The sun hung low over the jagged horizon of Aetheria, casting a blood-red glow across the Starfall Crater's edge. Kairos Voss wiped the sweat from his brow, his calloused hands smeared with the iridescent dust of beast remnants. At eighteen, he was already a ghost in his own life—tall and lean from years of scavenging, with unruly black hair that fell over eyes the color of storm clouds. The slum village of Riftedge clung to the crater's lip like a desperate parasite, a ramshackle collection of mud huts and salvaged metal sheets where outcasts like him eked out an existence from the cosmic fallout below.
"Another haul of scraps," Kairos muttered to himself, heaving a sack over his shoulder. Inside were fragments of beast cores—glowing shards left behind when the monstrous entities clashed in the depths. They fetched a pittance at the market, enough for stale bread and a leaky roof, but it was better than starving. The villagers whispered about him: the boy with the "cursed gaze," whose parents had vanished into the crater years ago, chasing rumors of untamed power. Kairos ignored them. Dreams were for fools; survival was his only creed.
As he trudged back toward the village, a low rumble echoed from the crater's maw. The ground trembled faintly, like the breath of some colossal sleeper stirring. Kairos paused, his heart skipping a beat. "Just another quake," he told himself, but the air felt heavier, charged with an unnatural static. Birds fled the sparse trees, their cries piercing the dusk. In the distance, the silhouette of the Imperial Spire loomed—a towering relic from before the Starfall, where the elite Soulforgers trained to bind beasts to their will. Kairos had never set foot there. Commoners like him weren't worthy of such gifts.
Riftedge came into view, its flickering torchlights a feeble defiance against the encroaching night. Children played in the dirt streets, chasing fireflies that might have been tiny beast essences. Elder Mira, the village's unofficial matriarch, sat weaving nets from salvaged vines. She spotted Kairos and waved him over with a gnarled hand.
"Any luck today, lad?" she asked, her voice raspy from years of crater dust.
"Enough for a meal," Kairos replied, dropping the sack at her feet. He pulled out a small, pulsing shard—a remnant of a lesser fire beast. "This one's got some spark left. Could light your hearth."
Mira's eyes widened, but she shook her head. "You're too kind, but keep it. The young need fire in their veins more than old bones like mine." She leaned closer, her gaze piercing. "Heard whispers from the traders. Beasts are restless. Something's brewing in the depths."
Kairos shrugged, masking his unease. "Beasts are always restless. As long as the guild patrols the rims, we're safe."
But even as he spoke, a distant roar split the air—a sound like thunder cracking stone. The children froze, their laughter dying. Then came another, closer this time, followed by the unmistakable tremor of stampeding feet. Kairos's blood ran cold. "Horde," he whispered.
Panic erupted. Villagers scrambled from their huts, grabbing whatever weapons they could—rusty spears, farming tools. "To the barricades!" Elder Mira shouted, her voice cutting through the chaos. Kairos snatched a jagged knife from his belt and ran toward the crater's edge, where a flimsy wall of spiked logs served as their only defense.
The horde emerged from the crater like a living nightmare. Dozens of beasts, twisted amalgamations of fur, scale, and ethereal glow, poured over the rim. Leading them was a pack of Void Hounds—shadowy canines with eyes like black voids, their howls siphoning light from the air. Flanking them were Ember Boars, tusks wreathed in flame, charging with earth-shaking fury. These weren't the tameable fragments Soulforgers sought; these were wild, unbound essences, driven mad by some unseen force.
"Why now?" Kairos growled, dodging as a Hound lunged at the barricade. He slashed at its flank, drawing inky blood that evaporated into mist. Screams filled the air— a child trampled, a hut engulfed in flames. Elder Mira wielded her net like a whip, ensnaring a Boar's legs, but another beast bowled her over. Kairos fought his way to her, his knife biting into beast flesh, but for every one he felled, two more surged forward.
"Run, Kairos!" Mira gasped, blood trickling from her lips. "The crater... hide in the depths!"
He hesitated, but a massive Ember Boar charged him, forcing him back toward the edge. The ground crumbled under his feet, and he tumbled into the crater, rolling down the steep incline amid rocks and debris. Pain exploded in his side as he hit bottom, the world spinning. Above, the village's cries faded into the roar of destruction.
The crater floor was a labyrinth of glowing fissures and ancient ruins, remnants of the fallen stars that had birthed the beasts eons ago. Kairos staggered to his feet, clutching his ribs. Blood dripped from a gash on his arm, mixing with the luminescent dust. He needed to find cover, but the horde's echoes pursued him—snarls growing louder.
Deeper in, a faint glow drew him: a crystalline pedestal amid the ruins, pulsing with an otherworldly light. Atop it rested a fist-sized orb, swirling with crimson flames and golden embers. A beast core? But unlike any he'd scavenged—this one hummed with life, as if a star itself were trapped within.
As he approached, the orb cracked open, and from it emerged a spectral form: a phoenix-like entity, wings of fire unfolding, eyes like molten suns. It wasn't fully corporeal—more a fragment, a soul shard of something ancient and vast. The beast regarded him, its presence pressing on his mind like a whisper from the void.
*Intruder...* a voice echoed in his head, not words but raw emotion—curiosity laced with fury. *You dare approach the Ignis Eternal?*
Kairos stumbled back, his heart pounding. Telepathy? Only bonded beasts could do that, and only with their tamers. He was no Soulforger; he had no artifacts, no training. "Stay back!" he shouted, brandishing his knife. But the phoenix—Ignis—tilted its head, flames flickering.
The ground shook again. The horde had followed, Void Hounds slinking from the shadows, their voids pulling at the light. Ignis flared brighter, a warning screech piercing the air. The beasts hesitated, sensing the power, but hunger drove them forward.
In desperation, Kairos lunged for the pedestal, his bloodied hand touching the cracked orb. A surge of energy shot through him—like lightning fusing with his veins. The world blurred, and suddenly, he *felt* Ignis: not as an enemy, but as a mirror to his own soul. Pain, loss, the fire of survival—they resonated.
*Bond...?* Ignis's voice thundered in his mind, surprise turning to intrigue. *Your essence... it calls. Voidheart? Forbidden... yet strong.*
Kairos gasped as visions flooded him: stars shattering, cosmic entities fragmenting into beasts, scattering across realms. His body convulsed, a warmth spreading from his chest. The orb shattered fully, its essence flowing into him—not a capture, but a merge. His wounds knit shut, strength flooding his limbs. Flames danced along his fingertips, unbidden.
The Hounds attacked. Kairos moved on instinct, hurling a bolt of fire that incinerated the lead beast. Ignis manifested beside him, smaller now, bonded—its wings shielding him as they fought back the horde. Together, they were a whirlwind of flame and fury, beasts falling in charred heaps.
But as the last Hound fled, a searing pain ripped through Kairos's skull. Echoes—fragments of Ignis's ancient rage—clawed at his thoughts. *More... consume more...* the voice whispered, tempting him to chase, to destroy.
He collapsed to his knees, flames flickering erratically. Above, smoke rose from Riftedge's ruins. Survivors? He had power now, but at what cost? The bond pulsed, a double-edged blade.
And then, from the crater's depths, a deeper roar echoed—a colossal presence awakening, drawn by the forge.
Kairos's eyes widened. "What have I done?"