The celebration turned to mockery. Kael was shunned, beaten by peers, abandoned by friends. Even his younger sister was forbidden from speaking to him. Yet one night, alone by the Emberfall ruins, he heard a whisper from the ashes: "Burn... again."
He reached into the rubble, where his blood touched a buried glyph. A searing flame erupted and shot into his chest. He screamed—and the First Flame answered.
Memories not his own flooded his mind. Visions of gods, rebels, and shattered skies. The Cursed Core had awakened.