"The greatest warriors are not those who fight on the battlefield... but those who fight against their own hearts."
---
The night passed uneasily. Moria woke several times, drenched in sweat, her body trembling with an unfamiliar fire that raged within her veins. The echoes of the vision in the dragon bones lingered in her mind, making the world around her seem like a twisted reflection.
The flame within the skull had granted her power, but it had also unlocked something darker—a hunger for control, for dominance, that she hadn't felt before. It wasn't just the power of life and death anymore; it was a lust for it.
The next morning, she stood at the edge of the graveyard, staring at the horizon, trying to steady her breath.
"You're awake," Li Yuan said, walking toward her. His eyes were filled with concern, and though he had never spoken of it, she could see the deepening uncertainty in his gaze. He didn't ask, but he didn't need to.
"I'm fine," she replied curtly, not looking at him.
"You sure?"
She nodded, her gaze fixed on the vast horizon beyond the valley. The strange blue light from the dragon skull still flickered in the distance, calling to her.
Jiang appeared from behind her, his steps slow and careful, as if the air itself might strike him down.
"We need to keep moving," he said, checking his weapons with a practiced hand. "Those who find the Heart of the Sleeping Flame don't leave here unscathed. There are others hunting it."
Moria nodded, her gaze flickering toward the distant mountain pass. "We'll leave by nightfall."
---
The group traveled in silence, the only sound the occasional crunch of bone underfoot as they made their way through the wasteland. As they moved deeper into the heart of the valley, the air grew colder, and the trees began to grow sparse. The earth here was barren, scarred from centuries of conflict.
The beauty of this place—undeniably eerie—was almost suffocating. The wind whispered through the remnants of long-dead dragons, their bones like the ancient ruins of a lost civilization.
Jiang shivered. "It feels like we're walking on the edge of the world."
Moria didn't respond. Instead, she reached for the amulet around her neck—an odd gift from the fox demon before they left. Its surface shimmered faintly with the power of the Heart of the Sleeping Flame.
Her mind flickered to the fox demon.
Where was he? She had seen him last night, but he had disappeared before she could ask him anything of importance.
Suddenly, the ground rumbled beneath them.
"Not again," Li Yuan muttered, drawing his sword.
Moria's eyes narrowed. The power she had recently gained was unstable, but she could feel something... something strong, something old... rising from the earth.
Without warning, a creature broke from the earth before them—its body formed from ash, and its eyes glowed red like embers.
"A flame-wraith," Jiang whispered, backing away.
It was a massive, humanoid figure, built of the essence of fire itself, shifting and glowing with a terrifying, otherworldly energy. Its hands, long and skeletal, crackled with flames that scorched the earth beneath it.
"We'll have to fight it," Li Yuan said, a slight tremor in his voice. "It won't stop until it's satisfied."
Jiang gripped his sword tightly. "That's if we can survive long enough to fight."
Moria stepped forward, her eyes glowing with the fire she had unlocked. She felt it—this strange, overpowering force surging through her body. The hunger she had felt earlier was now almost unbearable, twisting her insides.
She raised her hand, and the flame-wraith paused. The air around her thickened as she concentrated.
For a moment, there was silence.
Then, Moria spoke, her voice low, a quiet whisper that carried across the wasteland.
"Leave this place, or burn in my fire."
The wraith screeched, its body twisting violently, flames roaring higher as it charged toward her. The air crackled, and before any of them could react, Moria unleashed the full force of her newly acquired power.
A burst of blue flame erupted from her palm, engulfing the wraith in a surge of molten energy.
But as the wraith disintegrated into ash, Moria stumbled backward, her breath ragged.
"Damn it," Jiang cursed under his breath. "You—"
She didn't hear him. Her head swam as the power inside her fought for control. For a split second, she could almost feel the darkness of the world itself—like it was reaching out for her, whispering her name.
Her hands trembled, and her knees buckled.
Li Yuan caught her before she could collapse.
"You're not fine," he said, his voice hard but with an undercurrent of concern.
"I'm fine," she managed, her voice strained. "I'll... I'll get used to this."
But deep down, she knew something was wrong.
---
The day passed in silence as they continued their journey. The wraith was only a small part of what lay ahead. Even more dangerous forces stirred in the mountains beyond, forces that would stop at nothing to claim the Heart of the Sleeping Flame for themselves.
Moria's mind was heavy. She had never felt power like this—never this... consuming. The wraith had been nothing compared to what she could have unleashed, and that thought alone terrified her.
As they reached a small cave to rest for the night, Moria couldn't shake the sense that someone—something—was watching them.
And then, as she turned to enter the cave, she saw him.
The fox demon, standing at the entrance.
His golden eyes flickered with amusement, but there was something else there, something unreadable.
"You've grown stronger," he said softly. "And more dangerous."
Moria said nothing at first, but then, her voice low, she asked, "Why are you here?"
He smiled, the curve of his lips more of a challenge than a greeting.
"I'm here because I want to see what happens next."
And with that, he stepped aside, allowing them to enter the cave.
---
End of Chapter 26