The descent felt endless.
The tunnel sloped downward for nearly half an hour. The deeper they went, the hotter the air became — but not dangerously. Just… heavy, in a way that made breathing feel like effort.
Riko clung to Maera's cloak. "If a monster jumps out, I'm screaming."
Maera patted his head. "Good. That way we'll know where you are."
"That's not comforting!"
Garron snorted. "He's going to pass out before anything even shows."
Finally, the tunnel opened into a vast cavern.
A lake of molten rock filled the center, glowing orange like a living sea. Obsidian pillars jutted out of it, each carved with symbols that flickered faintly.
Above them, the ceiling resembled a dome of stars — except the stars were embers floating in controlled patterns.
Aeron whispered, awestruck, "This place… it feels like a heartbeat."
Halik gestured to the center of the lake. A stone platform rose there — circular, ancient, and cracked.
"That is the Cradle of Ash," Halik said. "A place where fire chooses its heirs."
Aeron stepped forward, trembling. "Why me?"
No one answered.
A sudden pulse of heat rippled across the lake.
Then a voice — deeper than before, clearer, layered with power — echoed through the cavern:
"You descend into my domain,
carrying the heart of my flame.
Come forth, Ashborn."
A figure emerged from the molten lake.
A silhouette of fire.
Tall. Terrifying. Ancient.
Riko fainted instantly.
Maera sighed. "Called it."
The fiery figure's eyes burned like living suns.
Its voice shook the cavern.
"You walk with my power, child.
But you do not understand it."
Aeron stepped back. "Who… who are you?"
The molten flames shifted, shaping into a humanoid form.
"I am the Ember Wraith.
A servant of the Sovereign.
And I have come to test you."
Lyria stepped in front of Aeron. "He's not ready."
The Wraith's gaze sliced through her emotions like a blade.
"No one is ready.
Not when fate calls."
It raised a hand.
Flames curled around its fingers.
"Let the trial begin."
The cavern erupted in fire.