Night had fully settled by the time Ash's breathing steadied again.
The fire in his veins still pulsed, but no longer with the wild, consuming heat from earlier.
Ember remained beside him, her presence the only anchor stopping him from unraveling.
1. Ember's Truth
Ash finally spoke, voice rough:
"You embraced the flame… what does that even mean?"
Ember closed her eyes for a moment, as if pulling old memories from places she wished they had stayed buried.
"When the Ashen Veins awakened in me, I ran."
Her tone was quiet, but steady.
"It felt like my body was breaking from the inside. Like I was being asked to hold something far too ancient… and far too alive."
Ash listened, still clutching the ground beneath him.
Ember continued:
"I tried to push it away. Deny it. But the flame doesn't tolerate denial."
A faint scar glimmered along her wrist—barely visible, but unmistakably burned.
"It almost killed me. Until I stopped resisting."
Ash's breath caught.
"So the only way to control it… is to surrender to it?"
Ember shook her head.
"Not surrender."
Her eyes met his, bright as embers in the dark.
"Acceptance. There's a difference."
2. The Flame's Memory
Ember reached into the air, and for a moment, a small flare of fire appeared above her hand—
not burning, not roaring, but alive.
It moved like it recognized her.
Ash stared.
The flame drifted toward him, curious, as if feeling something familiar inside him.
Ember explained:
"The flame remembers its bearers.
It carries the memories of all the Firekeepers before us."
Ash blinked.
"Memories? As in… their thoughts? Their lives?"
"Yes." Ember nodded.
"Sometimes you'll feel echoes—instincts you never learned, words you never heard, strength you never trained for. Those aren't your memories… but the flame's."
Ash leaned back slowly, the weight of her words sinking in.
So the power inside him wasn't just ancient—it was conscious.
Not fully alive, but aware.
And it remembered.
3. A Warning
Ember's expression darkened, the warmth in her voice sharpening.
"But Ash… there is something else you need to know."
He tensed.
"What now?"
Her eyes shifted toward the horizon, where a faint red haze lingered—distant, ominous.
"Something else is waking up."
Ash frowned.
"Something like us?"
"No." Embers shook her head.
"Something older. Something the First Spark sealed away."
Ash's pulse quickened.
"And it's waking because of the Ashen Veins?"
"Because the flame inside you is calling out," Ember said quietly.
"It's responding."
A chill crawled up Ash's spine.
4. A Choice Ahead
Ember stood and offered him a hand.
Her palm glowed faintly again—warm, familiar, grounding.
"Ash, listen carefully."
He looked up, breath uneven.
"You have two choices."
She raised two fingers:
"First—run from the flame. It will consume you sooner or later… but you'll live a little longer."
Ash swallowed.
"Second?"
Ember's voice hardened with resolve.
"Or you embrace it fully. Train. Awaken it. Become strong enough to face whatever is coming."
Ash stared at her hand—his path, his fate, maybe his doom.
The forest rustled around them, as if holding its breath.
Finally, Ash reached up and placed his hand in hers.
His grip was unsteady.
But determined.
"Then teach me."
Ember's expression softened into something almost like relief.
"I was hoping you'd say that."
The flame between them flickered—
and for the first time,
it felt like it recognized both of them.