The air burned before they even crossed the Rift's threshold. A wave of heat rolled upward like a living thing, pressing against their skin, setting Reika's hair alight with static, making Taro groan in discomfort. Kairo didn't flinch. He stepped forward, cloak trailing like a shadow in the molten light, every heartbeat syncing with the pulsing veins of fire that snaked through the walls.
The descent was immediate and disorienting. The floor beneath their feet was molten crystal, brittle yet unyielding. Every step triggered tiny eruptions — spires of magma shooting skyward and collapsing, scattering molten shards that hissed as they hit the Riftborn stone. The cavern seemed alive, breathing, aware, and eager to test intruders.
Noel followed, eyes wide but steady. The boy's glow flared unpredictably, reacting to every pulse of the Rift's heartbeat. Kairo caught sight of him, realizing that each flicker of light was a tether between boy and world — the Tyrant's essence echoing through Amaranth itself.
Suddenly, the walls split. From the molten crystal, shadows emerged — not fully solid, not fully flame. Figures of jagged light and ember coalesced, their faces flickering with echoes of past victims, past kings, past Tyrants. They moved like smoke and fire, twisting around the trio, claws striking with sparks, voices screaming in static.
Taro drew his blade, slicing through a wisp before it disintegrated into sparks. "Oh, lovely! Just the friendly welcoming committee I wanted!"
Reika was already in motion, spinning between Kairo and the advancing phantoms, blades flashing, sending trails of blue Riftlight through the oppressive red glow. "Stay close! Don't let them surround you!"
Kairo's power didn't flare intentionally — it reacted. He raised a hand, and the heat around him condensed, forming a molten shield that deflected a clawed strike aimed at Noel. Sparks rained down, the hiss of burning Riftstone filling the chamber. The creatures recoiled at his presence but did not flee. Instead, they split, multiplying, wrapping the cavern in an almost hypnotic, spiralling dance of death.
Noel stepped forward, instinct guiding him. He reached for the nearest wisp, and his own glow lanced outward — golden light searing the shadow into pieces. The Rift hummed angrily, almost pained, and for a heartbeat, the boy's voice rang inside Kairo's mind.
"We were kings… we are kings… we are fire."
Kairo's heart clenched. This was the Tyrant speaking again — not through him, but through the boy, the Rift, the very cavern. He tightened his fists, letting instinct take over. Flames leapt from his palms, roaring upward, merging with Noel's light, striking at the molten phantoms. The chamber shook: molten spires erupted, collapsing into rivers of molten crystal.
The battle was chaotic, almost surreal. Walls flexed and twisted, corridors of heat opening and closing, forcing the group to leap, slide, and spin to avoid being crushed. Every swing of Reika's blade left a shimmering afterimage. Every strike from Taro was exaggerated by the hallucinatory distortions of heat and light. Even Kairo felt the world bending — time slowing and stretching with the rhythm of the Rift's heartbeat.
Minutes, or perhaps hours, passed. The echoes screamed, shrieking memories that clawed at Kairo's mind: the throne of ash, the kingdoms he burned, the faces of those he had loved and destroyed. Noel's hands trembled, light flickering, as if the boy himself might fracture under the weight of what he carried.
Kairo gritted his teeth. "Hold! Hold!" His voice cut through the chaos. Flames coiled around him like serpents, striking out in controlled arcs. One by one, the Riftborn phantoms dissipated into sparks and smoke. The ground stilled; molten rivers slowed.
The chamber fell into an uneasy silence. Sweat and soot coated every face. Sparks drifted lazily from jagged walls. The Rift's heartbeat was still there, faint but insistent, pulsing beneath their feet.
Kairo looked at Noel. "This was the first trial," he said quietly. "The First Rift doesn't just test strength. It tests will. And yours…" He paused, watching the boy's flickering glow. "…is stronger than you realize."
Noel nodded, still trembling. "I… I felt it. Everything. The fire. The voices. You."
Kairo exhaled slowly, allowing the heat around him to dissipate. "Good. We're not done yet. Deeper lies the core of the Rift — and there, we end it… or it ends us."
Reika sheathed her blades, glancing at the molten path ahead. "Then let's make it quick. I don't want to see another 'friendly welcoming committee.'"
Taro groaned. "No promises, boss."
The group advanced toward the spiralling descent, the molten walls humming with the pulse of the world remembering its King. Every step drew them deeper into fire, shadow, and memory — where echoes of the past awaited to decide the fate of Amaranth once and for all.