The footsteps grew louder, each strike of the boot echoing down the spiral staircase. Mordaine’s heart hammered in his chest. He quickly shut the book, though he hadn’t even opened it, and stepped back from the pedestal.The flame inside him flickered restlessly, as though urging him to fight, to flee, to do something.The air shifted as the newcomer entered the chamber.A slender figure stepped into the blue torchlight. Cloak swaying, golden hair catching the glow Lyra.Her eyes widened when she saw him. “Mordaine?”He froze. His throat felt dry. “I—”“What are you doing here?” she hissed, glancing around the chamber. Her gaze landed on The Forgotten Flame and lingered there with unsettling familiarity. “Do you even realize where you stand?”Mordaine swallowed hard. “I… was searching for answers.”Lyra’s voice dropped to a near whisper, her tone sharper now. “This place is forbidden for a reason. These are not teachings they are warnings. If the Masters find you down here, they’ll ca

The cavern lay in silence. The guardian’s broken shell cooled into black stone, its molten veins fading to dull cracks that still hissed with steam. The once-blazing chamber now felt like a tomb, and Mordaine stood at its heart, still trembling from the fire that hadn’t quite left his veins.His chest rose and fell heavily. The flame within him pulsed like a second heartbeat quiet, restrained, but alive. It felt different now. Sharper. Hungrier.Lyra stood a short distance away, studying the cavern wall with her torch. Her silver dagger was gone, but her expression hadn’t softened. If anything, she looked… thoughtful. Troubled.Mordaine ran a hand through his sweat-damp hair, forcing his voice steady. “That thing… it wasn’t just a guardian, was it?”Lyra’s torchlight flickered across her face, casting shadows in her eyes. She didn’t answer immediately, which told him enough.Finally, she said, “Guardians like that don’t appear by accident. They’re bound summoned to protect something a