The night was heavy with anticipation. Though Kaelen had returned from the highlands with the tentative support of the Southern Lords, a deep unease settled in his chest.
Atop the watchtower overlooking the eastern ridge, he stood in silence. Flames danced within the braziers, casting shadows across the stone walls. His soldiers, many of whom had undergone their first evolutions, patrolled with practiced vigilance.
Suddenly, a horn cried out from the eastern scout tower — long and low, the sound of danger.
Kaelen was down the stairs before the echo faded.
Haran met him at the gate, hammer slung over his shoulder and eyes narrowed. "It's the same pattern," he muttered. "They left no survivors again."
"Another village?" Kaelen asked grimly.
Haran nodded. "Ash. Just ash. And these—"
He pulled a blackened piece of scale from his satchel. It was jagged and pulsing with ember-like veins. Even holding it sent a wave of unease through Kaelen's mind.
Kaelen opened his System interface:
[Item Identified: Infernal Drakescale Fragment]Rarity: EpicOrigin: Corrupted FlamebeastNote: Fragment collected from a creature aligned with the Lord of Embers. Touching it too long may result in [Mental Burn].
Kaelen clenched his fist. "Then it's begun."
The ride to the destroyed village took mere hours. What awaited them was worse than any report.
Charred buildings smoldered under a grey sky. Ash coated every surface. Not a single body remained intact — only silhouettes etched into the scorched ground.
Kaelen dismounted, motioning for the mages to begin magical forensics. A summoned owl — one of his newest Tier 2 evolution beasts — circled above, scanning for residual mana signatures.
"Any sign of resistance?" Haran asked, scanning the remains.
Kaelen shook his head. "None. It wasn't a battle. It was an execution."
Suddenly, the owl screeched.
Kaelen's system lit up.
[Alert: Trapped Mana Detected — Necroflare Residue Confirmed]Location: Substructure — Cellar beneath eastern ruins
Kaelen and Haran rushed forward, breaking into the cellar.
What they found chilled even Haran.
A single girl, perhaps twelve years old, huddled in the corner, eyes vacant, whispering the same words over and over:
"They came with wings of ash… the fire… it spoke…"
Kaelen knelt before her. "You're safe now."
But she didn't respond. Her mind was gone.
Back at the main keep, Kaelen summoned his core leaders — mages, knights, and regional commanders.
He placed the drakescale fragment on the stone table. "The Lord of Embers is moving. These are not raids — they're warnings. He wants us to know."
"Why scorch unimportant villages?" one asked.
"Because it's not about land," Kaelen said. "It's about fear. He wants Lords to surrender before they even fight."
A voice from the corner added, "And if we lose morale, we lose the war."
It was Serin — the silver-haired strategist Kaelen had recently recruited. Once a noble from the mountain capital, she had joined Kaelen's banner after his rise in the southern campaign.
Her blue eyes sparkled with conviction. "We must strike first. A counter-raid to show we're not afraid."
Kaelen nodded slowly. "We will not wait to be hunted."
Miles away, Lyra and Corin faced a threat of their own. Strange dark wisps had begun appearing in the forest near the spirit springs — places sacred to beast summoners.
Corin's own ethereal wolf, Kaemir, had howled for hours the night before, sensing the shift in mana.
"What's happening?" Lyra asked as she walked the edge of the spring with her companion beast — a sapphire-scaled serpentine fox with glimmering wings.
"The Spirit Realm is being poisoned," Corin said. "Whatever the Lord of Embers is doing, it's affecting more than just our world."
Suddenly, a fissure tore through the air. Shadows spilled out like smoke, forming into malformed spirit-beasts — corrupted summons, their eyes glowing orange.
Without hesitation, Lyra stepped forward.
"Frostshine, evolve!"
Her fox burst into light.
[Evolution Triggered: Sapphire Sky Serpent]New Skills Unlocked: Lunar Aegis, Frostlight Beam, Sky Step
Corin followed suit, his wolf transforming into a horned spirit warg enveloped in starlit mist.
Together, they fought, cleansing the corruption with magic and flame — but it was clear: this was only the beginning.
Kaelen's forces moved under cover of night. Dozens of his evolved soldiers — now Tier 2 and Tier 3 — marched in precise formation, supported by summoned beasts and siege-class familiars.
Their target: a forward outpost recently established by Ember-aligned Lords.
The battle began with silence.
Then, Kaelen activated his skill:
[Command Skill: Battle Invocation – Rise of the Phoenix]Effect: For the next 5 minutes, all fire-aligned units receive +40% resistance and +20% attack speed.
As the skill flared, his army surged forward.
Ballistae fired from treetop platforms. Flame-resistant shields deflected early volleys. The Ember troops scrambled — they had expected fear, not fury.
Kaelen led the charge with his blade — now glowing from the Phoenix Soul Core embedded within it. Flames danced along the edge, cutting through enemy defenses with precision.
By dawn, the outpost burned.
But this time, it was Kaelen's fire that lit the sky.
Back in the main camp, a message arrived via enchanted hawk. It was simple, written in glowing ember runes.
"You will burn next, Lord of Grassland. I am the fire that devours hope."— The Lord of Embers
Kaelen crushed the parchment.
"Let him come," he said coldly. "He'll find more than fire waiting."