The dawn bled on the horizon.
A furious red—mirroring the war within me.
I ran.
My feet torn by the rocky ground.
Each step—
A pulse of pain.
Nyra panted at my side.
Her shoulder was bloodied.
Her knife… stained with black ashes.
Lirien's amulet lay in my hand.
Dark.
Its white light—gone.
But I still clutched it.
As if it could bring her back.
The black veins of the Ether crawled across my skin.
They clawed at my heart.
Dren's broken locket pulsed in my pocket.
A purple glow—drawing death.
The Threshold whispered.
Its voice, a blade.
Slicing into my soul.
> "The Wrath hunts you, Echo… but the throne will set you free."
The forest vanished behind us.
A canyon of black stone rose before us.
Leading to the Ember Academy.
The canyon walls loomed like giants.
Etched with ancient runes—watching.
Nyra stopped.
Her breath ragged.
She raised a hand.
"Listen," she hissed.
Eyes scanning the sky.
A roar echoed.
Distant.
Alive.
Hungry.
"They found us," I growled.
My strategist's mind raced.
The man in the bone mask would never give up.
The obsidian colossus still lurked…
But it wasn't them.
The ground shook.
A shadow devoured the canyon.
We looked up—
And the air turned to poison.
A dragon.
Black-scaled.
Wings of purple fire.
Descending from the sky.
Its red eyes glowed like dying suns.
Its roar made the canyon's runes flare—
Awakening.
Upon its back…
The man in the bone mask.
Obsidian scythe gleaming.
Purple runes pulsed on his hands—
Like a cursed heart.
The dragon's presence was a hammer.
The canyon cracked beneath its weight.
The air vibrated—too heavy to breathe.
> "Arion Vaelis."
His voice echoed through my chest.
"The Echo must break…
Or the Sins will consume Eryndor."
His mask glowed.
The dragon roared—
A torrent of purple flames swept the canyon.
"Move!" I shouted, pushing Nyra.
We ran.
Flames licked at our backs.
The heat scorched my skin.
Nyra spun—
Knife raised.
A whirlwind screamed around her.
Blades of wind tore through the fire.
Her black hair danced.
Her eyes—furious.
Defying the dragon itself.
She struck with air—sharp as steel.
But the dragon didn't flinch.
Its scales drank the impact.
"We can't fight that!"
Nyra shouted, dodging a claw that shattered stone.
"We don't have to kill it," I said coldly.
"Only reach the Academy."
I pointed—
A crack in the canyon wall.
A stone arch.
Runes glowing faintly.
The entrance.
But the dragon blocked our path.
The man raised his scythe—
And shadows rose.
Clawed things.
Crawling from the ground.
The Ether roared inside me.
Begging to be unleashed.
My body shook.
Blood dripped from my eyes.
The black veins pulsed, tightening.
No choice left.
I clutched Lirien's dark amulet.
Seeking strength—
But found only silence.
> "You are enough," she had once said.
But I wasn't.
Not without a price.
"Cover me!" I roared.
I charged the swarm.
Dagger slicing air.
One servant turned to ash.
Nyra answered—
Her Air erupted like a tempest.
Three servants shredded.
Each move, precise.
Each slice—a promise of war.
But the dragon attacked.
A claw swept through the canyon.
I dove—
Too slow.
Pain ripped through my back.
"Arion!"
Nyra's voice rang.
She unleashed another gust.
The dragon staggered.
But the man swung his scythe—
And shadows engulfed us.
I fought.
They tore my skin like blades.
Ether exploded from me—
A wave of purple flame lit the canyon.
It burned them all.
But the pain crushed me.
I fell.
Blood in my mouth.
The man descended.
Scythe pointed at my heart.
> "The locket," he hissed.
"Give it up…
And the Wrath will grant you peace."
Nyra stepped between us.
Knife raised.
The wind howled.
> "Touch him, and I'll slit your throat!"
But the dragon roared again—
Another torrent of flame.
Nyra screamed.
Fell.
Her knife—gone.
"No…" I growled.
The Ether flared.
I stood.
Eyes glowing.
Air cracked around me.
The canyon trembled.
Runes blazed.
I pulled out Dren's locket.
Its glow matched the dragon.
Matched the Threshold.
> "If the Wrath wants me…
Let it come now."
I threw the locket.
Not to surrender—
To strike.
Ether engulfed it—
A violet explosion.
The man was hurled back.
The dragon staggered.
A crater opened—
Separating us.
Nyra rose.
Gasping.
We ran.
Toward the arch.
Toward the Academy.
But the dragon wasn't done.
The flames returned.
The man rose.
Mask cracked—but still intact.
> "You won't escape!"
The sky split—
A rift of purple.
Something stepped out.
Not a servant.
A knight.
Black armor.
Sword of red fire.
It didn't speak.
Its presence crushed the canyon.
Its steps broke the earth.
The sword moved—
A red wave burned toward us.
Nyra countered—
A whirlwind clashed with flame.
But she dropped to her knees.
"Arion…"
Her voice was faint.
> "You won't die today," I growled.
The Ether howled.
Purple light burst from my eyes.
Veins like roots.
Soul shattering.
Didn't matter.
I turned—
Not to the knight.
But to the arch.
I struck the runes.
A purple explosion.
They glowed.
A portal opened.
"Now!" I shouted.
I pushed Nyra through.
The knight slashed.
But the portal swallowed us.
The canyon disappeared.
In a flash of white.
We fell—
Into a stone courtyard.
Obsidian towers surrounded us.
Runes glowed like flame.
The Ember Academy.
But peace was brief.
A vision struck me—
The obsidian throne.
Blood dripping.
Nyra—dead.
Lirien—fading.
Behind the throne…
The Wrath.
Smiling.
And others—
Shadows.
A king with a crown of night.
A queen with ice eyes.
Not human.
The Sins.
> "The Academy is only a step," the Threshold whispered.
"The throne is your destiny. And we… your test."
Nyra held me.
Face pale.
"Where are we?" she whispered.
I stared at the towers.
> "At the beginning," I said.
The black veins pulsed.
This place…
Was my chance.
Here, I'd grow stronger.
Here, I'd find answers.
And when the Sins came—
I'd be ready.
A figure approached.
A woman in fire robes.
Her eyes glowed like embers.
> "Welcome," she said.
Her voice like wildfire.
"The Ember Academy claims you."
Her gaze met mine.
She knew.
The throne was closer.
And so were the Sins.
I, Arion Vaelis,
Would not back down.