The ground gave way in a roar of breaking stone.
Kael barely had time to grab Rynna before the floor shattered beneath their feet, dragging them both into the dark.
They fell through a storm of dust and light — the glow of the Warden's runes spiraling around them like shattered constellations. When they finally hit solid ground, the air was thick and hot, the sound of the collapsing chamber fading above.
Rynna groaned, pushing herself upright. "Kael—?"
He was beside her, coughing, his hands streaked with ash. The faint mark over his heart still burned through his torn shirt, dim but steady. The air around him shimmered faintly, as though the fire inside refused to go out.
"Where are we?" she whispered.
Kael looked up. The ceiling above them was gone, replaced by a vast expanse of stone — carved with the same sigils that had awakened in the chamber. But these were older, layered, and alive. They pulsed faintly with emberlight, like veins under skin.
"This… isn't part of the Academy," Kael murmured.
Before Rynna could answer, a soft hum rolled through the cavern — the same rhythm that had haunted the halls, only louder now, like a heartbeat beneath the world. It came from deeper ahead, where the darkness bent and shimmered with red light.
Something was waiting.
Kael stood, swaying slightly, his jaw set. "We need to move before that thing comes after us."
But even as he said it, the voice returned — the same metallic whisper that had spoken his title.
"You cannot run from what you are."
Rynna turned sharply, searching the shadows. "It's still here…"
The Warden stepped from the far end of the corridor, its mask cracked from the fall, faint light bleeding from within. Its body hissed with ancient energy.
Kael pulled Rynna behind him, fire flickering faintly across his arms. "If it wants me," he said, "it's not getting you."
"Kael, wait—"
Too late. The flame burst from his palms — not wild this time, but focused, sharp. It struck the Warden dead center. The construct staggered, metal groaning, and for the first time, it hesitated.
Its mask tilted, almost… curious.
"The flame obeys," it whispered. "As it did before the fall."
Before Kael could react, the ground beneath the Warden's feet split, revealing a narrow bridge of glowing runes that descended into the dark. The construct stepped onto it — not attacking, but beckoning.
Rynna's voice trembled. "Kael… I think it wants you to follow."
Kael's heartbeat pounded against his ribs, the mark over his heart burning like a brand. He met her gaze — torn between fear and something deeper.
"If the gods left answers down here," he said quietly, "then I need to find them."
The Warden turned and vanished into the dark.
Kael took a step forward. The fire answered, lighting his path.
And Rynna, against every instinct screaming in her chest, followed him into the depths.