Aeris stumbled as the world righted itself, her feet sinking into the earth with a soft thud. The familiar pulse of the city's chaos was replaced with an eerie silence, one that clung to the air like a shadow. She blinked rapidly, trying to clear the disorienting blur from her vision.
The child was still in her arms, but the little girl had gone silent now, clutching tightly to Aeris' neck as if her very life depended on it. And in a way, perhaps it did.
Aeris shifted, feeling the weight of Kael's presence behind her. His energy was still crackling around them, that same strange, ancient magic that seemed to emanate from his every movement.
"You've done this before," she said, her voice hoarse.
Kael didn't answer immediately, his gaze scanning the area around them. They were in the heart of a dense forest, its trees thick and dark, their boughs intertwined like ancient hands clutching at the sky. The air smelled of wet earth and ash, the remnants of the war that had torn through Eldoria now fading into the distance.
"Once or twice," Kael said at last, his voice distant. "But we don't have much time. The enemy is close."
Aeris set the girl down gently, brushing soot from her face. The child's eyes were wide with fear, but there was something else there too—something like recognition.
Aeris frowned. "What's your name, little one?"
The girl looked up at her, trembling, and though she didn't speak, her eyes told a story. A story of loss, of destruction, of the horrors she'd witnessed. And yet… there was strength there too. A kind of quiet resilience that reminded Aeris of herself.
"I know who you are," the girl whispered, her voice barely a breath. "You're the one from the sky. The one with the flame."
Aeris froze, her heart skipping a beat. The weight of the prophecy—of the mark—settled heavily on her shoulders. This little girl could sense it. She could feel the fire within her too.
Aeris stood, the child's small hand slipping into hers. "We need to keep moving."
Kael's hand shot out, halting her. "Not yet."
His gaze shifted to the distant trees, narrowing with a focus that sent a shiver down her spine.
"They're here," Kael said softly.
Aeris felt the hairs on the back of her neck stand on end as the world around them seemed to darken, the forest growing impossibly still. The sound of the wind died. The birds had stopped singing. The ground beneath their feet seemed to hum with a low, dangerous energy.
Aeris reached for her blades, but Kael's hand was already on her wrist, holding her steady. "Not yet," he repeated, his voice cold with authority. "We're not fighting them here."
A flicker of motion at the edge of the trees caught her eye. Dark shapes, shifting like shadows, moved between the trunks of the ancient pines. Their eyes glowed faintly in the dim light, the color of dying embers.
Aeris felt a chill of recognition. They were the same creatures she had seen in the city—the ones that had fought the King's men. The ones that had been burning everything in their path.
"What are they?" she asked, her voice tight.
Kael's expression darkened. "Voryn. Shadow creatures. A scourge of the Old War. They're after you. Not just because of your mark—but because of what you are."
"What I am?" Aeris repeated, confusion gnawing at her insides. "What are you talking about?"
Before Kael could answer, the creatures stepped fully from the trees. They were humanoid in form, but their bodies were twisted and nightmarish, made of ash and flame. Their eyes glowed like molten embers, their skin an unnatural shade of black, marked with burning sigils. Their mouths opened, but no sound came—only the heavy, suffocating silence that seemed to press down on everything.
One of the creatures took a step forward, its movements fluid and unnervingly graceful.
Aeris' heart raced in her chest. "What do they want with me?"
"They want to kill you," Kael said, his voice now low and edged with an emotion Aeris couldn't quite place. "Or, worse, they want to control you. The prophecy's beginning, Aeris. The Flame is stirring. And they will stop at nothing to claim it for themselves."
Aeris swallowed hard, her hand tightening around the hilt of her knife. "Then they'll have to go through me first."
Kael gave her a sharp look, a flicker of something unreadable flashing across his face. "You don't understand. This isn't just about fighting, Aeris. You can't defeat them with brute force. You're not strong enough yet."
"Then what do you suggest?" she snapped, anger flaring. "Running? Hiding like cowards?"
Kael's golden eyes flickered with something dark, something almost like regret. "No. But you need to trust me. If we're going to survive this, we need to use your power. Your Flame."
The creatures were closing in now, their slow, deliberate movements sending a chill through the air.
Aeris didn't have time to argue. She reached for the mark on her back, the sigil that had been burning since the moment she leapt into Kael's arms. It throbbed beneath her fingers, a heat rising within her chest, a fire that seemed to burn with purpose. It was painful, but it wasn't the pain that terrified her.
It was the understanding that she was no longer in control.
Her body reacted before she could think. The Flame erupted from her chest, a blast of raw power that sent shockwaves through the forest. The creatures faltered, their shadows wavering under the intensity of the light. The ground trembled beneath her feet, the air thick with the crackle of magic.
Aeris gasped as the power surged through her—like a river breaking through a dam, unstoppable, relentless.
And then, with a single, primal scream, the creatures charged.
But Kael was already moving, his hand shooting out to catch hers, his voice a sharp command. "We're not fighting them here. Not like this."
Before Aeris could protest, the world twisted around her once more. The familiar sensation of magic warped reality, bending time and space until everything she knew was nothing but an echo.