The voice was not sound. It was a pressure that folded reality, speaking directly into the marrow of Valerian's bones.
"At last, you have come."
The words echoed across the sanctum, and though no mouth had spoken them, their presence lingered like the trailing chill of smoke in a sealed room. Valerian took another step back, his staff gripped tightly in his hands, the medallion around his neck pulsing harder now, like a second heartbeat hammering against his chest.
The Obsidian Gate continued its slow, grinding parting, and from the shadows beyond, a subtle glow began to bleed through—a shifting radiance neither light nor flame. It flickered like a dying star, casting long, warped shadows across the chamber. The presence beyond it was awake now, aware.
[System Alert: Hollow Flame Proximity - Immediate Danger. System Integrity - Stable. Mental Strain Threshold - 14%... 18%... 23%...]
Valerian gritted his teeth as a wave of vertigo hit him. He staggered to the side, catching himself against one of the stone pillars.
"Valerian!"
A voice—this time real. Human.
Lira burst through the stairwell, her hood thrown back and her staff crackling with defensive enchantments.
"You're opening the Gate?!" she yelled, her eyes wide in disbelief.
"It opened to me," Valerian said through clenched teeth. "I didn't touch it. It reacted. It wants me."
Behind Lira, Seraphine and Mila followed, each armed and armored, the air around them shimmering with defensive spells. Seraphine's eyes flicked to the Gate and narrowed.
"It's calling him," she said coldly. "It recognizes its own."
Valerian turned to her, shaken. "What do you mean 'its own'?"
Lira answered. "The Hollow Flame doesn't speak in words. It speaks in design. Creation. If it's calling you... then you're part of it."
[System Alert: Gene-Pattern Compatibility - 87%. Entity Designation: Vessel Candidate. Resistance Status: Active.]
The words hit Valerian like a hammer. Vessel? The truth began to crystallize in his mind. The power he had, the medallion, the vial—everything pointed to this. He wasn't just meant to fight the Hollow Flame. He was designed to house it.
Seraphine stepped forward, blade drawn. Her blue eyes locked onto him. "If you hesitate now, you lose yourself. We lose everything."
Mila glanced at the Gate, then at Valerian. "We need to shut it. Now. Before it fully opens."
Valerian looked at the swirling darkness within. Shapes began to move inside—tall, thin silhouettes, barely distinguishable from the shadows. Eyes. So many eyes, blinking open like lanterns in a void. Watching. Waiting.
He raised his staff. The runes carved into it glowed pale silver as he channeled his focus.
"Help me bind it!" he barked.
Immediately, the three girls took position around the sanctum, forming a rough triangle around the Gate. Energy surged between them—gold from Seraphine, violet from Lira, and white-blue from Mila. Valerian stood at the center, focusing the streams of magic into a seal.
[System Integration Mode: Initiated. Synchronizing Arcane Signature... 48%... 65%...]
But the Gate resisted. The presence inside was intelligent—and furious.
"You are mine," the voice growled again, stronger now, vibrating the very stones beneath their feet. "You carry my spark."
A black tendril of flame lashed from the Gate, striking the floor between Mila and Lira. The ground exploded in a plume of dark energy, knocking both women back. Mila rolled and quickly returned to her feet, but Lira hit a wall hard, groaning as she slumped down.
"Lira!" Valerian shouted, faltering.
The connection broke. The seal faltered. The Gate widened.
And something stepped through.
It wasn't tall. Not monstrous. In fact, it looked like a boy—around Valerian's age. Slender, androgynous, with ash-gray skin and hair like living shadow. Its eyes were black voids ringed with burning gold.
It smiled.
"Brother," it said, voice melodic. "How long I've waited."
Valerian raised his staff again, but the entity only tilted its head.
"You were born to carry me. Molded by the crafters of the old order. But you resisted them. That is... admirable."
The entity stepped forward, ignoring the magical circle that still hissed with residual energy.
"Who are you?" Valerian demanded.
The creature smiled wider. "I am the Hollow Flame. Or rather, one of its fragments. You are not ready for the whole. So I came ahead—to persuade you."
[System Alert: Entity Classification - Fragment of Hollow Flame. Combat Class: Unknown. Threat Level: Maximum.]
Seraphine moved between Valerian and the entity, sword raised.
"You'll persuade him over my dead body."
The entity gave a polite bow. "If you insist."
It moved like lightning.
A streak of shadow-fire raced toward Seraphine. She parried, sparks flying, and countered with a barrage of runes. Mila hurled a chain of binding magic while Lira, still wounded, managed to drag herself up and launch a warding blast.
The Hollow Flame Fragment laughed as it danced between their attacks, its form flickering like smoke.
Valerian clenched his jaw. He couldn't stand by. The system pulsed.
[System Query: Will you release the lock on Forbidden Skill - Flamebind Echo?]
"Do it," Valerian whispered.
[Forbidden Skill Unlocked: Flamebind Echo. Warning: Mental Strain Threshold May Be Exceeded.]
Power surged through him. His staff split into twin blades of black crystal, and the medallion's sigils flared across his arms like molten tattoos.
With a roar, he leapt forward, clashing with the Hollow Flame Fragment midair. Blades met fire. The shockwave cracked the walls.
Every movement burned. The Flamebind Echo was not meant for him—not yet—but it was enough to even the odds.
Seraphine and Mila fell in behind him, striking in unison. Lira focused on reinforcement spells, patching their defenses as fast as the Hollow Flame could shatter them.
And for a moment—they held their ground.
Valerian's mind reeled from the pressure. Every second he used the skill, he felt memories bleeding at the edges—fragments of other lives, whispers of those who came before him. Names, faces, screams. Echoes of failed vessels.
He couldn't hold it.
With one last desperate strike, he slashed the Hollow Flame across its chest. The creature screamed—not in pain, but in delight.
"Yes! You are perfect! More than I dared hope!"
It leapt back into the Gate, laughing.
"I'll return, brother. And next time... you won't have a choice."
The Gate slammed shut behind it.
Silence.
Valerian collapsed to his knees, gasping.
[System Update: Hollow Flame Fragment Retreat Confirmed. Gate Status: Temporarily Sealed. Vessel Compatibility – Increasing. Mental Strain Threshold: 87%. Immediate Rest Required.]
The others gathered around him, bloodied, burned, but alive.
Seraphine knelt beside him, pressing her hand to his cheek.
"You did it."
He shook his head.
"No. That was just the beginning."