Some voices come from outside. Others rise from the fire we keep inside."
The next morning, the sky was quiet again — too quiet.But everyone in Elandra could feel it: something in the air had changed.
Lira and Kael stood on the balcony of their stone tower, watching the horizon. A strange golden haze floated far in the distance, like the sea itself was glowing.
Kael squinted. "That's where the messenger came from — the southern coast."
Lira nodded. "The Whispering Sea."
The name had been a myth once. Now it was real.
They prepared to leave before sunrise. Kael packed his armor and his curved sword, still marked with Aric's symbol. Lira carried only a leather satchel, her journal, and a pendant shaped like a small flame.
Before leaving, she glanced back at the altar where the sacred fire burned softly."Watch over us," she whispered.The flame flickered — as if it understood.
The journey south took many days.
They crossed green fields, sleeping villages, and silent forests. Wherever they went, the land seemed… alive. Trees bent slightly toward them, rivers shone brighter, and at night, fireflies gathered in perfect circles around their campfire.
One night, Kael looked up at the stars and said, "Do you ever wonder if Aric's still out there — watching?"
Lira smiled faintly. "I don't think he watches. I think he listens."
Kael frowned. "To what?"
"To the fire inside us. The choices we make."
He nodded slowly, saying nothing more. The wind carried their silence like a prayer.
By the time they reached the coast, the air had changed. It smelled of salt, smoke, and something else — something sweet and ancient.
The sea wasn't blue anymore. It shimmered with soft gold and red light, moving like liquid flame under the waves. The people of the nearby village stood on the shore in awe, whispering prayers.
Children pointed at the glowing tide.Old fishermen dropped to their knees.And in the middle of it all, a woman stood alone, her hair whipping in the wind, staring at the sea as if listening to it.
Lira approached her carefully. "Ma'am, what are you hearing?"
The woman turned, her eyes wide and glassy. "It speaks," she whispered. "It says the flame remembers."
That night, Lira and Kael camped by the cliffs.
The sea below glowed brighter, waves curling like fingers of gold reaching toward the shore. The sound wasn't normal — it wasn't just water. It was like thousands of soft voices speaking at once.
Kael stirred the fire nervously. "Tell me I'm not the only one hearing that."
"You're not," Lira said quietly. She stood up, walked to the edge, and listened.
At first, the whispers made no sense — just echoes of sound and feeling. But then… words began to form.
"The Keeper sleeps beneath the waves.""The flame was never his alone.""Wake the ember. Wake the truth."
Lira's heart pounded. "Kael… it's talking about Aric."
Kael stood beside her, staring at the glowing sea. "Or what's left of him."
Suddenly, a wave of golden light crashed against the cliffs. The ground shook. Lira fell to her knees as visions burst in her mind — flashes of fire, ancient ruins, and a face she could barely recognize.
Aric — but different. His eyes were brighter, his expression filled with sorrow.
"The fire remembers," his voice echoed inside her head. "But memory burns too."
When she opened her eyes, the sea was calm again. Only a single ember floated above the water, glowing softly like a star.
Lira reached out her hand toward it. It drifted closer, slow and gentle, until it stopped right before her fingers — then sank quietly into her pendant.
Her necklace glowed. Warmth spread through her chest, not painful, but heavy — as if something had awakened inside her.
Kael stared in disbelief. "What just happened?"
"I think…" she said softly, "it gave me a piece of him."
That night, as the waves whispered below, Lira couldn't sleep. She sat by the fire, tracing the glowing pendant in her hand.
Kael finally broke the silence. "If that was really him… why didn't he come back?"
Lira looked into the flames. "Maybe he can't. Maybe he's part of the world now. And when the world hurts, he speaks through it."
Kael sighed. "Then the world must be hurting again."
She nodded slowly. "Yes. The flame is warning us."
As the first light of morning touched the water, something strange appeared — a mark burned into the sand near their camp.
A circle, surrounded by three wavy lines.
Kael bent down, touching it carefully. "I've seen this before," he whispered. "Back in the old archives. It's not Aric's mark."
Lira looked at him sharply. "Then whose?"
He looked up, his eyes dark. "The one who came before him — the First Keeper."
The wind blew harder, carrying the faint smell of smoke. Out on the horizon, the sea shimmered like gold fire.
Lira clenched her pendant. "Then our journey's not about Aric anymore," she said quietly. "It's about the fire before him."
Kael nodded. "And what it truly wants."
The whispering sea roared softly, as if answering them.
"When you chase light," Lira thought, "you must be ready to face what it's hiding."
The Age of Embers had only just begun to speak.