The compound burned behind them, smoke curling toward the darkening sky. They didn't linger. Zairon led the group through the winding forest path, their pace swift but silent. No one spoke—not until they were far enough that the stench of burnt glyphs and fried beast blood had faded.
Mira broke the silence. "That claw… it wasn't just a beast's."
"No," Yue agreed grimly. "It had... intention. Hunger. That thing knew it was being summoned."
Zairon nodded. "A gate like that couldn't have been opened by mere fanatics. There's something—or someone—on the other side feeding them power."
As they made camp for the night, Kai pulled out a half-burnt parchment they'd recovered from the altar chamber. Ink smeared and symbols faded, but the message was clear:
"The Ashen Seal shall break. The Prophet's voice shall guide the flame. When the sky cracks and Raur descends, mortals will kneel or burn."
Rysa muttered, "Dramatic much?"
Yue's eyes narrowed. "The Ashen Seal... That's not just symbolism. I've seen mentions of it before. Ancient text, pre-cataclysm—something locked beneath one of the older ruins south of here."
"Then that's where we go next," Zairon said without hesitation.
The Journey South – Into the Cradle of Ruins
The next few days were spent on the move. The map pointed toward a forgotten ruin buried under centuries of sand and ash. A city that once stood tall before the Great Collapse, now only spoken of in hushed legends—Nexis Solari.
To reach it, they had to cross the Shimmering Barrens—a vast desert where mirages twisted time and space, and where only the desperate or the mad dared tread.
"Perfect," Zairon said, as the heat shimmered before them. "I am the mad sovereign, after all."
They encountered sand beasts, mirage scorpions, and one extremely rude cactus that turned out to be an illusionary trap—but eventually, they found the broken entrance to Nexis Solari.
Beneath layers of sand and buried bones, a stairway spiraled into the abyss. Carvings lined the walls—depicting not just humans, but creatures with wings of obsidian, eyes like galaxies, and chains binding them to something… far below.
"The Prophet," Yue whispered. "They worshipped something ancient. Something they tried to seal away."
Zairon lit his blade with crimson energy. "Then let's find this Prophet. And if he's still breathing… I'll ask him a few polite questions."
Deeper Into Darkness
The further they went, the more warped reality became. Time twisted. Mira swore she saw her childhood friend walking past. Rysa heard her dead master whispering. Even Zairon paused once—when he glimpsed a mirror image of himself, wearing a crown of bone, sitting on a throne made of stars.
Kai, completely unaffected, casually ate roasted beast jerky and said, "Must be Tuesday."
At the deepest chamber, they found it. The Ashen Seal—a massive obsidian disk embedded in the floor, glowing faintly with chains of ethereal light.
Upon it stood a lone figure, cloaked in grey, skin ashen, eyes burning with ancient memory.
"I am the Prophet of the Gate," he said. "And you… are far too late."