The walk back to the outpost wasn't silent, but there was no room for jokes either. Each member of the group seemed absorbed in what had happened in the frozen valley. The creature made of black ice, the voice that echoed inside me, and the pulsating fragment now stored in my backpack… all of it tightened my chest. I knew that thing wasn't just a warning; it was a direct message. The question was from whom.
Rai'kanna walked ahead, more serious than usual. The rhythm of her wings, even folded, revealed tension. Lyannis walked beside me, analyzing the terrain, maybe trying to hide the concern she'd carried since she saw the construct pointing at me. Liriel, Elara, and Vespera followed behind, exchanging quick glances as if trying to assemble a puzzle still missing many pieces.
"Takumi," Liriel called, without lifting her eyes from the grimoire. "The voice you heard… are you sure it came from the flame?"
"Yes. It wasn't my own thought. And it wasn't delirium. It was… another presence."
"Presence?" Elara asked. "Like a consciousness?"
"It felt like that. But not a person speaking to me. It sounded more like… an instinct someone forced into words."
Vespera stepped closer. "And why is this 'talking instinct' interested in you?"
"Good question."
Rai'kanna looked over her shoulder. "Did you all hear anything, or was it just him?"
"We didn't hear anything," Liriel replied. "The vibration was strong, but the voice was exclusive to him."
Rai'kanna stopped and turned fully toward me. "Then the flame is more active than we thought."
"Or someone is trying to activate it," Elara said.
That thought made my body temperature drop despite the heat of the terrain. It seemed impossible for someone to wield that kind of power, but after seeing a spirit manipulated, monsters rising from beneath the earth, and a massive construct freezing an entire valley, I no longer dismissed anything.
When we arrived at the outpost, several warriors looked at us in surprise. Some hurried over to ask what had happened, but Rai'kanna only said she would report to the council. We went to a stone room reinforced with red runes. It was used for analyzing dangerous artifacts — which meant the pulsating fragment would be the center of attention.
I placed the fragment on the circular table. It looked like an ice crystal, but far too alive to be just that. Rai'kanna touched the air above the surface, without actually touching the fragment, and it reacted with a bluish wave.
"This fragment isn't just energy," she said. "It carries intention. As if it was forcibly shaped."
"By whom?" Elara asked.
Liriel brought the grimoire closer and compared some runes. "It's not demonic. Not from spirits either. And it's definitely not from dragons."
"So it's human?" Vespera guessed.
"Maybe." Liriel frowned. "But not a normal human."
"An invoker?" Rai'kanna asked.
"Impossible. Invokers make pacts, they don't shape pure essence."
"A corruptor mage?"
"Possible," Liriel replied. "But to control natural spiritual energy at this level… they'd need decades of forbidden study. Or access to a power source that shouldn't exist."
Silence fell, and everyone looked at the fragment.
"You're forgetting another possibility," Elara said.
"Which one?" I asked.
"That human you saw in the visions of the white sand."
My heart pounded harder.
I had been so focused on what happened afterward that I almost forgot the first clue. That image of the man drawing runes on the rocks. The way the creatures responded to his gestures. The way he seemed… familiar, even though I couldn't see his face.
"Takumi," Rai'kanna said, stepping closer. "Did anything about that man feel connected to you?"
"I… don't know. But the flame reacted when I saw him. As if it recognized something."
"Then he might be the key to all this," Liriel said.
Before I could answer, the fragment pulsed harder. A blue light spread across the table and crawled over the surface like living cracks. We all stepped back. Rai'kanna half-opened her wings, ready to shield any of us if it exploded.
But the fragment simply glowed — and then projected something into the air.
An image.
It wasn't stable, but I could see it. A human silhouette. Broad shoulders. Smooth, calculated movements. Runes running down his arms. And behind him… shadows. Too many shadows to be natural. As if he was using darkness itself as a cloak.
"It's him," I murmured.
Vespera's eyes widened. "The guy from your visions?"
I nodded.
The projection flickered, and the figure slightly turned his face. His features couldn't be seen, but one thing was clear:
He knew he was being watched.
The image dispersed.
Rai'kanna approached the table again. "This man is playing with forces that can wipe out an entire civilization."
"And he's using monsters, spirits, and rifts as tools," Elara added.
Lyannis finally spoke, her voice low: "And he's targeting Takumi…"
Liriel closed the grimoire sharply. "If he wants the flame, then he's going to keep sending things after it."
"Then we go to him before he gets to me," I replied.
Rai'kanna stared firmly at me. "You're not going alone."
"I know."
"And you're not throwing yourself in front of giant creatures thinking you're immortal."
Vespera nodded vigorously. "Please, listen to her."
Elara crossed her arms. "Once in a while, it would be nice if you thought before acting."
Liriel sighed. "And if you hear voices again, tell us."
Lyannis held my hand without anyone noticing. "And I'll go with you. No matter what happens."
I looked at each of them. All worried. All tense. All involved in this in different ways.
And I realized that, whether I liked it or not, this path wasn't just mine.
The flame inside me pulsed again — but this time it wasn't a warning, nor anger.
It was something like recognition.
"Let's go," Rai'kanna said, opening the door. "The council needs to hear this. And afterward… we track this man."
"And where do we start?" I asked.
She looked at the map on the wall.
"At the border between the frozen mountains and the burning fields. Where cold and heat meet."
Vespera made a face. "That sounds like a terrible place."
"It probably is," Elara replied.
Liriel nodded. "And that's why we should go."
Lyannis squeezed my hand before letting go. "I'm coming too."
I took a deep breath.
And we reached the same conclusion at the same time:
It was no longer about monsters. Or rifts. Or corrupted spirits.
It was about the man behind all of this.
And now we had a direction.