I. Echoes of the Sealed Pact
Night falls over the area devastated by the last battle. Akihiko, accompanied by Lirea and the young Garon, approaches the ruins of an ancient fortress used by the vanished mafia known as the Ash Wastes . The stones still burn with a slow, magical, and perpetual flame. There they find an altar blackened with runes that are only revealed by the touch of the Void. Akihiko activates a sealed inscription that summons echoes of the last trial performed by that mafia.
II. The Guardian of the Cold Flames
From the ashes rises an immense warrior made of soot, blue flames, and hardened skull fragments. He calls himself Varnakel , the last executor of the Silent Fire lineage. This being not only speaks, but burns with the sins of those who died without redemption. He issues a challenge to Akihiko: he must face three trials incarnated by ancient convicts.
III. The First Test – The Smoke Traitor
A deformed spirit appears: a traitor who murdered his own family for power. He represents cowardice disguised as ambition. His ability: Cloak of Living Ash , which blinds the truth and corrupts the will. Akihiko uses his heightened perception to see beyond the smoke, defeating him with a precise blow that pierces the mask of deceit.
IV. The Second Test – The Corrupt Redeemer
Lirea confronts a mafia priest who once tried to save enslaved children… but ended up trafficking them out of desperation. Her ability: Poison Redemption , an aura of compassion that paralyzes with guilt. Lirea, reminded of his past self, manages to purify him by absorbing his pain with Reflective Resonance.
V. The Third Test – The Queen of Eternal Fire
Garon battles a woman covered in black flames who demands absolute obedience. Her ability: Crown of Combustion , a fire that consumes emotions until blind obedience is achieved. Garon unleashes his hidden potential: a technique that condenses his spirit into a spear of pure intent, piercing the crown and freeing the wraith.
VI. Varnakel and the Fire of the End
Having passed the three trials, Varnakel bows and reveals his secret: the perpetual flame wasn't a punishment, but rather the protection of a legacy. He grants Akihiko the Ash of Jurisdiction , a relic that burns only in the hands of those who still doubt. "Only he who doubts deserves to judge," he says before dissolving.
VII. The Archive of Unburied Decisions
Behind the altar, a sealed chamber opens containing hundreds of documents: unexecuted decisions by ancient clans, broken pacts, and unavenged betrayals. Lirea finds one among them that mentions her father as part of an unfulfilled plan: to infiltrate Edenfall as a traitor to protect it from within.
VIII. The Whisper of the Burnt Souls
During the night, as they rest, Akihiko hears voices emanating from the ash: fragments of those executed, whom he didn't hate, who died out of misguided loyalty. Through a new state of the Void, he can feel their stories, mourn for them, and absorb a new energy: Inert Memory .
IX. The Call of the East
A sign burns in the sky: a silver-gray flame that only appears when a dormant branch of the Eastern mafia, the House of Ashirva , known for its extreme cruelty, is reactivated. The group prepares to move in that direction. "The fire doesn't go out. It only changes form."
X. March towards the Storm of Flare
As they depart, Akihiko feels the ash he's carrying begin to vibrate. Lirea tells him that this only happens when the trial isn't over yet... and that perhaps Edenfall will be the last room in that endless court. In the background, the echo of invisible footsteps can be heard, as if someone else had been watching the ceremony.