The smoldering wind gave way to silence as the squad approached the broken arches of the ancient temple.
Its architecture was half-swallowed by the Wastes—twisted pillars and scorched stone etched with glyphs long dead. Thorned vines, unnaturally black, slithered along the cracks like veins of dried blood. The very air felt heavier, as if the earth was holding its breath.
Kael stepped first into the archway. His senses, sharpened through three brutal months of training, prickled instantly.
"No ambient Essence," he muttered.
Leiya frowned. "Not even residuals from the Varnok?"
He shook his head. "It's like the area's been… drained."
Sila activated a palm crystal, sending pulses of blue light ahead. They returned with distorted reflections, warping like heat mirages. "Something's disrupting the scan. I can't get a stable read past twenty meters."
Riven scoffed. "So we're going in blind. Wonderful."
Kael led them downward into the temple's cracked interior. As they descended through stone corridors, they passed murals—long faded—depicting winged figures casting spears of light against twisted shadows. Most of the imagery had been scarred over. One fresco had clearly been clawed apart in recent weeks.
"Varnok talons," Kael murmured. "Fresh ones."
They reached a fork in the path.
To the left, a shattered doorway led into what appeared to be a collapsed sanctum. Faint traces of Flame Essence flickered along its walls. To the right, a steep stairway spiraled downward—lit faintly by a pulsating red glow far below.
Sila paused. "Two routes. Which one?"
"No split," Kael said firmly. "We stay together."
They descended into the crimson-lit depths. With every step, the temperature dropped. Frost crept along the walls—unnatural, like a wound in the world itself.
Leiya rubbed her arms. "This doesn't feel right. Even for Myrrhfen."
Then they reached it.
A massive circular chamber, the floor inscribed with a cracked runic seal. At the center: a Pyre-tier Varnok beast, impaled by obsidian spikes that jutted from the floor like jagged fangs.
The corpse wasn't just dead. It had been ritualistically drained.
"Not a normal fight," Sila said, kneeling beside the body. "Essence channels were carved on purpose. It was sacrificed."
Kael circled slowly. Something caught his eye—faint boot prints near the runes.
Human.
Riven narrowed his eyes. "We're not just dealing with monsters."
The red glow pulsed suddenly, deeper, like a heartbeat.
A whisper floated down from the shadows near the ceiling: "He watches…"
Leiya's light spell surged, revealing blood-scrawled writing on the wall:
"His flesh wears the storm. But even lightning burns when it's caged."
Kael clenched a fist, stormfire dancing across his knuckles.
Whoever had orchestrated this wasn't just summoning Varnok.
They were using them.
And worse… they knew who he was.