The map Sarina had revealed pulsed faintly with violet light, the routes woven into it like veins—paths only visible through divine essence. They'd studied every turn, every possible trigger point. And now, it was time to move.
The Obsidian Gate slid open with a low, grinding hum, revealing a void-lit corridor. Black mist lapped at the entrance like breath from a sleeping beast. Chen stood at the front, robes dark and sleeveless, Soulflame flickering along his arms like embers drawn to life. Behind him, Ye Yue, Lanmei, and Sarina followed in near-silent formation, their footsteps absorbed by the unnatural stillness.
"This passage leads straight through the underveins of the Flame Court's old territory," Sarina whispered. "No one has walked it in centuries. But the scent of fire still clings to the walls."
"It's like stepping into a scar," Lanmei murmured, fingers brushing the wall. "One they never let heal."
Chen nodded. "Then let's remind them what grows from old wounds."
With a gesture, he activated the path Sarina had keyed for them. Runes etched in ancient, scorched stone sparked to life—faint, like memory, but strong enough to light the way.
Hours passed—measured not in time, but in tension.
Twice, they hid in crumbling niches as divine sentinels passed above them—creatures not of flame, but of the Flame Court's paranoia, forged from fear and smoke. They spoke no words, only breathed in that awful, shuddering rhythm of divine constructs. Inhuman. Eternal. Watching.
Ye Yue gripped Chen's sleeve during one tense moment when the patrol paused just overhead. Their eyes met. No words—just the squeeze of her hand, a whisper through their bond: I'm with you.
They reached the threshold of the Crucible's Hollow, a collapsed former stronghold now forgotten beneath the Flame Court's newer domains. Here, the old leylines were exposed—cut veins of molten energy still bleeding softly.
Sarina drew a blade and slashed her palm, feeding blood to the stone.
A door shimmered into being.
"What's beyond that?" Chen asked.
She hesitated. "Proof. Of what the Flame Court is hiding. Of what they buried to keep their enemies broken. If we can reach it… the war changes."
Chen took a step forward, Soulflame rising, mingling with the leylines' flickers. They resonated with him—not in resistance, but recognition.
The door opened.
Behind it…
A chamber of broken relics and sealed memories. Not weapons, but witnesses—frozen echoes of divine trials, lost gods, and flame-bound prisoners who had once dared defy the Flame Court's dominion.
In the center, a crystal sarcophagus pulsed faintly.
Inside it… a goddess. Asleep. Faintly smiling.
Ye Yue stepped forward. "Chen… that's not just a memory. She's alive."
Chen's Soulflame flared. He felt the pull instantly.
Recognition.
A divine spark bound to the same wavelength as his own.
"Is this the one who whispered to you?" Lanmei asked softly.
Chen stared at the sleeping form, heart thundering.
"I don't know. But I think… she's waiting for me to become something more."