Emberfall was nothing like the maps depicted it. What should have been an autumnal haven of crimson leaves and soft rains had twisted into something far more haunting.
The sky above was a dim bronze, veiled with drifting ash instead of clouds. Trees, blackened at the edges like burned parchment, stretched into the heavens, their skeletal branches creaking with every gust of the smoky wind. A persistent drizzle of warm, red-tinted rain fell over the forest floor, turning the soil to mush beneath Grace and Riley's boots.
"We're close," Riley said, her voice quiet but tense. She glanced down at the crystal compass, its center pulsing orange in the direction of a mist-wrapped grove ahead.
Grace nodded, adjusting her grip on her staff. "I can feel something… watching us."
They pushed forward with their Soulbound beasts at their sides—Riley's wolf-bird hybrid gliding low between scorched trees, and Grace's feline spirit pacing silently beside her, fur glowing faintly with a silver sheen.
It wasn't long before they saw it.
The Autumn Mystic.
It stood alone in the clearing, half-shrouded by vines that pulsed with life. Towering nearly three stories tall, the creature resembled a fusion of stag and elemental spirit. Its antlers were twisted branches bearing dying leaves, and its body was an armor of bark and emberstone. Its eyes, however—molten amber, glowing with knowledge and power—locked immediately onto the intruders.
"It's... beautiful," Grace breathed. "And terrifying."
Before Riley could respond, the Mystic let out a low, thunderous bellow that sent a shockwave rippling through the grove. Vines burst from the ground, lashing toward them. The girls leapt back, commanding their beasts into defensive positions.
Grace raised her staff, murmuring incantations under her breath. Runes etched in the air and flared to life, forming a barrier of light around her and Riley.
"I'll hold it—go for the legs!"
Riley nodded and launched into action, commanding her beast to flank right. Shadows twisted beneath them as Riley summoned a barrage of ice-tipped arrows that soared toward the Mystic's front.
The Autumn Mystic didn't even flinch.
The arrows shattered against its bark-like hide. With a snort, the beast stomped the ground, sending molten roots erupting toward them. The temperature soared instantly. Trees ignited around the clearing as fire spilled from the creature's breath.
Grace's barrier cracked. She grit her teeth, sweat trailing down her forehead.
"We can't beat it like this!" she called out. "We're wearing it down, but too slowly—"
Suddenly, a burst of flame erupted above the grove—blue fire, followed by a sharp screech of lightning.
Rylan and Blaze dove in from above, riding their Soulbounds like thunderclaps across the sky. Blaze's twin dragons circled the clearing in arcs of fire and storm. Rylan leapt down, landing beside the girls, his cloak billowing behind him.
"You two look like you could use some help," he said with a grin, drawing his weapon.
Blaze dropped beside him, eyes narrowed. "We finished up with the Ice Mystic. Figured you'd need backup."
Grace almost collapsed in relief. "Took you long enough."
Together, the four of them regrouped. The Autumn Mystic reared back, sensing the shift in power.
"We need to bind it first," Rylan said. "Grace, form a glyph field with me. Blaze, Riley, pressure it from the sides."
The plan came together in an instant.
Rylan and Grace raised their staffs and began to chant, intertwining sigils into the air. Blue and silver threads of magic wove into the earth beneath the Mystic, forming a cage of glowing runes.
Blaze rode one dragon to the left flank, hurling molten spheres of compressed energy at the creature's knees. Riley sent her Soulbound directly at the Mystic's chest, launching from the shadows with a howling scream.
The Mystic fought back with a vengeance.
Flames erupted from its antlers, swirling like a living storm. Vines lashed in all directions, knocking Blaze from his perch mid-air. Riley was thrown aside by a tail sweep, and her beast let out a cry of pain.
But the glyph field was complete.
"NOW!" Grace shouted.
The glowing sigils burst into a dome of light, chaining the Autumn Mystic to the ground. It roared in fury, thrashing against its bindings.
Rylan focused his aura—purple, blue, and the strange silver-black shimmer—into a single point. With a growl, he slammed his palms to the ground. Chains of spectral energy shot from the earth and wrapped around the Mystic's core.
"Blaze, hit it with everything you've got!"
From above, Blaze's fire dragon let out a final, searing cry and dove straight into the Mystic's chest—flames spiraling into a single beam of destruction.
The clearing went silent.
Smoke drifted up from the collapsed Mystic, its body now dormant, the glow in its antlers slowly fading. At the center of the clearing, where the creature had stood, a single flower had bloomed.
Orange petals, flecked with silver.
The Autumn Petal.
Blaze walked over and picked it up carefully, placing it in a crystal container. "One down."
Rylan exhaled, hands trembling slightly. "Are you both alright?"
Grace nodded. "Better now. Thanks."
Riley looked up at the darkening sky. "I don't think that was the worst of it."
They turned to see the shadows around the grove… moving.
Twisting.
From behind a tree, a masked figure stepped into view. Cloaked in rags, eyes burning red with familiar energy.
Rylan's eyes widened. "That aura…"
Blaze stepped forward, fire swirling at his fingertips. "You're the one controlling those creatures, aren't you?"
The figure didn't speak. He simply raised a hand.
From behind him, dozens of red-eyed beasts emerged. Twisted wolves, bird-lizards, and hissing, warped serpents. Their bodies steamed and hissed like they'd been boiled in dark magic.
The group formed up, ready for another battle—but the masked figure raised a second hand.
The creatures froze. Then backed away.
The figure turned toward the trees, disappearing into the gloom as quickly as he had arrived.
The beasts followed.
"What was that?" Riley whispered.
"I don't know," Rylan said, voice low. "But he didn't attack. He… watched."
Grace frowned. "Like he was testing us."
They stood there in silence, staring into the empty forest beyond.
By the time they returned to the Academy, the sky had darkened to velvet purple. Lanterns lit the courtyard, and the Headmaster waited with Mr. Will by the crystal gates.
"You succeeded," Veylor said, looking at the petal.
"We were lucky," Blaze said. "If we'd arrived even a moment later…"
"Luck had little to do with it," Mr. Will replied. "You acted with courage. And teamwork."
Inside the infirmary, the boy still lay in the same bed—still in a coma, his skin pale, his body untouched by time. But the Autumn Petal now pulsed softly near him, reacting to his aura.
One step closer to a cure.
Or a warning.
That night, as the Academy fell into silence, Rylan stood once more at the window of the infirmary. He placed a hand on the glass, watching the boy's chest rise and fall.
"You're connected to all of this… aren't you?"
From the corner of the room, the air shimmered. Shadows flickered unnaturally.
And the boy's hand twitched.
A faint pulse of red spread from his body.
Down the hallway, Grace jolted awake in her dormitory, breath caught in her throat. She could still hear the whisper from the forest.
"Soon…"