The shrine door sealed itself behind them with a quiet thrum, locking the storm—and the world—outside. Kaelen moved first, sweeping his hand through the air. Sigils sparked to life along the chamber's edge, illuminating the space in a gentle gold glow.
Surya stood still, still feeling the fire twist beneath his ribs. Not in pain. In rhythm. The shard he'd touched had left something behind.
Kaelen paced the chamber. "This place... it wasn't just a shrine. It was a sanctum. Maybe even a testing ground."
Surya slowly approached one of the elemental statues. Each was cloaked in the aura of its element. The Fire one watched him like it remembered.
"I saw it again," Surya said. "The figure in flame. And the voice—'You're waking too fast.'"
Kaelen didn't look surprised. "That voice is ancient. Older than this world. It's not prophecy—it's memory. You're walking a path someone once sealed away."
Surya turned to him. "Then why am I the one walking it now?"
Kaelen finally met his gaze. "Because the seal is breaking. And something on the other side remembers you."
Before Surya could respond, a soft scraping sound echoed from the far wall. One of the statues—the Aether one—turned its head.
Surya stepped back. "Was that supposed to happen?"
"No," Kaelen whispered.
The statue's chest opened, revealing a hollow core. Inside, a set of floating glass lenses spun slowly in the air. They formed an eye—not one of flesh, but of intention. It locked onto Surya.
Then, it spoke.
"Flameborn Identified. Error: Sequence Misaligned."
A mechanical click followed. Runes along the floor lit up, forming a circle of containment around Surya.
Kaelen moved instantly, hurling a wave of fire at the sigils—but they absorbed it like water into sand.
Surya floated.
Painlessly, he was lifted above the dais. Not restrained—scanned.
"Kaelen!" he called out. "What's happening?"
Kaelen gritted his teeth. "It's a Trial Ward. Ancient. Meant to test wielders of Origin Flame. I thought they were myths."
"Verifying soul-path… verifying core… anomaly detected… multiple resonances present… incomplete tether."
Surya's chest burned—not from pain, but from pressure. His mark pulsed, casting light through his robes.
"Trial Initiation Imminent."
Kaelen ran to the edge of the platform. "Whatever happens, don't fight it blindly. Let the flame guide you!"
The world folded.
Surya stood in darkness.
Then light flared.
A battlefield stretched in every direction—frozen mid-destruction. Titans made of crystal and lava stood locked in combat. Floating islands hovered above, connected by ribbons of fire.
A voice echoed—not the mechanical one. This was deeper.
"What is strength without purpose?"
Before him appeared three figures: a cloaked warrior made of flame, a kneeling sage of water, and a child with eyes like stormglass.
"Choose."
Surya's instinct screamed at him to move, to fight, but something deeper whispered wait.
He looked to the child. The weakest. The most vulnerable.
He stepped toward him.
The battlefield dissolved.
Surya awoke inside the containment circle. The runes faded. The eye of lenses cracked and collapsed into dust.
Kaelen grabbed his shoulder. "What did you do?"
"I chose the child."
Kaelen blinked. "That trial... it's meant to reveal your path. Flamebearers usually choose the warrior. Few survive otherwise."
Surya stood shakily. "It wasn't about power. It was about truth. The child was afraid, but still watching."
Kaelen stared at him for a long time.
Then: "You're not just awakening too fast. You're breaking the mold."
Outside, the storm struck the mountain.
The shrine trembled. Statues cracked. The fifth element statue—the one that shimmered between all others—split cleanly in half.
And the unconscious boy outside woke up.
His eyes were not his own.
They were starless voids.
And from his lips came the voice again:
"He has chosen. The Eye sees. Let the Veil tear."
The shrine cracked.
And somewhere beyond realms, something stirred.