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1. A Town on the Brink
The town of Elarin Hollow wasn't even on the original evacuation list.
Built atop an old leyline, it was thought to be protected by its spiritual barrier. But that assumption had just proven deadly.
The latest scout report arrived bloodstained and barely legible.
> "Barrier ruptured. Monsters swarming. Civilians trapped in the cathedral crypts."
Aira wasted no time. She stood in the war council chamber, eyes blazing.
> "Send me."
Kaelen hesitated. "That leyline zone is unstable. If the monsters have corrupted it—"
> "Then it's exactly where I need to be."
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2. Drop into Chaos
Teleportation was impossible into Elarin Hollow due to the leyline interference, so Aira opted for the next best thing:
Sky drop.
She leapt from a storm-class airship hovering a kilometer above, descending in a flaming spiral through a storm of screaming winds and crimson clouds.
Below her, the town was hell on earth—streets flooded with snarling beasts, buildings collapsed, and a red rift pulsing in the center square.
She landed hard on the cathedral roof, the shockwave of her Eternal Ember shattering nearby corrupted birds mid-flight.
> "This is worse than we thought," she muttered.
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3. The Cathedral Siege
The once-grand cathedral was half-ruined. Smoke poured from shattered stained glass. Civilians cowered inside—about eighty people, mostly elderly and children.
Monsters prowled outside the barricades—Leyspawn, twisted by the ruptured leyline. Their bodies shimmered with erratic magic, making them near unpredictable.
> "We hold this line!" Aira roared as she burst through the broken doorway, chains flying.
She and a group of local defenders pushed outward in a wedge formation, forcing back the Leyspawn with coordinated fire bursts.
But the moment they cleared the square—
The rift in the ground pulsed, and a massive creature clawed its way out.
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4. Birth of the Rift Tyrant
It was thirty feet tall, its body composed of molten stone and broken ley crystals, its heart exposed and beating with corrupted mana.
> "That's not a beast," Renna whispered through comms. "That's a Rift Tyrant."
The town didn't stand a chance.
Aira stepped forward alone.
> "Get everyone into the crypt. Seal the doors. I'll handle this."
The Rift Tyrant roared.
So did she.
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5. Duel of Fire and Ley
The Tyrant struck first, slamming the ground with seismic force. The shockwave shattered stone and flung Aira through a crumbling wall.
She got up, blood dripping from her forehead.
> "You hit like a mountain. Let's see if you can burn."
She summoned Flame Clone, sending it dashing forward as a distraction while she wrapped Soulfire Chains around a fallen crystal pylon.
The Tyrant crushed the clone—only to be caught by the chains.
Aira swung the entire pylon like a flaming whip, slamming it into the creature's exposed heart.
It shrieked.
But it wasn't enough.
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6. Leyline Imbalance
Suddenly, the leyline beneath the town spiked, throwing mana in violent pulses through the earth.
The rift widened. Raw magic threatened to rip Aira apart.
> "It's becoming unstable!" Kaelen shouted. "You need to retreat!"
> "No. I'll stabilize it."
She dropped her weapons and slammed both palms to the ground, channeling her own mana directly into the leyline—a dangerous gamble.
The energy tried to devour her. Her soul burned. Her vision went white.
Then, her Eternal Ember kicked in.
Her flames ignored the wild resistance.
She reshaped the mana, forcing it into flow again, mending the rupture just enough.
The rift stopped growing.
But the Tyrant was still standing.
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7. Fire Beyond Fire
With no magic left to spare, Aira pushed beyond her limits.
> "Blazebound," she whispered. "Let's show them what that title means."
Her body ignited in pure golden fire—the mark of her lineage.
Chains flared brighter than ever before, not bound by her power alone, but by the ancient fire spirit that had chosen her.
She dashed forward, each step leaving trails of incandescent ash.
The Tyrant swung—
She slid under its fist and drove both chains into its heart, embedding herself with it.
Then unleashed her Eternal Ember from the inside.
The explosion turned night into day.
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8. Aftermath in Ash
When the dust cleared, the Tyrant was nothing but scorched rubble.
Aira stood in the crater, smoke rising from her cloak, eyes glowing.
The townspeople peeked out from the cathedral's crypt.
Cheers erupted.
> "She did it!"
She didn't bask. She just turned and said, "We're leaving. Now."
She opened a Flame Gate, a portal formed from pure Ember, linking directly to the evacuation center.
She didn't step through until the last child had passed.
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9. Ghost of the Past
Back at Scorchpass Ridge, while healing from her wounds, Aira received a visitor.
A hooded figure—familiar.
It was General Lysara.
> "I saw the flames from three towns away," Lysara said, her voice tight. "You're pushing yourself to death."
> "I'm saving who I can."
Lysara tossed her a relic—a black coin marked with the Shadowbrand insignia.
> "They've marked you. You're their prime target now. You won't get rest again."
> "Then I'll burn brighter."
Lysara paused, then nodded. "If this is your path… then walk it with your head held high."
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10. Report to the High Council
Later that night, Aira stood before the military's high command.
She delivered her report without embellishment.
> "Ashdrift, Fernvale, Black Hollow, and Elarin Hollow are evacuated. Civilian losses: Zero. Enemy casualties: Extensive."
They stared at her, silent.
Then one of them said:
> "You've done more in three days than most entire battalions. But the Tide is rising. You'll have no rest."
She nodded. "I'm not asking for any."
As she turned to leave, a councilor spoke again.
> "Blazebound Aira… you've been assigned to the vanguard command for the Beast Tide counteroffensive."
Her hand clenched around the relic at her belt.
> "Understood."
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11. Fire Never Sleeps
Later that night, while the camp slept, Aira sat alone outside, watching sparks rise into the sky.
Kaelen joined her. "You did good, you know."
> "Not enough," she said quietly. "There are still villages out there. Still monsters gathering."
> "You can't save everyone."
> "I can try."
He didn't argue.
She looked down at her palms—scarred, glowing fai
ntly.
Then she reached into her bag and pulled out a small, scorched locket.
Inside, the photo of her brother—lost to the first Beast Tide years ago.
> "Not again," she whispered.
Then stood.
And walked back toward the command tent, already preparing for what came next.