The Ember Road twisted downward like a vein of flame through the roots of the world, It pulsed beneath Kael’s boots, alive with ancient power. Ahead, Hollowdeep waited, not just a city, but a tomb of truth, And within it, the things buried by fire, betrayal, and blood.I. Descent into the DeepAs they descended the obsidian path, the air changed. The sky was no longer visible. The world became claustrophobic, lit only by the road’s faint red glow and Emberwrath’s flame, Kael could feel Hollowdeep remembering him, Visions flickered at the edge of his mind, of golden halls, roaring forges, and the sound of thousands chanting his name, Not his name, exactly. Kaelen.His ancestor. The last true Emberking, Selune clutched her cloak tighter. The shadows down here moved like they were alive. “You feel it?” she whispered. “It’s watching us.”Eris nodded grimly. “The city has eyes. And if you carry its legacy… it remembers your sins.”II. The Gate of StatuesAfter hours of silent descent, the

The desert gave way to green again.After days of travel, the group reached the borders of Kareth Vale, a thriving valley city built into the ribs of an ancient beast, its bones now used as arches and bridges. Once a sanctuary for monks, Kareth had become a central point of knowledge for Pillar-watchers and ancient scholars.Alan, Kaela, Lioren, and Nara were weary, but they carried momentum. The encounter beneath the sands had changed them. But something had changed in the world, too. The stars no longer obeyed their patterns. The wind whispered new names.And every so often, Alan would wake from dreams of frost... and a voice calling his name like a curse. The Scholar-Kings of Kareth In Kareth Vale, they met with the Sapphire Council, three sage-rulers who had once trained with Keepers but turned away from the divine path.The eldest, High Scholar Miren, examined Alan carefully. “You’ve activated two Keeper awakenings in less than a cycle. Your core’s expanding faster than any recor

Light consumed everything.The Cradle of Embers became a storm, not of destruction, but becoming. Kael stood at the eye of it, suspended in fire that did not burn but revealed. His body, mind, and soul were being rewritten by something older than memory, a flame that had never been touched by kings, thrones, or wars Outside, the world was breaking. But inside the Core, Kael was finally whole.I. Flame UnboundKael’s vision spun through time, He saw the First Flame, wild and hungry, refusing to be ruled, He saw Maeric, in his youth, trying to contain it, He saw Lira Selune’s ancestor, offering a piece of herself to anchor the flame. The moment the immortal fire was chained.And now… Kael had opened the door they locked. The Flame Immortal spoke again: “Will you burn the world to save it? Or save the world from being burned?” Kael answered without speaking. And let the flame enter him.II. Outside the CoreSelune watched as the light around the Ember Core collapsed inward, then explode

The sky hadn’t healed. Above Hollowdeep, the flame-scar still pulsed, casting eerie orange light even at night. But now, far to the east, a second rift had torn the heavens, a wound that did not glow, but devoured.Kael stood at the edge of the new flameforge, watching the sky split like old parchment. Beside him, Selune gripped her staff, Threnna, tighter than ever. “We don’t have time,” she said. “The world is breaking faster than we can build.”Kael turned, his eyes still lined with firelight. “Then we stop patching cracks. We start forging allies.”I. The Summit of Flames. In the mountains of Ashwinter, three Flame Sects still ruled, remnants of the old order untouched by Hollowdeep’s fall. The Crimson Brand, warlike and proud. The Kindled Lotus, ascetics of flame.And the Cinder Veil, shadowed monks with secret loyalties, Kael, Selune, and Eris set out to convene a summit, The goal: unite the flame before Maeric’s cult of Voidfire consumed the realm in silence.They arrived ben

The forge was no longer just a sanctuary. It had become a battlefield in waiting. Kael felt it every time he walked through the corridors, the flicker of flame that once whispered hope now pulsed with war-born tension.Eyes shifted in shadow. Murmurs followed Selune wherever she passed. Trust, once abundant, now thinned like smoke before a storm, Because something had changed. And not just in the world. Inside the forge itself.I. Fractured Faith. A council was called. Again. This time, not to unite, but to investigate, Reports had surfaced: Flamebound patrols vanishing. Sigils misaligned. Flamecores going cold overnight, Eris presented a sealed scroll in the heart of the forge, placing it before Kael.“This was intercepted near the outer gate,” she said. “A coded message. Same cipher the Ash Cloaks used at the Ashwinter Summit.”Kael’s jaw clenched. “So they’re here.”Vharun snarled. “I told you, no fortress holds when you don’t know who guards the doors.” Layari remained silent, her