the crackle of the fire.
Finally, Evin said, "I won't let you hurt them."
Aeris opened his eyes, meeting Evin's stare, the ember reflected in his dark irises.
"I won't either," Aeris said.
The Ember Speaks
That night, as the others slept, Aeris woke to find the ember pulsing violently under his ribs, heat radiating outward until the air around him shimmered.
He stood, stumbling out of the shelter, moving into the darkness where the stars were hidden by low clouds.
The ember flared, and for a moment, the world fell away.
He stood in a place of ash, the ground cracked and dry, rivers of fire cutting through the darkness. Above him, a sky of embers fell like rain, each one burning into the earth.
Aeris.
The voice was within him, neither male nor female, a chorus of whispers woven together.
Why do you fight us?
He fell to his knees, clutching his chest.
You were chosen to carry us, to bring us to the heart. You are ours.
"I am not yours," Aeris whispered, tears streaming down his cheeks from the pain.
You are already becoming.
He saw flashes—visions of himself standing in the heart of the Blight, the corruption falling away before him, the world burning clean under the ember's light.
Let go. We will cleanse everything.
"No," Aeris said, shaking his head, pressing his forehead to the cold, dead earth.
We will take it all away. The pain. The fear. The sickness. Let us in.
The ember pulsed, a second heartbeat within him, each throb a promise of power.
And Aeris, for a moment, wanted it. The end of the struggle, the end of fear, the end of the sickness that clung to the world like a curse.
Just say yes.
Aeris opened his mouth—
And heard Liora's bell.
The sound was soft, barely more than a breath, but it reached him, cutting through the ember's whisper.
He gasped, the ember flaring one last time before settling, the visions shattering, the ash-world falling away.
He was on the forest floor, the cold air in his lungs, his body shaking.
Liora stood there, her bell held out, the chime fading into the night.
"Aeris," she whispered.
He looked up, tears on his cheeks, the ember pulsing quietly.
"I'm still here," he whispered.
The Dawn
When dawn came, it was pale and cold, the sky a thin grey that promised rain.
They packed their things in silence, the forest around them tense, as if holding its breath.
Aeris felt the ember inside him, quiet now, but waiting, always waiting.
As they moved, Liora walked beside him, her hand brushing against his sleeve, the bell tied at her waist.
"Don't leave us," she whispered.
Aeris looked at her, the ember warm under his ribs.
"I won't," he promised.