The smoke had settled, but the air still trembled with tension. The Arcane Hunter had vanished, retreating through a teleportation glyph burned into the stone, but Elira knew it wasn't over.
Dante stood beside her, blade humming faintly as he stared at the scorched ground.
"He'll return," he said. "They always do."
Elira didn't respond at first. She knelt, pressing her fingers against the ash. Her flames flared softly, as if drawn to something beneath the surface. A low, pulsing warmth vibrated through the stone.
"There's something here," she murmured.
Dante raised a brow. "What kind of something?"
Her eyes narrowed. "A seal. Old magic… buried beneath the ruins."
The flame-colored strands of her hair shifted as her gauntlet lit up. The air twisted with heat as she pushed energy into the stone — not forcefully, but with reverence, with memory. The ground responded, parting in a slow, spiraling pattern. A faint glow emerged beneath the dust.
And then—click.
The earth trembled. A hidden passage revealed itself, carved with ancient symbols and runes she recognized only from childhood stories. Her father's stories.
"Elira…" Dante's tone was careful. "You don't have to go in there."
She looked over her shoulder. "I do."
Without waiting, she stepped into the darkness. Dante followed.
The tunnel beneath was colder than expected. The walls were etched with flames that flickered as she passed, reacting to the Ember in her blood. Her heart pounded. Every step deeper pulled on something inside her — something old, something lost.
Finally, they reached a chamber.
In its center stood a massive stone tablet, cracked but pulsing faintly. Around it, ash sculptures of warriors — guardians of flame — knelt in silence. Elira approached, her fingers brushing the surface of the tablet.
A surge of memory hit her.
Her mother's voice. Her father's fire. The lullaby of embers they used to hum. This place had belonged to the Ember Line — a vault of knowledge, long sealed away.
Dante stepped back, instinctively. The chamber responded to her presence. The statues raised their heads slightly, as if recognizing their heir.
"Elira," Dante said quietly. "What is this?"
She looked at him, tears almost forming in her fierce blue eyes.
"This is where my legacy was buried."
And now, it was awakening.