The jungle stretched endlessly before them, dense and teeming with unseen life. Sunlight filtered through the emerald canopy, casting shifting patterns over the ancient stone path that led away from the ruins. The air was thick with the scent of damp earth, wildflowers, and the lingering energy of the trials they had endured.
Each of them carried their egg carefully, wrapped in cloth or nestled in their packs. Though unhatched, they could feel the faint pulse of life within—an undeniable connection that hadn't been there before.
Jaxon adjusted the strap of his bag, glancing at the others. "So, anyone else wondering what's actually inside these things?"
Kade smirked. "Monsters, obviously."
Elias flipped a card between his fingers. "Or something worse."
Reed shot him a look. "Could you not?"
Elias chuckled, but the weight of the journey ahead pressed down on all of them. The trials had pushed them to their limits, but they had also forged something between them. A team. A bond that hadn't been there before.
Now, the real challenge awaited.
The kingdom's capital.
Elias unfolded the ancient map they had taken from the ruins. It was unlike any normal chart—it shifted, glowed faintly, and seemed to pulse with an unseen force.
"Alright," Elias muttered, tracing a path with his finger. "We're here, in the Emerald Expanse. If we follow this route…" His voice trailed off as the map moved, shifting the lines before their eyes.
Jaxon raised an eyebrow. "That's not normal."
Reed frowned. "It's leading us somewhere."
Kade crossed his arms. "Or warning us."
The map pulsed again, then burned a single word into the parchment.
"CINDERSPIRE."
The name meant nothing to them. But the fact that the map wanted them to go there? That was reason enough to be on guard.
Elias exhaled. "Looks like we've got our next stop."
The jungle was alive.
They moved cautiously, senses on high alert. Massive roots coiled like serpents across the path. Distant howls echoed through the trees. Occasionally, something watched them from the canopy—glowing eyes vanishing before they could react.
Kade's hand hovered over his chains. Jaxon's symbiote form pulsed beneath his skin. Elias flicked a card between his fingers, ready. Reed's aura shimmered, prepared to heal—or to harm.
But despite the unease, something had changed.
For the first time, they weren't just four strangers surviving.
They were moving as one.
The path stretched ahead, winding through the jungle, toward whatever fate awaited them at Cinderspire.
Their real story was only just beginning.