(I'm working on a new novel with one of my friends. It's gonna be called heart killer, or killer hearts i'm just gonna help him when it releases please go read it. Thank you for reading my book and enjoy the iron element road to be a God and killer hearts, and the age of the Hashi kuru all supported by me and send any feedback if you want so I can continue these three amazing stories and some new stories in the future that come out
enjoy)
—Beast of the Deep Flame:
The creature that emerged from the Heart Flame's vault was unlike anything Astraeus had seen before. Its body was forged from molten coral and obsidian bone, with long
fins of flickering flame trailing behind it like smoke underwater. Its eyes were ancient — glowing cinders trapped in glass.
Joga instinctively slashed with his water blades, but they hissed into steam before even touching the creature.
"We can't fight this the normal way,"
Astraeus said through gritted teeth, summoning his Phoenix aura.
The air in the chamber began to shift — bubbles frozen mid-motion, reality warping around them as the creature bellowed with a soundless roar.
—Heart Flame Core:
"The Beast is guarding the Heart Flame Core," Joga realized aloud. "We need to purify it. Not kill it."
Astraeus stepped forward, slowly, and closed his eyes.
He let the Phoenix energy circulate through his blood, expanding outward. This time, the fire didn't erupt — it sang. A harmonic pulse of energy flooded the chamber. The flames in the Beast's body began to slow… trembling.
And for a moment… Astraeus saw the truth.
It wasn't just a monster.
It was a former Flame Guardian, one of the original sentinels of the Realms, cursed during the first Elemental War.
Astraeus placed his hand on his head.
And whispered: "Rest."
The Beast's body shattered into harmless ash. At the center, floating gently, was a glowing sphere of red-orange light — the Heart Flame Core.
He held it in both hands.
And the Citadel trembled in response.
—The Map of Forgotten Paths:
Back in Queen Naihelis's war chamber, the glow from the Heart Flame Core projected a moving map into air — thousands of underwater trails, sunken gates, ancient ruins, and above all else:
A fractured sigil of the Realms, all leading toward a central point — the Nexus Rift.
"This is where they'll strike," Naihelis said, voice low. "The Ash lords will burn the ocean itself to open the Rift. It's how they plan to escape the Deep Prison."
"Where is it?" Astraeus asked.
"Far below the Black Trench," Joga said, eyes scanning the projection. "That's where they banished the Titan of Cinder and Salt."
Naihelis nodded. "And if they unleash him, the sea and sky will burn together."
Astraeus felt the Phoenix power pulsing harder in his veins now, syncing with the
Core. He could feel the other Realms — the Crystallis of Ice, the Hollow Winds of Air, the Stone Throne, and even the forbidden Spirit Domain — calling to him.
"We need to unite the remaining Cores," he said. "Or the Realms will fall one by one."
Naihelis looked at him for a long moment. "Then you'll need a guide."
She stepped aside, revealing a new figure cloaked in silver-blue armor.
"Her name is Thalessa. She's the only living map reader of the Ancient Pathways. She was born in the Hollow Waters and raised in the Trenchlight."
Thalessa bowed slightly. "You want to find the Realms?" Then follow me."
—The Hollow Waters:
The journey took them through a deep fissure in the ocean floor, one so dark even light bent away. They passed by forgotten leviathans, petrified in place, and temples sealed since the Worldfire Era.
Astraeus felt the water pressure increase.
Joga gritted his teeth. Thalessa moved like she belonged there.
Suddenly — everything changed.
The water stilled. Time slowed. The ocean became silent.
They had entered the Hollow Waters — a place where emotion could shape the current. Astraeus's Fire flickered, confused.
And in that silence… they heard it.
Screams. Echoes of pain. Joy. Regret. War.
This was where souls of the drowned drifted— including fallen warriors from the Elemental wars. They saw visions of gods crying. Children praying. Kings falling.
Joga clutched his head. "They're… inside me."
Thalessa held Astraeus's hand.
"Focus," she whispered. "The Hollow Waters test your soul. If you carry guilt, it will drown you. But if you carry purpose…"
Astraeus reached forward, his Phoenix Core lighting up brighter than ever.
The spirits didn't flee.
They bowed.
And the Hollow Waters opened — revealing the next gate:
The Frozen Court of Crystallis.
—Arrival in Crystallis:
They breached the Hollow Waters into a place of perfect stillness.
The ocean turned white.
Clacial towers floated upside doen. Frozen whales the size of kingdoms drifted past.
Shards of ice Lightning cracked silently through the water.
The Crystallis Realm was ruled by the Glacier Empress, one of the Seven Founders — and unlike Landara, she did not tolerate visitors.
"Step carefully," Thalessa warned. "One wrong move, and the entire court freezes."
As they entered the main city — built from mirror ice and glowing veins of silver — Astraeus noticed something odd.
The air here burned.
It was cold beyond comprehension, but his Phoenix fire flared up as if it were being tested.
From above, snowflakes of burning frost fell.
And then the Empress arrived — towering, wrapped in a flowing cloak of living auroras, her voice like cracking frost.
"Another fire child," she hissed, her eyes glowing blue. "And you bring the Heard Flame. Do you think I have forgotten the war you started?"
Astraeus stood firm.
"I'm not here to fight you," he said. "I'm here to save what's left."
The Empress raised her hand — and the entire court locked into frozen stillness.
"All fire must first be buried in ice," she said.
"Let the second trial begin."
To be continued…
"The end is almost here, so prepare for the devastation that you will have to enter,"