After the battle in the Valley of Fire and Lightning, Eren and Leylin stood among the fallen ashes, observing the stillness left by their victory. But the stillness held a strange weight in the air, as if the earth itself were whispering something unseen.
At night, Leylin sat by a small fire she had lit, watching the flames dance gently. She saw black flickers appear within the fire for a few moments before disappearing, leaving behind an unfamiliar chill.
She said in a low voice, "The fire here... tells me something, as if there is a darkness deeper than the shadows we faced."
Eren was standing on a rocky promontory above the valley, facing the heavy winds laden with the scent of sulfur and lightning, but he felt a cold pulse mingling with the wind, like a deep breath from far away, the breath of a massive living being watching from the shadows.
The two returned to the Three Guardians at dawn the next day, the sky still covered in gray clouds glowing the faint color of fire. After a long silence, the middle ranger said, "What you encountered in the valley was but a mere shadow of the ancient ash. Something older and more powerful awaits deep within this land, something that neither fire nor wind could eradicate from the start."
Lylin looked at the fire burning in her hand and said, "What is this?"
The elder ranger replied, his voice carrying a deep resonance: "The Great Ash Lord."
Eren's eyes widened as he asked, "Is it like the shadows we encountered?"
The ranger shook his head. "The shadows you encountered in your world are but fragments of the ash this being left behind. The Great Ash Lord was originally pure fire, but in the fury of ancient times it burned to a dark ash, and what remains of it will never die or fade."
Silence fell as the wind swirled slowly, and the fire flickered in Lilin's hands.
The Third Guardian said,
The winds here are beginning to carry his voice again, and the fire is beginning to reflect his shadow. This means he is beginning to awaken.
Eren tightened his grip on the hilt of his Wind Sword.
How do we stop him?
The Elder Guardian looked toward the horizon, where volcanoes were spewing lava into the sky. He said,
There is only one place that may hold the answer: the heart of Flame Mountain, where Ash was first born. Only there will you know how to confront the Great Ash Lord, or how to escape his power if he is fully awakened.
"We will not allow Ash to swallow this world as it swallowed the last one," Leylin said, her eyes shining with determination despite the fear she felt. "The fire I carry is meant to give light, and the winds with Eren are meant to give life."
Eren nodded, and his voice was steady.
"We will march to Flame Mountain, and we will face what awaits us there, no matter the cost."
The Guardians stood silently as they watched the fire glow around Leylin and the wind gather around Eren, marking the beginning of a new journey to Flame Mountain, where their race against time would begin before the Great Ash Lord fully awakened and the Age of Shadows began once more.