The smell of sulfur was so strong it felt like it scraped the throat. We walked through a narrow corridor made of volcanic rock, illuminated only by the bluish flames sprouting from the cracks in the ground. This was the path to the Basalt Nest, where the third patrol should have passed before disappearing completely. Rai'kanna led ahead, cautious, observing every sign in the environment. Liriel kept her grimoire open; even without speaking, I could see how the lines of the runes trembled with the unstable energy of that place.
"These walls… they're breathing," murmured Vespera.
I touched the dark surface. The rock pulsed under my fingers, like a slow heartbeat. "They're alive. Not literally, but… they're reacting to something."
"The corruption," said Liriel. "It has spread so much it has already reached the underground structure. This shouldn't be possible."
Elara watched the ceiling, from which red droplets dripped like melted blood. "If this continues, the whole city could sink."
Rai'kanna stopped abruptly. "Silence." She raised a hand, telling us not to move.
I listened. Footsteps. Slowly dragged. Not human. And coming from inside the rocks.
"They're coming," I murmured.
From the sides of the corridor, cracks opened. Claws emerged, tearing the stone like wet paper. Humanoid shapes, but distorted, emerged from the basalt, covered in dark patches that vibrated like living parasites. Their eyes were empty pits, with no light.
"These aren't common monsters," Elara said, stepping back. "They were… people?"
"Patrollers," answered Rai'kanna, her voice heavy. "They were absorbed and reshaped. This is the work of something that lives deep below."
Lyannis covered her mouth, horrified. "Can we save them?"
Liriel closed her eyes, pained. "No. There's nothing inside those forms anymore except corruption."
The creatures surrounded us, their movements shallow and broken, as if they were fighting against themselves. I raised my sword, but hesitated for a second. The flame inside me pulsed differently, as if it pitied them.
"To… Kumi…"
The voice came from one of the monsters. A scratched, broken sound, but recognizable enough to freeze my spine.
"You heard that?" I asked quietly.
"Takumi," said Liriel, "don't listen. The corruption uses echoes of voices to affect the mind."
But that voice… felt too real.
Rai'kanna spread her wings, radiating heat through the corridor. "They won't stop. Prepare yourselves."
The monsters advanced. The first one jumped toward us, and Elara brought it down with a precise arrow to the dark energy core in its chest. Liriel cast a spell that exploded into blue light, locking three of them in place. Vespera created a slicing gust that pushed others back into the wall.
I moved toward two trying to flank us. I cut one, and the other attacked me with surprising strength. I raised my arm to block the blow and the flame reacted, spreading like a short wave. The monster was pushed back but recovered quickly.
Rai'kanna landed beside me. "They feel no pain. No limits. They only follow orders."
"What's giving those orders?" I asked, cutting another one approaching.
"That's what we're trying to find out."
The creatures kept emerging from the walls, as if the underground was spitting them out endlessly. Liriel amplified the rune on the ground, creating a force field that froze half of them.
"Now!" she shouted.
Rai'kanna took flight and released a blazing burst. Vespera funneled wind to amplify the flames. Elara shot arrows that exploded upon contact with the hot air.
Liriel's barrier dissipated, and the corridor fell silent. Only the smell of burnt stone remained.
Lyannis slowly approached one of the crystallized bodies. "They… were they conscious?"
"No," Liriel answered, avoiding her gaze. "It was just echo. The corruption uses remnants of memories to lure victims."
"Echo…?" I asked. "Then why did I hear my name?"
No one answered.
But the silence said more than any explanation.
Rai'kanna walked to the end of the corridor. "Let's go. The nest is right ahead."
We followed a winding descent that opened into a wide chamber. In the center was a basalt formation that resembled a petrified tree. At its top, something glowed. A pulsing fragment, similar to the one we found before, but much larger. It was like a frozen crystal, yet alive.
And around it… remnants of demi-dragon armor.
"Elara…" I murmured. "They… were the patrol."
She nodded, swallowing hard. "There's nothing left."
Vespera hugged herself. "I don't like this. Nothing here feels natural."
The flame inside me burned stronger. As if attracted to the fragment atop the petrified tree. It wasn't hostility. It was recognition.
Rai'kanna noticed. "Takumi. What are you feeling?"
"The same presence as before. But… stronger. It's nearby. Watching."
Lyannis tightened her grip on the spear. "Do you think it's following us?"
"I don't know."
Before I could say anything else, the fragment vibrated and a cold wave swept through the chamber. The petrified tree trembled. Stones fell from the ceiling. Liriel raised a barrier.
"Something is coming!" she shouted.
And then, from within the fragment, a voice echoed — sharp, distorted, almost human.
"Takumi…"
This time, it wasn't a false echo.
It was conscious. Directed. Intentional.
And the flame inside me responded with a roar.
Rai'kanna positioned herself between me and the fragment. "Prepare yourselves!"
The tree cracked completely. Basalt flew in all directions. White and blue light exploded like a suffocating star.
From within, a shape began to emerge.
Tall. Dense. Humanoid. Made of living ice and scorched basalt.
A cracked white mask covered its face. And at the center of its forehead, a black mark pulsed.
Elara drew her bow. Vespera raised the wind. Liriel opened three runes at once. Lyannis trembled, but held her stance.
And I… heard the voice again.
"I found you."
The creature raised its arm.
The intention was clear.
It wasn't an attack. It wasn't a threat.
It was a direct message.
"You… are the flame that should not exist."
Rai'kanna stepped in front of me, wings spread. "Stay away from him!"
The creature tilted its head. As if analyzing.
"Protecting… the bearer. Predictable instinct."
The temperature dropped violently. The mask glowed. The ground froze instantly beneath our feet.
"Takumi," murmured Liriel, "this is no longer a construct. It's an emissary. Someone is sending messages through it."
"Messages about what?" I asked, without taking my eyes off the creature.
"About you," Liriel answered.
The creature then opened its hand.
In the center of its palm was a dark fragment — darker than the others.
And when it fell to the ground, the earth trembled.
"When this fragment awakens," said the emissary, "your flame will be taken."
My heart raced.
Rai'kanna dashed forward to strike, but the creature vanished like smoke.
The chamber became silent once again.
Lyannis ran to me. "Takumi! Are you okay?!"
I didn't answer immediately.
Because the fragment on the ground… was pulsing as if it were breathing.
And I felt — for the first time — that the flame inside me was afraid.