The ruins pulsed with memory.
Kael stood before the blackened gates of the Vault of Wills, a half-buried temple carved into the side of a jagged cliff. Ash clung to every surface like dust on forgotten relics. The stone doors were etched with flame script — ancient Drakine, long dead, yet still warm to the touch.
Serenya stepped beside him.
"This is where the gods left their echoes," she said. "Where their choices still burn."
"This is where you'll meet him."
Kael swallowed.
"Aurex?"
She nodded once.
"His final thoughts. His pain. His hope. You'll see all of it — if the flame lets you."
Kael stepped forward.
The ember in his chest flared.
The doors opened.
Inside, darkness gave way to light — but not firelight. Memorylight. Images swirled on the walls: battles long lost, wings of flame slicing through skies, mortals kneeling in awe and terror.
The air hummed with voices.
Kael walked down a winding corridor, alone now. The deeper he went, the more vivid the memories became.
Until he reached the heart of the vault.
A circular chamber, domed and vast, with a pool of molten glass at its center. Suspended above it was a single glowing shard — no bigger than a flame, but burning with immeasurable power.
When Kael stepped into the chamber, the world broke.
Suddenly, he stood on a battlefield of ruin and stars.
Skies rained ash. Oceans boiled.
Before him, the Dragon God Aurex stood tall — colossal, regal, dying. His wings were torn, but his eyes still held the fire of creation.
He looked at Kael.
"So… the flame chose you."
Kael's mouth went dry.
"You're… you're not real. This is just a memory."
Aurex laughed, a sound like magma cracking mountains.
"Memory is power. Flame is legacy. You carry both."
Kael looked around.
The battlefield was endless.
Bones of dragons, shattered citadels, towers of scorched crystal.
"What happened here?"
"Betrayal," Aurex said. "By my son. Ravon. He was meant to inherit my fire. Instead, he sought the Void Crown. He feared peace. Worshipped conquest."
"I tried to save him. I failed."
Kael clenched his fists.
"I've seen what Ravon's doing. He's hunting flamebearers. Killing anything tied to you."
"He fears the future. Fears you."
Kael looked up sharply.
"Me?"
"You are the last ember. My final breath. You carry the essence of godfire — but not as a weapon. As a bridge."
The sky above them cracked.
And Kael saw a vision: a world of flame and harmony, dragons and mortals united, rebuilding from ash.
But then — it darkened.
A storm of void and shadow, led by Ravon in bone armor, burning cities and breaking oaths.
Aurex's voice turned grim.
"You must choose, Kael."
"Will you burn alone?"
"Or light the world again?"
When Kael blinked, he was back in the chamber.
The shard above him dimmed.
The room was still.
But something had changed.
Inside his chest, the ember now pulsed in rhythm with something ancient.
He turned to find Serenya waiting at the entrance.
Her gaze softened when she saw him.
"You saw him?"
Kael nodded.
"I understand now."
"Good," she said. "Because Ravon just made his move."
"He's marching on the southern flame sanctuaries."
"And we're the only ones who can stop him."
Kael didn't hesitate.
Not anymore.
"Then let's make him fear what we carry."