The moment Aya and her team returned to Emberhold, they were met not with celebration—but tension.Ash-Sworn guards flanked the gates, tighter formations than usual. Banners of the Daoren clan still fluttered, but beneath them flew the red sigil of the Arbiter’s Inquest—a sword plunged through flame. Unmistakable.Kyra scowled as they dismounted.> “They’ve moved faster than I expected.”Jin nodded grimly. “That’s not a patrol banner. That’s occupation.”Fei touched her spiral, eyes narrowing. “So, it begins.”Aya said nothing. Her thoughts were still tangled in the Hollow Flame’s voice, in its final whisper: “Do not forget me.”---The Council chamber was crowded when they entered.Not just the elders and regional governors, but military liaisons from the Flameguard, robes of the Arbiter’s hand-picked envoys, and a few veiled seers. All turned as Aya strode in, spiral glowing dim gold. Behind her, Kyra walked stiffly—an outsider in a den that once belonged to her.The Grand Arbiter w

The underground tunnels beneath Emberhold were not on any map, not even in the Grand Archives. Only whispers mentioned them—half-remembered stories from elders who’d claimed the city sat on hollow bones.Aya had never believed them.Now she walked through the silent dark with Fei and Jin at her sides, the only sound the faint echo of their boots on ancient stone. Their lanterns burned low with blue flame, flickering with every shift in air pressure, revealing intricate carvings etched along the walls—flames, spirals, stars collapsing inward.> “Who built this?” Jin asked, his voice a hush.Fei knelt by one of the wall carvings. “This predates the Accord. Some believe these tunnels were carved by the Flamebearers who first communed with the Hollow Flame. Before it was sealed. Before it was named a threat.”Aya ran her hand over a depiction of a figure kneeling before an open flame. The figure’s head was bowed, hands empty.> “Not warriors,” she murmured. “Pilgrims.”Fei nodded. “This w

Aya stood at the threshold of the High Matron's sanctum, her fists clenched so tightly that her knuckles turned white. The words of Lei An still echoed in her ears. "The spiral in you isn’t just your birthright. It’s a key." What did that mean? And more pressingly—why had her grandmother hidden all of it from her?The twin sentries at the door stood silently, expressionless behind polished obsidian masks. At a glance from her, they stepped aside, recognizing not only her lineage but the authority that came with it.Inside, the chamber shimmered with warmth and refinement. The brazier at the center burned with gentle blue fire, casting intricate shadows on the scroll-covered walls. Grand Matron Shun Daoren sat upon a cushioned dais, her eyes closed in quiet meditation.“Grandmother,” Aya said, her voice firm.Shun’s eyes opened slowly. “You descended into the Vault.”“I did.”“You released the memory pyre.”Aya’s voice hardened. “You knew I would. You wanted me to.”Shun stood, her sil

The sun had not yet risen, but Broken Fang Province was already cloaked in unease. The villagers whispered of a man clad in black who had arrived without warning and spoken to no one. His presence was like a shadow draped across the hills—quiet, but unmistakable.At the inn near the old watchtower ruins, the innkeeper’s hands trembled as he placed a tray of tea in front of the stranger.“You sure you don’t need a room?” he asked, voice barely above a whisper.The man did not answer.His face was obscured beneath a hood and veil, but it was his silence—the kind carved from discipline, not rudeness—that unsettled the room. A silver insignia, shaped like a coiled dragon swallowing its tail, gleamed on the man’s gloved hand.A mark of the Obsidian Envoy—a secret branch of the Flame Court known only to the highest circle of the Sovereign.Moments after the innkeeper scurried away, the door creaked open again.This time, it was a girl—thin, no older than twelve—with a bundle of dried herbs

High in the mist-shrouded peaks of the eastern frontier, the Jade Cliffs shimmered like emerald knives thrust skyward into the heavens. Nestled in the valley below was a crescent-shaped temple carved directly into the mountainside—a sanctuary untouched by time, war, or politics. It was here, once every decade, that the Seven Hidden Orders gathered in secrecy. But this time, they had not called the meeting.The conclave had been summoned by the Seer.Inside the temple’s inner sanctum, the elders were already assembled. The Grand Arbiters of the Spirit Monks, the Phoenix Covenant, the Iron Veil, the Cloud Lotus Sect, the Shadow Paladins, the Thousand Blades Clan, and the Everlight Circle—all seated around a circular dais inscribed with celestial runes that pulsed faintly with ancient power.“Why now?” demanded Master Koji of the Thousand Blades. “The Accord was not meant to be invoked until the Blood Star rose. It is still three cycles away.”“The Blood Star has risen,” said Lady Nian o