Emberlynn woke before dawn.
The trees around her were still dark, but a faint red glow pulsed behind her closed lids. When she opened her eyes, she found not the forest—but fire.
A low, slow-burning flame circled her like a ring. It didn't consume. It danced—shifting between crimson and silver, flickering like it knew her.
She stood, barefoot on cold stone. The sky above was black, with no stars. The air hummed with voices she couldn't understand, and yet they felt familiar. Ancient. Forgotten.
"Where am I?" she whispered.
The flame whispered back.
You are where you began. Where you were sealed.
She turned slowly—and there it was again: the door.
Not the temple from before, but a different door, towering and silver-veined, its surface alive with runes that pulsed like veins. She knew this place. Not from memory—but from instinct.
She took a step toward it.
And the flames reared.
They didn't burn her—but the heat roared in protest, curling into a wall of light that blocked her path. And from within it, something moved. Not human. Not shadow. But something between.
The shape stepped forward, forged of fire and bone, with eyes like coals and wings like torn silk.
"You are not ready," it said, voice crackling like lightning in water.
Emberlynn swallowed. "Ready for what?"
"To remember."
Her heart thudded.
She took another step, pushing against the flames. They hissed, but did not stop her. "Tell me. Why do they want me? What's behind that door?"
The creature tilted its head. "The truth. And the end."
Then it lunged—
Emberlynn woke with a jolt, heart racing, breath sharp.
Morning light filtered through the leaves, and Malphas was already awake, standing a few feet away. His back was to her, his hands clasped behind him, tension carved into every line of his body.
"You screamed," he said without turning.
Emberlynn sat up slowly, her body damp with sweat. "It was a dream."
"No," he said. "It wasn't."
She stared at him, her pulse quickening. "You know what it was?"
His silence was answer enough.
She stood. "Tell me."
Still, he didn't face her. "Some doors don't open with keys. They open with memories. Yours are starting to wake."
"That thing in my dream said I'm not ready."
"You're not," he said, his voice low. "And when you are—it might be too late."
Finally, he turned to her. His eyes—normally sharp, cold—were clouded. As if he'd seen something worse than death.
"I won't let them take you," he said.
There was something in his voice that caught her breath. Not just resolve—but fear.
"What if it's not them you should worry about?" she asked quietly. "What if it's me?"
He stepped toward her. "Then I'll still protect you. Even from yourself."
Her chest ached.
The dream, the flames, the door—it all swirled inside her like smoke trying to find fire. She wanted answers, but more than that, she wanted to feel safe. And for some unexplainable reason, it was only near him that she did.
Not because he was good.
But because he was dangerous in a way that felt... familiar.
They left the forest by midday, the terrain shifting into blackened hills. The sky turned ashy, like soot had stained the clouds. And in the distance, the ruins of an old watchtower rose like a broken fang.
They weren't alone anymore.
Malphas had sensed it before Emberlynn noticed—the silence that wasn't silence. The shadow that didn't move with the wind.
"Stay close," he murmured.
Something flickered at the corner of her vision.
A shape.
A presence.
Then—
"Found you."
The voice was smooth, female, and laced with cruel delight.
From the ruins emerged a woman dressed in jet-black armor, her eyes glowing violet. Her smile was sharp, predatory.
Malphas cursed under his breath. "Lilax."
The woman sauntered forward, dragging a long spear behind her, the metal screeching across the stone.
"Still playing bodyguard, Malphas?" she purred. "How noble."
Emberlynn felt a cold wind wrap around her neck.
This woman wasn't human.
She wasn't alive in the normal sense.
"She's not ready," Malphas growled, stepping in front of Emberlynn.
Lilax tilted her head. "Oh, but that's the fun part. Watching her become."
Then she lunged.
And the sky cracked open.