The Old District of Vaeroth was a maze of narrow streets, leaning buildings, and rooftops so close they almost touched. It was the kind of place where secrets learned to hide, and people learned not to ask questions.
Now it burned.
Flames crawled up the sides of wooden homes, smoke billowed into the sky, and frightened citizens rushed between alleys searching for safety. The heat pressed against the walls like a giant's breath.
Lyria, Garron, Maera, Halik, Kethra, Riko, Sable, and Warden Soryn sprinted through the chaos, each with their own reason to run — fear, guilt, duty, curiosity, instinct.
Riko coughed as smoke stung his eyes. "Is the whole district on fire?"
"Feels like it," Garron said, wiping soot off his face. "Can't tell if this is an attack or a natural disaster."
"It's not natural," Maera said. "Look at the way the fire moves."
They all did.
The flames didn't spread like normal fire. They swirled, twisted, and leaned toward one direction — like they were chasing something.
Or someone.
Halik's eyes widened. "That fire… it's alive."
"Alive?" Riko squeaked. "Like… with a heartbeat?"
"Not exactly," Halik said. "It's controlled."
Soryn stopped at the center of a burning intersection. "Controlled by who? The Cinder-Eyed woman?"
Before anyone could answer, a loud crack echoed through the street as a burning rooftop collapsed behind them. Sparks burst out like fireworks.
"Move!" Garron yelled. "This whole place could come down!"
The Center of the Inferno
They reached the heart of the district — an old stone plaza with a dried-up fountain in its center. The heat here was intense enough to make the air ripple. Flames curled around the plaza in a perfect circle, as though they'd been commanded to hold their ground.
Standing in the middle was a figure.
A woman cloaked in dark robes, her hood pulled up. Embers floated around her like fireflies. Her eyes glowed — dim, red-orange, as if they held dying stars inside them.
The Cinder-Eyed woman.
She turned her head slowly, noticing them.
Lyria gripped her rapier. "Stay close."
The woman's voice echoed through the heat.
"You should not have touched the cube."
Maera stepped forward, ears pinned back. "We were just cleaning the mess YOU created."
The woman tilted her head. "The cube did not belong to me. It belonged to the one I follow."
"And who is that?" Soryn demanded.
The woman smiled faintly. "The one who walks in ash."
"That's not a real answer," Kethra snapped.
The Cinder-Eyed woman finally moved — a single step. The flames around her pulsed like a heartbeat.
"I did not come to explain," she said. "I came to erase."
She lifted her hand.
A stream of fire shot toward the group.
A Fight of Fire and Stone
Halik reacted first, slamming his feet into the ground and unleashing a controlled burst of dragonfire to counter hers. His flames weren't as wild — trained, focused — but they clashed in the air with a violent roar.
"Get behind me!" Halik yelled.
"No chance," Maera said. She blurred forward using Foxglint, darting from shadow to shadow. Her knives flashed as she leapt toward the Cinder-Eyed woman.
The woman flicked her wrist.
A wall of fire shot upward, forcing Maera back.
Garron charged with Hammerfall — his iron arm glowing as he swung down with full strength. The ground cracked, sending a shockwave across the plaza.
The Cinder-Eyed woman didn't even turn. She simply raised her hand, and the shockwave split around her like water around a stone.
Lyria darted in with Moonweave Footwork, her blade singing as she aimed for the woman's ribs.
The woman whispered a word — a soft, ancient sound.
Lyria's rapier melted at the tip.
She stumbled back, eyes wide. "She's using heat like… like it's a language."
Sable grabbed Maera's arm. "We shouldn't be here! She's beyond anything I've seen—"
"Then why does she want us gone?" Maera asked.
Sable hesitated. She saw the fear in his eyes.
"Because," he whispered, "we found something her master lost."
The Fire Weakens
Halik's knees buckled as the Cinder-Eyed woman pushed him back with a massive surge of energy. Flames wrapped around his arms like burning ropes.
"I can't hold her!" Halik grunted.
Lyria helped him up. "Then don't. We need another plan."
Soryn looked at the burning homes around them. "If we keep fighting, half the district will collapse."
Kethra gripped her hammer. "We need to break her focus."
Riko tugged at Lyria's sleeve. "I—I think I can distract her."
"What? No," Lyria said firmly. "You stay behind us."
"But I saw something on her robe," Riko insisted. "A symbol. Same one that was on the cube!"
Lyria looked at him sharply. "Are you sure?"
"Yes! It showed up when she attacked."
The Cinder-Eyed woman lifted her hands again, preparing another wave of fire.
Soryn shouted, "Spread out! Make her divide her attention!"
The group scattered. Fire blasted the plaza, carving trenches of molten stone.
And for the first time…
the woman's flames flickered.
Only slightly.
But enough for everyone to see it.
Garron smirked through the heat. "Looks like she's not invincible after all."
The Cinder-Eyed woman lowered her hand slowly, studying them.
"You are persistent," she said. "Annoying. Temporary."
She raised her arms again—
—but then she froze.
A faint bell rang from somewhere in the city. Not loud. Not frantic.
Just a soft… distant chime.
Her eyes widened.
"No," she whispered. "He is waking."
The flames around her collapsed into sparks.
Before anyone could move, her body dissolved into smoke.
Then she vanished.
A Warning From the Ash
The plaza fell silent except for the crackling ruins.
Riko looked around nervously. "Did we win?"
"No," Lyria said. "Not even close."
Halik held his chest. "That was only a fraction of her power."
Maera twirled her knife. "So who's this 'master' she keeps talking about?"
Sable sat down on a broken step, shaking.
"I wasn't supposed to know," he said. "But I heard whispers when I delivered the powder. They called him…"
He swallowed.
"The Ashborn Sovereign."
The name sent a shiver through all of them — because something about it felt ancient, heavy, and dangerous.
Lyria looked at the melted tip of her blade and whispered:
"This isn't just a threat. This is the beginning of something bigger."