The fire circle pulsed like a living heart, its light flickering across pale, exhausted faces. The night had grown heavy, every breath laden with the taste of ash and earth. Beyond the fire, the shadows of marching soldiers loomed, waiting for the circle to falter again.
Toja planted his spear firmly in the ground. The glowing runes down its length burned bright, but his shoulders sagged with effort. His voice, though strained, still carried the weight of command.
"The road feasts on lies," he said. "It is bound to your silence. Break it, and it will loosen its hold. Refuse, and you will choke until you are nothing but dust on the stones."
His eyes scanned the group, settling on Gems.
"You first."
---
Gems' Confession
The firelight painted her face in trembling gold. Gems' throat tightened. Everyone was watching-Marky, Amos, Ry, Liz, Au, Rica, even Anaya with her unreadable stare.
"I-I don't..." she began, but her voice faltered.
Toja slammed the butt of his spear against the earth. Sparks flew. "Speak. Not for me. For yourself."
Her chest heaved. The words burned in her like acid.
"My father," she whispered. "He left when I was little. My mother worked herself to death to keep us fed. I swore I'd never need anyone-that I'd carry everything myself. But I..." She bit down, tears stinging her eyes. "I hate him. I hate her, too, for leaving me alone in the end. And every time I smile, every time I act strong, it's a lie."
The flames surged, rising taller than her head. For a heartbeat, everyone thought the fire would consume her. But then the light softened, curling around her like an embrace.
Her sobs shook her shoulders-but the weight in her chest lightened. She gasped, as if air filled her lungs for the first time in years.
Toja nodded once. "Released."
---
Marky's Confession
Toja's gaze swung to Marky. "Now you."
Marky swallowed hard. His palms were slick with sweat, but when he glanced at Gems, he found her wiping her face, steadier than before. The strength in her gave him courage.
"I'm a coward," he said hoarsely.
The others blinked at the bluntness.
"I always play safe. I laugh things off, I never step forward. Even now-I've liked Gems for months, but I couldn't tell her. I kept thinking someone else deserved her more. Someone smarter, stronger, richer." His voice cracked. "But the truth is I hide, because I'm afraid no one would choose me. And if she didn't..." He looked down, shaking. "If she didn't, I wouldn't know how to live with that."
The words hung in the air, raw and unguarded.
The fire flared again. For an instant, Marky braced for pain. But instead, warmth washed over him, so strong it drove him to his knees. The air tasted clean, his chest no longer heavy with doubt.
Toja's voice was calm, almost approving. "Released."
Gems' lips parted, her eyes shimmering. She wanted to speak, to respond-but fear tangled with gratitude in her throat. She reached out instead, letting her hand graze Marky's for a fleeting second. He squeezed it back, his touch firm and real.
---
The Fire Falters
But the circle began to quiver. The flames wavered, sputtering as if invisible winds pressed against them. The shadows outside had grown bolder, their faceless forms leaning close, whispering louder, hungrier.
Toja rose to his feet, planting his spear into the earth again. His voice thundered over the whispers:
"The rest of you-speak, now! Or you will not be spared!"
But before anyone else could answer, the shadows lunged at the fire. The circle shook violently. Toja spun, his spear blazing with light as he struck outward. Every sweep of the weapon tore into the dark, scattering forms into smoke.
The group shrieked and huddled together. Rica clutched Ry, Liz shielded her camera against her chest, Au grabbed a burning branch as if it would save her.
Gems shouted, "He can't hold them alone!"
And then-
A voice rang from the dark: "Grandfather!
A figure burst through the wall of shadows, wielding a curved blade glowing with the same runes as Toja's spear. He was young, tall, his movements quick and sure. His blade cut through the air, cleaving a shadow soldier in half-the thing dissolved into ash with a scream.
He landed beside Toja, panting but fierce.
"Mj," Toja said, relief flickering through his stern expression.
"Grandfather, you shouldn't have come alone!" the young man barked, eyes blazing as he swung again, his blade driving back three more spirits at once.
The fire circle steadied under their combined power. The shadows retreated slightly, though their whispers never ceased.
The group stared, stunned by the sudden arrival.
Toja's lips tightened. "This is my grandson. He walks the road with me. And he will help you-if you give him reason to."
Mj's eyes scanned them with something close to disgust. "These are the cursed ones? You've risked yourself for them?"
"They still have a chance," Toja said grimly. "Two have been freed. The rest must face their truth-or die chained to the road."
The night pressed heavier, the fire flaring under the strain.
Only Gems and Marky had been cleansed. The others were still bound.
And the road was still hungry.
The fire hissed and pulsed with life, as if aware of the weight of silence that hung over the group. Toja's spear glowed brighter, his grandson Mj keeping his blade raised, eyes darting at every shifting shadow beyond the circle.
"Next," Toja commanded, his voice hard as stone. His gaze fell on Amos.
---
Amos' Refusal
Amos wiped the sweat from his forehead, shaking his head violently. "No. I don't need this. You're making us confess like some-some cult ritual. This is insane!"
"You choke on lies," Toja said flatly. "The stones you cough are proof. Speak truth, or be claimed."
"I've got nothing to confess!" Amos snapped, his eyes bloodshot. "I'm fine. I'm-"
But the words caught in his throat. His eyes bulged, his hands clawing at his neck. From his mouth spilled gravel and dark sludge, rattling across the dirt like broken teeth.
Liz screamed.
"Stop resisting!" Toja roared, slamming his spear down. The fire flared, forcing the shadows back. "The truth is a blade that cuts chains. Speak it, Amos!"
But Amos fell to his knees, gasping, his face purple with strain. Finally, in a ragged voice, he spat:
"I hated him! Bob-I hated him! He always got the girl, always got the laugh. I prayed he'd fail for once, but he never did. And now he's gone and I-"
His voice cut off as more stones poured out. His body convulsed, too choked to continue.
The fire recoiled, rejecting him. Amos collapsed forward, coughing blood into the dirt.
"He isn't freed," Toja said grimly. "He's chained deeper."
---
Liz's Release
Liz was shaking so badly she could hardly hold her camera. She looked at Amos writhing and nearly fainted.
"Don't make me go next," she whispered.
Mj's eyes burned. "You think the road will spare you if you hide?"
Liz bit her lip until blood welled, then dropped to her knees before the fire. Tears streamed down her cheeks as she whispered:
"I came here... not for knowledge, not for truth. I came here because I thought-if I filmed everything, photographed everything-I'd finally be respected. People would see me as more than just... Amos' girlfriend." Her voice broke. "But it's a lie. I'm terrified. I use the camera to hide, because if anyone saw how weak I really am, they'd walk away. Just like my parents did."
The fire flared high, sparks bursting into the sky.
Liz sobbed openly, clutching the ground. But instead of burning her, the flames curved inward, cocooning her in warmth. Her trembling slowed. The air lifted off her shoulders, and her cries softened to quiet breaths.
Toja's voice was solemn. "Released."
Marky exhaled in relief. Gems whispered softly, "She made it..."
---
Rica's Confession
Then Toja turned his gaze to Rica.
Ry gripped her hand, whispering, "Don't. You don't need to do this."
But Rica shook him off, standing. Her whole body quivered, but there was a fire in her eyes.
"I have to," she whispered.
She stepped into the circle, closer to the flames. "I loved you, Ry," she said, her voice shaking. "But I knew-you loved this. The glory, the knowledge, the chase. Not me. I told myself it was enough just to be beside you. That maybe, if I stayed long enough, you'd love me the way I love you." Tears streamed down her face. "But you don't. And I hated myself for not being enough."
Ry looked like he'd been struck.
Rica's shoulders sagged, but the words kept spilling, raw and unfiltered. "And I blamed Bob. I wished it was him instead of you, because at least he laughed with me. At least he saw me." She dropped to her knees. "I wished this trip would break you, Ry. And now it is. And it's my fault."
The fire surged, golden light swirling around her like wings.
Rica gasped, as if chains slipped off her chest. She fell into sobs, but the fire didn't burn her. It lifted her, cleansed her, and when she finally collapsed into the dirt, she was lighter-eyes clearer, breath easier.
"Released," Toja said firmly.
---
The Fire's Division
Three had been freed: Gems, Marky, Liz.
Four, with Rica now.
But Amos lay wheezing, rejected.
Ry stood in stunned silence, rage and pride warring in his eyes.
Au clenched her fists so hard her nails cut her palms.
And Anaya still waited, silent as stone.
The fire blazed tall, but the shadows pressed closer again, furious whispers filling the air.
Mj raised his blade. "We're running out of time, Grandfather."
Toja's eyes narrowed. "Then the next must step forward."
And he turned to Ry.
The fire crackled high after Rica's release, its golden warmth washing the circle in fragile calm. Rica sat with her face streaked in tears, chest rising and falling as though she had been dragged from drowning waters.
Ry knelt beside her, trembling. His eyes darted to Toja, to Gems, to Marky-then back to Rica. His voice was low, hoarse.
"You didn't mean that... about Bob. About wishing it was him."
Rica met his gaze, guilt shadowing her expression. "Ry... I did mean it. And there's more."
The fire popped loudly, sparks flying into the air. Everyone turned toward her, tense.
Rica's hands shook as she pressed them to her knees. Her voice came out broken:
"I was so lonely, Ry. You never looked at me. Not really. You loved the books, the road, the legends-but not me. And I-I wanted to feel wanted. So one night... months ago... I slept with someone else."
The words landed like stones in a grave.
Ry's face twisted, his breath catching as if she'd stabbed him. "What... did you just say?"
Rica sobbed, the confession ripping her apart. "I'm sorry! I thought if I buried it, if I stayed, you'd never have to know. But this fire-it burns lies out of us. And I can't hide anymore."
Ry shot to his feet, staggering backward. His hands trembled violently. "Who?" he demanded, his voice cracking. "WHO?"
"It doesn't matter!" Rica cried. "It was one night! One stupid night because I needed to feel-"
"Needed to feel what?" His voice roared through the circle, shaking with fury. "Loved? Respected? You think crawling into another man's bed fixes that?"
Silence fell heavy. Gems flinched at the venom in Ry's tone. Liz covered her mouth, her eyes wet. Even Amos, writhing on the dirt, had stopped to stare.
Rica sobbed harder, bowing her head. "I know it was wrong. I hated myself for it. But it was the truth. And the truth is what freed me."
---
The Fire's Judgment Approaches
Toja's spear hummed, the runes glowing brighter. His voice broke the suffocating silence:
"Now you, Ry. Step forward. Speak, and let the fire judge."
Ry's head snapped toward him, eyes bloodshot, his face wild with pain. "You think I'll confess anything after that?" He jabbed a finger at Rica. "She betrayed me. She's filth. And you call her free?"
"The fire burns lies," Toja said coldly. "Not mistakes. The road knows when one speaks true. She is lighter. You are not."
Mj's hand tightened around his glowing blade. His stare cut into Ry like steel. "Face it. Or be swallowed."
---
Rica's Plea
Rica reached for him, voice breaking. "Ry, please. Don't let this destroy you. Just say it-say you care more about glory than me, say you don't know how to love. Just... say it. The truth will set you free."
Ry tore his hand away as if her touch burned.
"I'm not the liar here," he snarled. "I'm not the traitor." His voice rose, cracking. "You were supposed to be mine. And you-" he shook violently, teeth bared-"you slept with someone else while I was working for our future!"
The fire crackled, restless. Sparks shot outward.
Toja's voice grew sharper, louder: "The road demands YOUR truth, not hers!"
But Ry's face hardened like stone. "I have no truth to give. I'm clean. I've done nothing wrong."
The fire snapped like thunder.
Flames lashed outward, striking Ry across the chest. He screamed, stumbling backward, his shirt igniting for an instant before he rolled, slapping out the flames. His skin beneath was scorched black.
The shadows beyond the circle howled in unison, surging against the fire as if Ry's denial had opened a crack.
Rica shrieked, reaching for him. "Ry!"
But he shoved her back, his face twisted with fury and anguish. "Stay away from me!"
The fire dimmed, then steadied again under Toja's command. But the look he gave Ry was grim.
"You are chained deeper," Toja said. "Your pride is the lock. And locks are what the road feeds on."
---
The Circle Trembles
The group's fragile hope crumbled. Four were free-Gems, Marky, Liz, Rica. But Amos had failed. Ry had failed.
And the night was not over.
Toja's eyes turned to Au next. She stiffened, hatred blazing in her gaze, and glanced toward Anaya with venom.
Mj lifted his blade. "The longer we wait, the stronger they grow."
The shadows pressed close, whispering, clawing at the edges of the circle.
The next confession would decide whether the circle held... or shattered entirely.