POV: Lyra šš„š«
The moment Lyra stepped onto the obsidian bridge, something changed.
The air grew denser, like breathing smoke and secrets. The lava far below glowed brighter than any fire should, and the walls shimmered ā not just with heat, but with movement.
Carvings shifted.
Symbols rearranged.
The mountain was alive.
And it did not play by their rules.
"Anyone else's weapons humming?" Jax asked, shaking his dagger. "Either this place is enchanted, or my blade is trying to communicate."
"Mine too," Kael muttered, holding up his sword. The steel glowed faintly ā not with light, but with heat. "It's almost like it'sā¦ syncing."
"With what?" Lyra asked. "The mountain?"
Ariya didn't respond. She walked ahead, her eyes locked on the path. The markings on her arm pulsed softly, glowing in rhythm with the lava below.
"This place responds to her," Lyra murmured, catching up to Jax. "Like the temple did."
"Yeah," Jax said. "Which would be comforting if she weren't literally one bad mood away from lighting the whole mountain up."
They crossed the bridge and reached a vast stone platform etched with fire-runes. At its center stood a pedestal ā cracked and ancient ā surrounded by four smaller platforms.
As soon as Ariya stepped into the center, everything shifted.
The walls blurred. The ground tilted. The entire room pulsed like a heartbeat.
And then the light changed.
A strange golden haze covered everything ā and so did the silence. Not emptiness, but the kind of silence that came after a scream.
"Something's not right," Kael said, reaching for Ariya's arm.
But she flinched.
"Don't touch me," she snapped.
Everyone froze.
Lyra's heart jumped. Ariya's voice had never sounded like that ā cold, sharp, like cracking glass.
"Ariya?" Lyra stepped forward carefully. "It's us."
Ariya's eyes were glowing.
Not just her mark. Not just her ring.
Her pupils.
"They're inside my head," Ariya whispered. "The voices. The mountainā¦ it's showing me everything. Past. Present. Future."
"Let go," Kael said gently. "You're stronger than this."
"What if I'm not?" she whispered. "What if this is who I'm becoming?"
She raised her hand ā and the flame snapped toward Kael, fast and violent.
He dodged, just barely.
"Whoa!" Jax shouted. "Time-out! We do not roast the protective swordsman!"
Lyra lunged, grabbing Ariya's shoulder. "Snap out of it. This isn't you!"
Ariya stumbled backward, gasping ā the glow in her eyes flickering.
The haze shattered.
The mountain groaned as the pressure lifted.
And Ariya collapsed to her knees, shaking.
Kael knelt beside her. "You're okay. You're back."
She nodded, barely.
"It got into my mind," she whispered. "It showed meā¦ everyone leaving. Me burning everything I loved."
Lyra exhaled slowly. "The mountain tests us. It twists us. We have to stay grounded."
"Next time," Jax said softly, crouching beside her too, "aim your flaming rage away from the healer, please."
Ariya gave a weak laugh.
"I'm sorry," she whispered. "I didn't mean toā"
"We know," Kael said. "It's not your fault."
"It is," she murmured. "But I'll control it. I have to."
Lyra looked up at the shimmering walls, now quiet again.
"This place wants to break us," she said. "But it's not going to."
Far above, on a ledge shadowed by steam, a cloaked figure watched.
Corven.
He lowered a glowing stone, eyes narrowed.
"They're cracking," he said. "Exactly as he planned."