Part I – Whispers Beneath the Dust
The wind screamed across the dunes like a dying god. Shards of sand whipped through the air, pelting against the group as they trudged onward. The sun was a pale ember, half-hidden behind a haze of gold and dust, casting the world in an endless twilight.
"Eldrath lies beyond this ridge," Cael said, his voice hoarse beneath the folds of his sand-wrapped cloak. "What's left of it, anyway."
Alexander squinted against the gale. He could feel the Heart inside his chest thrumming — faintly at first, then with a deep, resonant pulse that matched the rhythm of his footsteps. The closer they came to the ruins, the more insistent it became.
"It's calling to you again, isn't it?" Sera asked quietly, walking beside him. Her eyes, sharp and crimson like burning coals, met his for an instant.
He nodded, unable to hide the unease tightening in his chest. "It's… like a heartbeat I can't shut out. It's not pain, but it feels wrong. Like something ancient is waiting for me."
Seris, who had been walking a few paces behind, gave a small, grim laugh. "Everything ancient is waiting for something, Alex. Usually someone to bleed for it."
Cael's expression hardened. "You joke, but she's right. Eldrath was the cradle of the first Ashborn dynasty. They tampered with divine energy — and when they failed, the world cracked." He pointed toward the horizon. "That's why it's called the Shattered Veil. Reality itself split there."
The group crested the ridge. Below, the dunes gave way to the broken skeleton of a city — half buried in sand, half suspended in the air as though gravity had forgotten its duty. Massive stone spires floated, tethered by chains of crimson light that pulsed like veins.
The sight made Alexander's breath hitch. His chest ached.
The Heart within him beat once — and the city answered.
A deep vibration rippled through the sands, sending gusts of red light spiraling upward. The air filled with a low hum, a sound like ancient voices murmuring in forgotten tongues.
Sera clutched her staff. "It's reacting to you," she said. "The city still recognizes the bloodline of the Heart."
"I never asked for this blood," Alexander muttered. The sand beneath him quivered, as if hearing the defiance in his tone.
They descended into the ruins. Strange glyphs glowed faintly along shattered archways. Murals lined the walls — scenes of beings wreathed in flame, battling against winged figures of light. At the center of each mural was a single crimson flame, identical to the one now pulsing within his chest.
Cael paused before one of the walls. "This… this isn't just history," he murmured. "It's prophecy. It speaks of an heir who would awaken the Ashborn Heart again — one who could finish what the First King began."
Alexander's jaw tightened. "And what did he begin?"
Cael's gaze lingered on the last panel — a figure crowned in ash, standing over a world ablaze. "Conquest of gods."
The words hung heavy in the air.
Before Alexander could reply, a sudden chill swept through the chamber. The faint light dimmed, the murmurs ceased. The ground trembled beneath their feet.
"Everyone, back!" Sera snapped.
From the walls seeped dark shapes — humanoid but distorted, their bodies woven from shadow and memory. The Specters of Eldrath.
Their eyes blazed like dying stars.
Alexander drew his weapon instinctively, though the blade felt oddly heavy in his grasp. The first specter lunged. His blade met its chest, and it dissolved — only to reform behind him.
"They're not physical!" Seris shouted, firing a burst of violet energy from her palms. It tore through one specter, but another appeared, whispering in her voice.
"They're echoes," Cael said, his expression grim. "Bound to the Heart's resonance. They'll keep coming."
Alexander felt the Heart stir violently inside him. Power surged through his veins like molten fire. Not again.
He staggered, clutching his chest. "No… not now…"
Sera reached for him. "Alex—"
But it was too late.
The Heart flared, releasing a shockwave that sent the specters screaming into dust. Flames burst from his hands, black and gold, consuming everything — walls, sand, even the air itself. The ground cracked.
Sera's cry was drowned in the roar of power.
And for a moment, Alexander wasn't in Eldrath anymore.
He stood in a vast, endless void — before a throne of ash and light. A man sat upon it, crowned and robed in the same gold-black flames. His eyes burned with familiarity.
"You've come far," the man said, his voice echoing across eternity. "Heir of my will. You carry what I once was — and what I failed to control."
Alexander's mouth was dry. "Who… are you?"
The man smiled faintly. "Your blood remembers. The world will soon follow."
The throne cracked, light spilling through it.
"Finish what I began, Alexander."
The vision shattered.
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