The portal shimmered like a broken mirror floating in the void. Its center pulsed with crimson and gold, rippling as if the air itself were trying to escape its boundaries. Kael stood at the threshold, hand resting lightly on Ashveil, his gaze locked on the churning light. Behind him, Mira waited in silence, her expression unreadable.
The chamber around them was ancient, carved long before Ironridge ever bore a name. The walls were marked with runes that no scholar could translate. They hummed softly, reacting to Kael's presence. It was as if they remembered him. Or feared him.
Kael stepped forward.
The moment his foot crossed the threshold, the portal expanded. Light engulfed him, and then he was gone.
Mira followed.
They emerged in darkness.
Not the darkness of night, but the oppressive, smothering kind that pressed against the skin like wet cloth. The ground beneath them was cold obsidian. The air held no scent, no wind, no life.
A hollow chamber stretched endlessly in every direction. Towering monoliths stood in rings around a single platform of glowing stone. On that platform floated a single object.
A book bound in black iron.
Kael approached the platform without hesitation. Mira walked behind him, eyes scanning the walls, the shadows, the runes flickering faintly overhead. She whispered.
"This place is older than belief."
Kael reached the book. The chains around it slithered as if alive, resisting his touch. But when he laid a hand on the cover, they fell away like dry leaves. The book opened on its own, pages flipping rapidly until they stopped on a single passage.
Kael read the words, written in a language that had no letters, only meaning.
To rule this world is to break its cycle.
To ascend is to defy the gods who built the chain.
To become more than man, you must become the flame that devours time itself.
He closed the book.
"This is what they feared," he said softly.
Mira nodded. "What will you do with it?"
Kael turned away from the platform. His eyes had changed. The crimson glow was deeper now, as if a piece of the void had taken root within them.
"I will rewrite the rules."
Suddenly, a tremor shook the chamber. The monoliths pulsed with light, and a voice echoed through the void. It was not heard with the ears, but felt in the marrow.
Who dares awaken the Archive of Fire
Kael stepped onto the center stone. His voice rang with cold power.
I am Kael, bearer of the Flame, breaker of Ironridge, claimant of the first throne. I do not seek your permission. I take what is mine.
The light flared. The voice laughed.
Then take it, mortal.
Survive the trial.
Before Kael could speak again, the ground collapsed beneath him.
He fell into fire.
Not physical flame, but the fire of memory. Of regret. He saw himself as a boy, kneeling beside his dying mother. He saw the moment his village burned. The faces of those who betrayed him. The friends he lost. The innocent he abandoned.
The voices of the dead rose around him.
You are no emperor.
You are a monster.
You are alone.
Kael clenched his fists. Fire swirled around him, lashing at his flesh. He did not scream. He stood tall.
"I am the storm you tried to kill. I am the fire you thought would die. I do not fear the past. I burn it."
The flames shifted. The pain vanished.
He stood once more in the center of the platform, the book sealed at his feet.
The voice returned, colder now.
You pass.
One gate remains.
Kael turned to Mira, who had watched everything in silence. She took a slow breath.
"What was it like?"
Kael looked to the black sky above.
"Necessary."