The relic was never supposed to be found.
Buried deep beneath the Temple Ruins of Old Thorne, the Aether Heart was a dormant core of raw elemental fusion—an artifact from a time when Aether still pulsed in its purest form.
The Council had hidden it. The Black Sigil had hunted it.
And now… it was gone.
Caleb stood at the center of the shattered vault, heart pounding. Smoke curled upward from the cracked stone floor, and strange glyphs—glowing softly in violet, gold, and crimson—floated above where the relic had once hovered.
Jarek crouched near the sigil marks, running a gloved hand across the dust.
"This wasn't a break-in," he said. "This was a ritual."
Caleb approached slowly. "So the Black Sigil didn't take it?"
"No," said a soft voice behind them. "They were too late."
Both spun around. Blades drawn. Energy ready.
The figure who stood in the archway wasn't armored, wasn't armed.
She wore a robe of shifting colors—embers, feathers, and flowing ash. Her face was hidden beneath a carved wooden mask that shimmered as she moved, as though not entirely there.
Her voice carried like a dream. Soft. But it echoed in their bones.
"I greet the Echo," she said, staring at Caleb.
Caleb tensed. "Who are you?"
"I am Serah of the Third Flame. Oracle of the Spiral. Listener of the Deep Whispers. I have come with words… and a warning."
Jarek moved to block her. "The Ardent Spiral is forbidden in this sector."
Serah didn't even blink. "So is truth. Yet here we are."
Caleb stepped forward. "You stole the Aether Heart."
"We freed it," Serah corrected. "It was not meant to be caged."
"You don't get to decide that."
"No. The Aether does. And it has chosen. You… Kael… and the one yet to rise. Three flames. Three reflections."
Caleb blinked. "Wait. Kael? You know about him?"
"I've seen your clashes. Your threads are tangled. Intertwined. You are opposite echoes—but both necessary." Serah tilted her head. "And only one will survive the Spiral's crossing."
Jarek growled. "Enough riddles. Where's the Heart?"
Serah stepped back into the shadows. "It's safe… for now. But others have heard its call. You're not the only ones chasing fate."
As she vanished into the dark corridor, her voice whispered one last time:
"When flame meets mirror, and silence answers light… the world will wake. Be ready, Echo."
Outside, the vault's walls began to hum.
Jarek cursed. "They left a pulse beacon. This whole place is gonna collapse."
The two ran, dust and stone crashing behind them. As they burst into the sunlight, the temple imploded in a slow, silent collapse—no fire, no noise.
Just spiraling embers drifting upward like fireflies.
Back at the safehouse, Caleb stared at the map. Three major players now—each with their own rules, their own beliefs.
The Council. The Black Sigil. The Ardent Spiral.
And him?
Stuck in the middle.
Marked by Echo. Hunted by prophecy.
He turned to Jarek. "If what she said is true… Kael and I are on a collision course."
Jarek nodded grimly. "Then you'd better be ready."
Caleb clenched his fists, eyes glowing faintly.
"Let's find out what the hell this Spiral wants—before they light the whole world on fire."