The morning light filtered through the treetops like fractured beams of gold, dancing across the forest floor. Daniel Bellhem stepped out of the dungeon entrance with slow, measured breaths. His body was still shaking from the Ember Core's awakening, raw energy coursing through his veins like a river of fire and sunlight.
Scarlune flickered with molten warmth at his side. Vorrath pulsed with restrained hunger. But it was the new presence—soft, radiant, almost ethereal—that stirred Daniel's chest.
Luminara.The Dawn of Eternal Flame.The blade of light born from fire.
Though he had not yet summoned it fully, he could feel its presence shimmering inside the Book of Ten Swords like a heartbeat.
The forest around him felt different. Sharper. Brighter. Every leaf glimmered with faint luminescence as though responding to his rising aura.
Daniel tightened his grip on Vorrath.His training was not done.His journey was far from over.
A FRAGMENT OF DAWN
He found a quiet clearing and placed both feet firmly on the ground. Scarlune burned in his right hand, flames steady and obedient. Vorrath hummed in his left, vibrating with violent hunger.
Daniel whispered:
"Luminara… show me your light."
The Book of Ten Swords materialized before him, pages fluttering wildly. A soft, white-gold flame emerged, hovering inches above the ground. It pulsed like the heartbeat of a newborn star.
Daniel reached out—and the moment his fingers brushed the light, pain lanced up his arm.
Not heat.Not fire.Not Scarlune's devouring rage.
This was purity.
A burning illumination that seared lies, doubt, fear, and hesitation from the soul.
He fell to one knee as the flame entered him, illuminating his thoughts. Memories flooded forth—good ones, painful ones, everything he had tried to bury.
His family's last moments.
The night Bellhem Castle burned.
His failures.
His fear of losing control.Of losing Mimi.Of losing himself.
Luminara's voice whispered:
"Light does not destroy shadow. It reveals what the shadow hides.To wield me… you must stand in truth."
Daniel's breath trembled.Pain—not of the flesh, but of the heart—crashed through him like a wave.
And then—
A soft voice.
Familiar.
Gentle.
"Daniel…?"
MIMI IN THE MIST
Daniel's eyes snapped open.
Standing in the misty forest path…Her hair lifting softly in the breeze…Emerald eyes wide with disbelief…
Mimi.
She looked exhausted—travel-worn, cheeks flushed from running—but her smile was the same one that haunted him every night.
"Daniel… it really is you," she breathed, voice breaking.
He stood too quickly, almost stumbling from Luminara's lingering pain.
"Mimi," he whispered. "How—how are you here?"
She stepped closer, but not too close.Uncertainty gleamed in her eyes.
"I heard rumors," she said softly. "A boy in the Eastern Forest wielding fire and shadow. A boy with Bellhem blood. A boy who survived."
Her gaze traveled over his wounds, over Scarlune's flames, over the Book still hovering faintly behind him.
"You've changed… so much," she whispered. "But I knew it was you."
Daniel's heart hammered.Everything inside him wanted to run to her. To hold her. To tell her he fought every battle, suffered every trial with her face in his mind.
But Luminara glowed faintly in his chest—reminding him:
Truth.Not desire.Not fantasy.Truth.
"Mimi… I will come back to you," he said quietly. "I'm not ready yet. But I will be."
Her smile wavered—sad, but understanding.
"I'll wait."She stepped back into the mist."I always have."
And as she vanished from sight, Luminara's flame pulsed with approval.
THE TRIAL BEGINS
Daniel exhaled slowly, feeling clarity wash over him.
Luminara wasn't like Scarlune.Not destructive flame.Not hunger like Vorrath.
Luminara was balance. Light. Purification. Truth.
He lifted his hand—and the white-gold flame condensed into the shape of a sword's outline.
Not solid yet.Not awakened.But close.
Very close.
He knew what he had to do.
"Luminara," he whispered. "I accept your trial."
The forest glowed.Mist curled.Light and shadow swirled around him.A new journey had begun.
A COLD FORESHADOWING — THE NEXT BLADE
As Daniel steadied himself, the Book of Ten Swords flipped open on its own, pages turning like a storm wind had caught them.
It stopped on a page coated in frost.
The air grew cold.Daniel's breath fogged.Scarlune's flame flickered nervously.
Etched into the icy page were words:
BLADE FOUR — GLACIARAThe Silent Winter.The Blade That Freezes Time.
And below that:
Only those who survive light and flame may step into eternal frost.
A chill rippled through the forest, unnatural and sharp.
Somewhere far to the north…Something ancient awakened.An icy presence stirred, sensing Daniel's rise.
And it whispered:
"Come find me, child of Bellhem…If fire has not already consumed you."
Daniel tightened his grip.
The path ahead was clear.
Light.Then frost.Then power beyond legend.
He looked into the forest where Mimi had disappeared, heart steady, fire controlled.
"I will survive," he whispered."For her.For Bellhem.For the blades that await."