The journey to the Oracle was not taken lightly.
Joga led Astraeus through a trench that spiraled like the throat of some enormous beast. The waters grew darker, colder. Strange shapes moved in the distance — too
fast to catch, too silent to name.
"The Oracle doesn't speak to just anyone,"
Joga warned as they descended. "You'll have to earn her voice. That means facing the a Abyss trial."
"Trial?" Astraeus asked. "I thought this was about answers."
Joga chuckled. "In Landara, every answer is guarded by something ancient… and angry."
At the base of the trench lay a hollowed cavern lit by the bioluminescence of dream-
eels. The water here was thick, almost syrupy. Time itself seemed to stretch.
A temple loomed ahead, built from whale bones and coral fused by pressure. Upon its gates were inscribed the words:
"What you seek lies beneath what you fear."
Joga stooded at the edge. "Only you can enter. l'll be here — if you survive."
Astraeus nodded and stepped inside.
— Fear trial Void and flame born:
The instant he crossed the threshold, the water vanished.
He stood in a void.
The floor beneath him rippled like liquid glass.
Above, stars swirled in constellations he didn't recognize. Then came the voice — like thunder whispering through a dream.
"Flame-born. Why have you come to the deepest parts?"
A figure emerged. Neither man nor woman, god nor beast. The Oracle was cloaked in endless tendrils of water, their faces shifting with each word — sometimes ancient,
Sometimes childlike.
Astraeus stood tall. "I was brought here. I need to know why. And how to stop the war that's coming."
The Oracle tilted their head. "The realms fracture. Lavaron burns. Windra screams. Crysansa dims. But Landara drowns…
quietly. You are not flame alone. You are the spark between realms. And in you sleeps a truth forgotten."
A mirror of water rose from the void. Inside it, Astraeus saw himself — eyes glowing, body wrapped in ancient markings, wings of elemental Fire and Water spiraling from his back.
"I don't understand…"
"Then face what you must,"
The mirror shattered.
From the pieces rose a being made of dark water — a reflection of Astraeus. Eyes burning, voice cold.
"I am what happens when you lose. When your flame fades. When the realms fall."
Astraeus clenched his fists. "Then l'll never let that happen."
The two charged.
Flame clashed with tide. First met current. Every strike echoed with power. But Astraeus was no longer just a fire wielder — Landara had changed him.
He flowed.
He moved with the ocean, let it carry him between attacks, and then ignited it from within. His Final blow was a wave of fire- wrapped current that shattered the dark version of himself.
The void pulsed. The Oracle reappeared.
"You have passed. You are no longer just Astraeus of Fire. You are now…"
The water swirled and wrapped around his right arm, leaving a glowing sigil — half flame, half wave.
"…Astraeus of the Dual flame."
—Temple:
He awoke in the temple, breath shallow, skin tingling with new power.
Joga was waiting.
"Well?" the merchant asked. "Did the old Fish talk?"
Astraeus lifted his arm and showed the sigil.
"They said the war is already coming. And that I'm the spark that can light the path or burn it all down."
Joga raised an eyebrow. "Then I hope you're ready."
"Why?"
Joga looked out toward the rising shadows beyond the reef.
"Because Landara's enemies just arrived."
To be continued…