The return to the stronghold was silent. Not for lack of things to say, but because everyone was trying to understand what had happened with that ice construct — and with my flame. Even on the way back, it still pulsed irregularly, as if something inside it had been disturbed.
Rai'kanna walked beside me, observing my movements closely. Liriel came right behind, analyzing the fragment we had collected. Elara walked with her eyes fixed on the horizon, and Vespera kept tugging at her collar, trying to shield herself from the cold that insisted on following us. Lyannis watched the rear, always alert.
"Takumi," Liriel said, finally breaking the silence, "can you describe exactly what you heard?"
"It wasn't a complete sentence. It wasn't… human." I touched my chest where the flame burned stronger. "But I felt the intention. 'Don't fight alone'… that's what I managed to understand."
Vespera frowned. "Your flame is talking to you now?"
"I don't know if it's the flame. It could be something trapped inside it… or someone trying to communicate through it."
Rai'kanna looked at me sideways. "Whatever it is, it doesn't seem hostile."
"For now," Liriel added.
We entered the outpost again. The temperature inside was more comfortable thanks to the draconic flames that warmed the interior. The soldiers were restless; many looked at us with a mix of respect and fear.
The commander called us as soon as he saw the fragment in Liriel's hand.
"Did you find that in the disappearance area?"
"Yes," I replied.
He took a deep breath, like someone who already expected the answer but desperately wished he were wrong.
"Then it's worse than we thought. Much worse."
Rai'kanna crossed her arms. "What do you know about this?"
"There are ancient legends… older even than the first demi-dragons. Legends about creatures that belong neither to heat nor cold, but to the void between the two." He pointed to the pulsating fragment. "If that is here, someone is digging up what should remain buried."
Elara stepped forward. "You speak of someone commanding the monsters?"
"Yes. And if they are manipulating spirits… they must be stopped before they summon something greater."
Vespera took a deep breath. "There's always a 'something greater.'"
Lyannis stepped forward, gripping her spear tightly. "And what do we do now?"
"You need to go south." The commander unfurled a large map over the table. "There is a cave beneath Mount Khar'Dur. There… is where we believe this energy is being channeled."
Rai'kanna's expression hardened. "The Cave of Ancient Hearts? That area is forbidden."
"It was forbidden." The commander sighed. "Now it is necessary."
Liriel placed the fragment on the table. The ice around it began to slowly spread across the surface, even with the room's heat.
"This… is calling something. And it won't stop."
I touched the table. The cold I felt was different from ordinary cold — it was deep, hollow, as if it drained warmth from the spirit itself.
Rai'kanna laid her hand over mine to push it away. "Don't touch that again. Not while you're unstable."
Before I could answer, the ground vibrated faintly beneath our feet — as if the mountain were breathing.
Everyone exchanged glances.
"That came from the south," Elara said.
The commander closed the map. "There's no more time. You need to go now."
The walk to the cave entrance took just over an hour. The sky was overcast, and the fine snow kept falling, despite the natural heat of the region trying to fight it. It was a strange balance: heat rising, cold descending, and in between, us.
The cave entrance was marked by natural pillars of black stone that looked melted and solidified again. At the center was a wide opening, like a dark mouth.
"This is it," Liriel murmured. "The core of the interference comes from here."
The flame inside me burned stronger — like a warning.
"Something down there is reacting to the fragment," Elara said.
Rai'kanna approached the entrance and felt the air.
"I don't like this. The flow of energy is being pulled inward."
Lyannis took a deep breath. "Takumi… if something inside tries to call you again… what will you do?"
"I'll try to understand. But I won't let it control me."
Vespera grumbled. "Promises like that never end well…"
"I can hear you, Vespera."
"I know."
We descended.
The cave was wide and irregular, lit by natural red crystals jutting from the walls. As we advanced, the temperature fluctuated: intense heat at one turn, suffocating cold at the next.
Liriel analyzed everything, her eyes alert at every change.
"This alternation is not natural. Someone is draining energy from this place. Or releasing it."
Rai'kanna walked ahead, wings partially open to balance the heat and the cold.
Until we reached the first chamber.
It was enormous, with a ceiling so high it vanished into the darkness. In the center, there was a stone pedestal — broken in half. Marks of black ice were scattered across the floor, forming irregular symbols.
As soon as we approached, the flame in my chest vibrated.
And then… the voice returned.
It wasn't a whisper this time. It was stronger, clearer, more urgent.
"Takumi."
My knees almost gave out.
Liriel grabbed my arm. "You're hearing it again?"
"Yes… but now it's different." I took a deep breath. "It's clearer."
Rai'kanna approached. "What is it saying?"
Before I could answer, a wave of cold wind swept across the chamber. The crystals on the walls cracked, and a figure formed over the broken pedestal — not solid, but made of blue smoke.
It was the silhouette of a human.
But without a face.
Without details.
Just a presence.
Lyannis stepped back. "Wh… what is that?"
The figure pointed at me.
And a second voice echoed, this time filling the entire cavern:
"You… should not be here."
The flame inside me burst with heat.
I stepped forward.
"Who are you?" I asked.
The figure shuddered, distorted.
"A fragment. An echo. A remnant… of what was left."
Rai'kanna raised her wings, ready to strike.
"Is this a trap?"
The silhouette turned its head, as if it could look at her.
"No. But what comes after… will be."
The ground shook.
Vespera drew her wind blades. "Oh… I felt that. Something big is coming."
The distorted figure pointed to the back of the cave.
And then the voice — the same one I heard inside the flame — spoke again:
"Run."
The wall behind the pedestal simply exploded.
And a massive creature of living ice, with several eyes pulsing white, crawled through the opening.
"Takumi," Liriel said, pulling my arm, "that thing is drawn to you."
"I noticed!"
Elara readied her bow. "We need to get him out of here!"
Rai'kanna spread her wings fully. "Group, fall back!"
Lyannis ran toward me. "Don't let that thing reach you!"
The monster lunged — fast for something so huge.
The flame in my chest burned like never before.
And for the first time… I felt real fear.
Not of the monster.
But of what the flame wanted to do.
"What's happening to you?" Rai'kanna yelled.
"I… I don't know!"
The voice inside the flame echoed again:
"Don't fight alone… or you will be consumed."
The monster attacked.
And the entire ground shook.