The wind howled across the ridgeline, carrying flecks of white ash that danced like snow. Below, nestled between cliffs sculpted by ancient elemental currents, lay the Seer's Enclave.
Surya followed Kaelen down a spiraling trail carved directly into the stone. Strange lanterns pulsed with cold, blue fire along the path—ward-lights, Kaelen said, meant to keep out lesser spirits and broken wraiths.
The enclave revealed itself gradually: dome-like structures woven from living stone and obsidian vines, half-hidden beneath protective canopies. Runes hummed faintly along the walls, forming a continuous mantra.
Surya stepped through the outer gate, feeling the tingle of passive scanning enchantments slide across his skin. His Flame Shard reacted with a soft pulse.
Kaelen gave a respectful nod to the silent guardians at the gate—hooded figures with mirrored masks.
"They'll speak only if necessary," he murmured. "Seers guard knowledge, not lives."
They were led into the central dome where air shimmered like it bent around light itself. The inside smelled of crushed herbs, ink, and ozone. Crystal scrolls hovered midair, inscribed with symbols older than any book Surya had ever seen.
A woman stood at the center, her skin marked with constellations and her eyes clouded with opalescent light.
"Kaelen Ardin," she said, her voice echoing unnaturally. "You were banished."
"I came for truth, not forgiveness."
Her gaze drifted to Surya. "And the boy?"
Kaelen stepped aside. "He touched the Origin. The shrines respond to him. The Flame obeys him."
The Seer approached, placing one hand above Surya's chest. She didn't touch him—but he felt something cold and vast descend through him.
The flame inside him sparked.
She flinched.
"Primordial fracture," she whispered. "But no echo of void… only tethered resonance. He's not corrupted."
Kaelen tilted his head. "Then what is he?"
The Seer stepped back. "A convergence. Possibly the first since the fall of the Arcspire."
Surya exhaled. "You know about the Academy."
"We knew before it called itself that. The Spiral Sanctum of the Five Paths—hidden across the sea, built atop the bones of the Fracture."
Surya's fingers curled into fists. "I saw it. In a dream."
"Then it saw you first."
A long silence passed.
Finally, the Seer turned toward a hovering scroll and brought it down. It glowed red as it unraveled.
"Take this," she said to Surya. "It is a directional seal. It will guide you to one who walked the Flamepath and returned. If the Sanctum has stirred, they will want you—but not all will welcome what you carry."
Kaelen's brow furrowed. "You're sending us there?"
"You said you came for truth."
The scroll floated into Surya's hands. Heat licked his fingers. Within its coils shimmered a map—not of terrain, but of leylines and ruptures. And at its center, one phrase pulsed over and over:
"Awakened Too Soon."
That night, Surya sat beneath the enclave's canopy, watching lightning fork through distant clouds. Something in him had changed again—subtle, but permanent. The flame now whispered directions in moments of silence.
A voice returned to him from the dream.
"Not all who awaken are welcomed."
He understood now.
This wasn't just a journey of survival.
It was a summons.