The mist in the forest thickened as morning approached, curling around Ash and Ember like a living veil.
Ash felt different now—more aware, more awake.
The world's pulse still echoed faintly inside him, steady as a heartbeat that wasn't his own.
But the calm didn't last.
1. The Disturbance
A sharp tremor rippled through the ground.
Ash stumbled.
"Did you feel that?"
Ember's face tightened.
"Yes. And it wasn't natural."
The embers in the air flickered wildly, as if reacting to an unseen presence.
Ash scanned the trees.
"It's close."
"No," Ember said, her voice low.
"It's already here."
Before Ash could ask, a gust of wind tore through the clearing—cold, biting, carrying a whisper that made his skin crawl.
A whisper that didn't belong to anything human.
2. The Shadowed One
Shapes congealed between the trees.
Not a creature—something worse.
A silhouette formed from darkness itself, shifting and losing form with every movement.
Two hollow eyes glowed faintly, like dying coals.
Ash's pulse raced.
"What… is that?"
Ember stepped in front of him.
"A Remnant."
Ash swallowed hard.
"I thought those were myths."
"They were," Ember said.
"Until something started waking them."
The Remnant drifted forward, its presence freezing the air around them.
Ash felt the fire in his chest flare in response—instinctive, defensive, alive.
3. Fire Against Shadow
The Remnant lunged.
Ash reacted without thinking.
A blast of heat surged through his arm and burst from his palm—
a stream of uncontrolled flame that lit the clearing like sunrise.
The Remnant hissed, recoiling, edges burning away like smoke caught in a storm.
Ash gasped for breath.
He had never released that much fire before.
Ember didn't hesitate.
She flicked her wrist and a ring of flame erupted around them, cutting the Remnant off.
But the shadow re-formed, knitting itself back together.
Ash's heart dropped.
"It's not dying!"
"No," Ember said.
"Remnants don't die. They only dissolve—unless you strike their core."
Ash clenched his fists.
"Where's the core?!"
Ember's eyes narrowed at the creature.
"It's hidden in the shadow. You have to feel it."
4. The Pulse Returns
Ash closed his eyes for a heartbeat.
He searched—past fear, past the blaze of adrenaline—to the deeper warmth inside him.
The flame.
The world's pulse.
And then—
A second pulse.
Faint.
Rotten.
Unnatural.
Ash opened his eyes sharply.
"Ember—I found it."
She nodded once.
"Then aim for its center. I'll hold it still."
Before Ash could protest, Ember stepped forward, hands raised.
Flame spiraled from her arms, forming chains of fire that lashed around the Remnant, anchoring it to the ground.
"Ash!" she shouted.
"Now!"
5. Ashen Strike
Ash inhaled.
Held the flame.
Felt the pulse.
Then he thrust his hand forward.
A concentrated burst of fire shot out—clean, sharp, controlled.
It pierced the Remnant's chest.
There was a sound like cracking glass.
A fractured glow flickered within the creature—its core—before shattering completely.
The Remnant collapsed, dissolving into drifting ash.
Silence followed.
Ash stared at his own hand, trembling.
"I… did that."
Ember stepped beside him, her expression unreadable.
"You stopped holding back."
6. The Unwelcome Realization
Ash turned to her.
"What are Remnants? Why are they coming after us?"
Ember looked at the pile of fading ash, her jaw tight.
"Remnants were created during the First Spark's era.
They were guardians once—until something corrupted them."
Ash felt a cold weight settle in his stomach.
"So something is waking the corrupted ones?"
Ember nodded.
"And whatever it is…"
She looked him in the eyes, voice barely a whisper.
"…it's searching for the one who carries the Ashen Veins."
Ash's breath froze.
"It's searching for me."
Ember didn't deny it.
7. A New Path Forward
Ash clenched his fists.
"If these things are hunting me, then I need to learn faster.
Stronger.
Enough to fight them."
Ember's eyes softened with a mix of pride and worry.
"You will," she said.
"But the next lesson won't be easy."
Ash exhaled.
"I'm ready."
Ember shook her head gently.
"No. You're not.
But you're willing—and that's enough to begin."
She walked past him, embers swirling at her heels.
"Come, Ash.
We don't have much time."
Ash followed her into the deepening forest—
unaware that from the shadows behind them,
another pair of hollow eyes watched.
And waited.