The stone stairway spiraled downward into the dark like the throat of some colossal beast. The air changed with every step — colder at first, then slowly growing warmer, thicker, as if the walls themselves exhaled heat. Faint motes of red light drifted in the shadows, their glow casting warped silhouettes on the jagged walls.
Eliakim kept one hand on the smooth, weathered cover of the Codex of Imreth, feeling the pulse of its strange, otherworldly awareness. It had been scanning the twisting corridors since they entered Thornveil Isle, but here — on the second floor — its behavior shifted.
"Map feed… unstable… presence adapting…"The voice didn't echo in the air. It pulsed directly in his mind, like a memory he hadn't lived. Symbols crawled across the Codex's open page, not in static ink, but in flowing, shifting shapes — a living cartography that adjusted with each turn of their boots.
"We're being watched," Eliakim murmured, eyes scanning the map projection."By who?" Ezra asked, keeping her hand near the hilt of her blade."Not who," he replied, voice low. "What."
They reached the landing, and the first chamber yawned open before them — a network of lava-lit tunnels carved into reddish basalt. Thin streams of molten rock trickled between fractured stone plates, giving off the scent of scorched minerals. Skyling, perched lightly on Eliakim's shoulder, ruffled her feathers once and gave a sharp chirp, the sound unusually tense. To the others, it was just a bird's warning. To Eliakim, the link carried more: danger close.
They followed the Codex's ghostly overlay through the southern pass, bypassing a crumbling arch choked with thorned vines. The route brought them to a wide, circular cavern — the Codex's map flared here, marking the space in bright crimson runes.
"Movement," Ezra whispered.
The ground trembled, dust raining from the ceiling. Then, from a rent in the wall, it emerged — Emberheart.
Its squat, reptilian body was built like the fortress-shell turtle from before, but here its carapace wasn't stone. It was volcanic rock, massive and uneven, as if a mountain had bent itself over the beast's back. Jagged plates radiated heat, their cracks glowing with molten light. Its small, deceptively mild eyes blinked once — then the heat in the cavern doubled.
"Ezra," Eliakim said without turning, "take point. Skyling."
Ezra lunged forward without hesitation, her form blurring in the haze, blade catching glints of firelight. Emberheart roared, slow and deep, and the ground buckled under its weight. Lava burst through floor fissures in short, sputtering geysers, cutting off direct lines of attack.
Gideon staggered a step back, still pale from the Cragspike Colossus battle. His axes hung loose at his sides. "I'm out for this one," he admitted through clenched teeth."I know," Eliakim replied calmly, his eyes never leaving the fight. "Stay at the rear and recover. Caleb — ranged suppression, ice if you can."
Caleb took position along the eastern ridge, his breath steady as he lined up shots. Frost-laced bolts streaked through the heat haze, shattering against Emberheart's glowing seams. Steam hissed up with each hit, creating momentary blinds that Ezra used to slip closer.
Skyling darted low, weaving between the creature's legs and wings outstretched, drawing streams of molten energy toward herself. Her feathers began to glow with a faint volcanic red sheen.
The Codex of Imreth flashed hazard markers into Eliakim's mind — collapsing ledges along the western edge, a magma pool swelling dangerously near the entrance. He adjusted instantly.
"Ezra — force it east, toward Caleb's line. Caleb, ice on the joints, now!"
The strikes came in unison — Ezra's ice bolt cutting deep into softened seams, Caleb's frost locking the gaps for just long enough. Emberheart shuddered, its movements grinding to a halt. Ezra vaulted high, bringing her sword like ice bolt down in a decisive arc into the molten seam of its shell.
A cry split the cavern as Emberheart collapsed forward. Ezra didn't pause — she plunged her arm into the lava rock, retrieving the core, a pulsating ember-stone that hissed when it met the air.
Skyling landed lightly on Eliakim's shoulder again, her feathers now carrying a faint red glow, the volcanic essence absorbed and integrated into her elemental nature.
The Codex shifted its map view — marking the upper-left chamber with an ominous, pulsing symbol. The next fight waited there.
"Recover what you can," Eliakim ordered, voice calm but eyes sharp. "The Bloom's presence is thicker ahead… and it's not just watching anymore."
They pressed on, the faint rumble of something far larger following them through the stone.