The entrance to the Forgotten Shrine was hidden deep within the magma veins of the Fireplume Chasm. As Leon, Elara, Garrosh, and Tom stepped across layers of obsidian rock, the ground beneath them glowed with searing heat. Rivers of molten lava surged through the grooves in the cliffs, bathing the surroundings in a shifting crimson glow. The air reeked of sulfur and scorched metal.
Tom suddenly stopped, crouching down to brush away a thin layer of ash. Beneath it lay black markings—woven like a spider's web. "These are the Shadow Covenant's *Magma Seals*," he murmured. "They match the energy pattern from the frost seals used on Chieftain Ironmane." His sleeve slipped, revealing the scar burned into his forearm by shadow lightning—it shimmered faintly under the firelight, like a twisted black serpent.
Elara pressed a glowing blue crystal against the markings. Her emerald eyes narrowed. "There's powdered Chaos Egg shard mixed into these runes. If triggered, this entire magma chamber will erupt like a volcano."
She traced her fingers over her quiver and drew an arrow etched with water-element sigils. Its feathers trembled slightly in the heat. "Leon, we need your stardust power to neutralize the chaos energy."
Leon obeyed, pressing his Starlight Crystal onto the ground. A ripple of white light spread outward. When it met the black runes, they hissed and crackled like ice dropped into oil. He could feel the flow of four elements within him—stardust wove itself like silver thread between the burning heat of fire, the explosive force of thunder, and the fluid grace of water—forming a net that slowly consumed the chaotic residue.
Suddenly, Garrosh growled. "Something's moving!" He swung his axe at the right wall. Dozens of shadow-covered tendrils burst from the cracks, their tips alight with purple-black flames. They writhed and lashed out, exuding a sickening stench.
Leon spun around, activating the True Form of the Heart of the Flame Dragon. A wave of multicolored fire erupted from his palm, forming a protective ring around the group. The tendrils shrieked as they touched the flames, carbonizing and crumbling—but their remains exploded on impact, scattering into hundreds of fingernail-sized shadow beetles that buzzed toward them hungrily.
"These things fear lightning!" Tom shouted, raising his modified rune crossbow. Bolts of thunder shot through the swarm, igniting arcs of electricity that fried half the insects instantly. Yet more tendrils kept emerging from the walls.
"Cover me!" Elara loaded an arrow tipped with ice-blue energy. "Leon, focus on breaking the source!"
Garrosh roared, swinging his axe in a deadly arc to clear the way for Elara. Leon took a deep breath and pressed both the Starlight Crystal and the Heart of the Flame Dragon against the convergence point of the dark runes.
The two powers clashed and resonated. A golden circle of runes erupted from the ground, incinerating every shadow tendril caught within its radius. The creatures dissolved into ash, vanishing without a sound.
"The shrine is over there!" Elara pointed to the hexagonal stone platform rising from the magma lake. At its center stood a flame totem half a man tall, covered in ancient inscriptions. Twelve indentations circled the column—four were filled with shattered obsidian, clearly altered by the Shadow Covenant.
Without hesitation, Garrosh strode into the knee-deep magma. The boiling liquid sizzled against his boots, but he gritted his teeth and pressed forward. "There's strong rune energy inside the pillar!"
Each of them rushed to one of the four elemental pillars surrounding the platform.
As Leon placed the Heart of the Flame Dragon on the fire pillar, an unbearable surge of heat rushed up his arm, nearly consuming his consciousness. But just in time, his stardust energy flared to life, crystallizing a thin layer of ice over his skin—an unexpected balance formed between cold and fire.
Elara's water arrow struck the water pillar, unleashing a spiraling chain of ice-blue energy that intertwined with Leon's flames. Tom's thunderbolt hit the lightning pillar, sending golden arcs crawling across the surface. Garrosh cleaved through the wind pillar's shadow barrier, releasing a storm of howling winds that peeled away the corrupted runes.
When the four elements converged at the altar's core, Leon slammed the Starlight Crystal into place.
The twelve surrounding pillars trembled violently. Purple-black flames ignited, and Arthus's projection emerged. His left eye had become a swirling void, and his lips curled in cruel amusement. "Foolish Elemental Bearer, do you really think breaking a seal can stop the rise of chaos?"
At that moment, the magma lake erupted. A massive claw, armored in shadow-scaled bone, broke through the molten surface—a corrupted remnant of the Red Dragon Lord. Chains of darkness coiled around its ribs, and green ghostfire flickered in its hollow eye sockets.
"It's the remains of the Red Dragon Lord!" Elara gasped, her bow trembling in shock.
The skeletal dragon let out a roar that split the air. With a sweep of its tail, it shattered the obsidian cliffs, sending molten shards flying. Garrosh roared in fury, leaping high and driving his axe into the ghostfire core—but the beast swiped him aside. His armor cracked open along his side, and blood dripped into the magma, hissing upon contact.
Leon reacted instantly, channeling all four elements. A radiant sphere of red, blue, and white energy formed in his palm before he hurled it at the dragon's throat. Upon impact, the chaos fragments embedded in the bones scattered like black snowflakes, merging into the elemental runes on his hand.
With the final fragment absorbed, the dragon skeleton released a long, mournful cry and dissolved into golden motes. Beneath it lay the sealed Flame Relic—a crystal burning with multicolored fire—the true *Heart of the Flame Dragon*.
Elara carefully lifted the crystal. It projected a star map into the air, marking the next relic—the *Core of Thunder*—hidden in the Stormlands of the Northern Tundra.
But then the ceiling began to collapse. Arthus's laughter echoed from the cracks. "You're too late! The Chaos Egg has already gathered enough energy. The next hatching… will be beneath the Human Capital!"
Leon clenched the Heart tightly, feeling his elemental power surge. He looked at the wounded Garrosh and panting Tom, determination hardening in his eyes.
"Elara," he said, voice vibrating with energy, "take Garrosh and Tom back to the Tree of Life. There, they can heal. I must go to the capital—I have to stop the egg's hatching!"
"No!" Elara grabbed his wrist, her jade-green eyes reflecting the firelight. "Arthus is setting a trap. The underground labyrinth of the capital probably houses the central ritual chamber!"
"But there are still my people down there—innocent lives." Leon gently pulled free, his knuckles whitening. "If the egg hatches there, Azlan will fall. I have to take this risk." He pressed the Starlight Crystal into her hand. "This is the key to awakening the other relics. Protect it."
As Leon stepped into the secret passage leading to the capital, the Flame Shrine behind him blazed one last time. A barrier of elemental energy rose slowly, momentarily holding back the collapsing rocks.
The tunnel walls were engraved with ancient runes—records of the war between the First Elemental Bearer and the Chaos Egg. Faint chanting echoed ahead. Somewhere below the capital, the Shadow Covenant was already preparing the final ritual.
Leon tightened his grip on the Heart of the Flame Dragon. Multicolored fire surged up his arm, resonating with the elemental runes on his hand. He could hear his mother's gentle call, Foster's kind words, his father's sword ringing in battle—clearer than ever, even amidst the encroaching chaos.
As he stepped into the depths of the capital's underground labyrinth, his pupils constricted. Before him, hundreds of shadow priests danced around a massive egg-shaped shell. At the center of the ritual stood Arthus, staff raised high. The black crystal at its tip greedily devoured the life essence of the cultists. And across the egg's surface, countless twisting blood sigils pulsed with malevolent intent…
#### Chapter 15: The Trial of Thunder (Excerpt)
**(Continuing from the end of Chapter 14 — Leon faces Arthus and the Chaos Egg)**
The domed ceiling of the ritual hall was embedded with hundreds of black crystals, refracting light into distorted shadows. Leon crushed the cursed runes beneath his boots. The Heart of the Flame Dragon erupted in multicolored fire, carving a ten-meter-wide purification zone across the floor. The priests' chanting ceased abruptly as their bodies withered into dust, consumed by the cleansing flames.
Arthus chuckled, his staff slicing through the air with whip-like precision. The shadow lashes struck Leon's flame shield, producing sharp, ear-splitting explosions.
"Give up, Elemental Bearer," Arthus stepped forward, his staff's black crystal touching the eggshell. "The Chaos Egg has already absorbed enough negative energy. Even if you destroy this altar, the core will hatch somewhere beyond the stars."
A thousand blood-red lines suddenly appeared across the eggshell. From within a crack, a monstrous eye—armored in shadowed keratin—opened. Inside its pupil, Leon saw his own reflection.
Leon glanced at the stone pillar beside the egg. Bound to it was Tom, pierced through the chest by a black crystal dagger. Blood trickled down the grooves, feeding the ritual.
"Tom!" Leon tried to charge, but Arthus's shadow domain ensnared him, weighing his limbs like lead.
Then, the wolf-claw totem burned hot in his pocket. Ironmane's voice cut through the chaos. "Use thunder energy to sever the chains! Your lightning element has already resonated with the stardust!"
Leon threw his head back and roared. Raising the Heart of the Flame Dragon high, he unleashed the combined might of lightning and stardust. A golden bolt tore through the crystal dome above, striking his palm.
The Heart absorbed the lightning, transforming into a spear of thunderfire. As he hurled it forward, the four elemental marks on his back expanded into massive wings of light. The spear pierced the shadow domain and shattered the dagger in Tom's chest. As the boy fell, he clutched a fragment etched with thunder glyphs.
"You dare defy fate?!" Arthus summoned ten shadow knights. Their heavy swords sliced through the air, generating black sonic booms.
Leon activated the True Form of the Heart once more. A rainbow-hued shield erupted around him. The knights' blades shattered upon impact. Seizing the opening, Leon dashed toward the egg and pressed the thunder fragment into its crack.
The fragment resonated with the Starlight Crystal, unleashing a deafening thunderclap. The bloodlines on the eggshell fractured like a spiderweb.
The Chaos Egg screamed, its eye narrowing as it fired a beam of violet-black energy. Leon braced himself, channeling all four elements into a full-body armor. His light wings flared, creating a whirlwind of elemental energy.
As the beam struck, visions flashed before his eyes—the First Elemental Bearer, a human woman, embedding the star fragment into the egg. Around her floated spirits of all races.
"I see…" Leon whispered. "The truth of the seal… is fusion…"
He slammed the Heart of the Flame Dragon and the Starlight Crystal into the eggshell.
Multicolored fire and stardust entwined into a cocoon around the Chaos Egg. Arthus staggered back, his staff's crystal shattering. "No! How do you know the secret of Elemental Fusion?!"
Within the cocoon, bones realigned. Where the monster had been, now rested a softly glowing dragon egg, adorned with the marks of all four elements—and the stardust sigil.
"The Chaos Egg was never meant to be destroyed," the First Bearer's voice echoed. "It is the unformed heart of the world. Only pure energy can purify it."
Leon caught the egg as it fell. He felt the heartbeat within. His runes resonated with the shell, completing the mark of the Elemental Bearer.
Arthus howled in rage, dissolving into shadow smoke. "You will be consumed by true chaos!"
As dawn's light filtered through the cracks, Leon cradled the egg and turned to Tom, healing his wounds with water energy. Elara and Garrosh arrived just in time to see the new mark on Leon's hand—a circular glyph with the stardust core surrounded by the four elements.
"You did it…" Elara's emerald eyes glistened. She pointed at the egg. "This is the *Dawnborn Dragon*. It will be Azlan's new hope."
Leon looked toward the ruins of the capital. Dawn painted the smoke in gold. He held the egg close, feeling the peaceful flow of elemental energy—not vengeance, but protection.
At the edge of the Stormlands, the first volume of his journey reached its end—not the conclusion of revenge, but the beginning of true redemption.
In the distance, the next clue glowed on the eggshell—the location of the *Core of Thunder*, signaling the start of Volume II: *The Secrets of the Elements*.
And far beyond the stars, the true threat of chaos had only just begun. For Azlan, the path of salvation had only just started.