Kai stepped toward the Obsidian Core.
The fractured surface pulsed like a dying heart, black mist bleeding from its cracks. Every instinct screamed at him to turn back, but he'd already lived through that mistake — and died for it.
Not again.
His boots scraped the icy floor as he drew closer, the Eternal Flame burning in his grip like a star caught in steel.
Behind him, Lira pressed her hand to her ribs, wincing. "That thing... it's not just a relic. It's alive."
Seris was pale, leaning against the wall, her breath ragged. "It's not just alive. It's watching. Always has been. It feeds on fear... on memory."
Kai didn't slow. "Then let it feed on my fury."
He raised the blade high—and drove it into the base of the Core.
The explosion of light and shadow was instant.
A scream—no, thousands—tore through the chamber as tendrils of darkness lashed out, slamming into the walls, into Kai's mind, into the space between time itself.
"You again."
The voice was no longer just inside his ears. It echoed through bone and soul.
"The flame cannot kill what has no form."
Kai gritted his teeth as the Eternal Flame pulsed brighter. "I don't need to kill you. I just need to seal you… again."
The Obsidian Core's cracks widened. A black, skeletal hand pushed through from the inside.
Lira staggered forward. "Kai! Behind you!"
Another shadow, smaller but quicker, darted from the side. It slashed at Kai—he turned just in time, parried, and countered with a slash that scorched the floor.
The shadow hissed and dissolved.
But the hand kept pushing.
Seris forced herself upright. Her emerald eyes gleamed. "The seal beneath the Core — we need your blood, Kai! Only the Flamebearer's blood can complete it!"
He didn't hesitate. Drawing a short dagger from his belt, he slashed his palm and pressed it to the broken runes below the Core.
Light exploded from the floor, ancient symbols roaring to life in crimson gold.
The creature shrieked.
The hand withdrew.
The Core shook violently, cracks sealing slowly like closing wounds. The voice screamed again, but this time… it was fading.
"This isn't over... Flamebearer. One day, you'll beg us to return."
With a thunderous crack, the Core collapsed in on itself. The shadows vanished.
And the silence that followed was absolute.
Kai collapsed to one knee, breathing heavily. The Eternal Flame dimmed, but remained lit — its edge still glowing, still alive.
Lira sat down beside him, her body trembling from the effort. "You've done this before… haven't you?"
He nodded once. "Too many times."
Seris looked at him, her voice quieter now. "Then maybe… this time, you won't have to do it alone."
Kai didn't respond right away.
But in his eyes — eyes that had seen lifetimes of fire and failure — something new sparked.
Hope.