The forest grew darker.
After claiming the second Flame Beacon, Aria and Kael followed a path that twisted into silence. The trees here were ancient and gnarled, their bark like folded skin. There were no birds. No wind. Only the distant hum of something... watching.
Aria clutched the flame shard in her chest — it pulsed, but weakly.
"We're close," Kael said, but he too looked uneasy. "There's a presence here. Old... and powerful."
They came upon a clearing where moss blanketed everything — rocks, roots, even the air seemed green. At the center stood a shrine, crumbled with time, almost consumed by the forest. Vines wrapped around broken columns, and carvings of three stars circled a sun were barely visible on the stone.
Drawn by something unseen, Aria stepped forward. The moment her foot touched the shrine's steps, a whisper echoed through her mind:
"Only one who carries the pain of three may awaken the gift."
Kael tensed. "Did you hear that?"
She nodded slowly. "It spoke to me."
Inside the shrine was a small altar, and on it lay an object untouched by decay: a silver bracelet, with a glowing crystal embedded in the center. The crystal flickered — faintly, like a heartbeat.
Aria reached out.
The moment her fingers touched the bracelet, a surge of light burst from the shrine. She gasped, falling to her knees as visions struck her — but not of the past.
Of the future.
She saw herself standing alone in a crumbling world, flames behind her, shadows rising in the distance. Her brothers' voices cried out — but only she stood between the end and hope.
And in her hand, the bracelet burned bright.
She snapped back to the present, clutching the bracelet.
Kael helped her up. "What did you see?"
"Not just a weapon," she said. "A choice."
The bracelet wrapped itself around her wrist — not cold, but warm, like it had waited for her. Power flooded her limbs, not heavy, but balanced. Her heartbeat synced with the crystal's rhythm.
She could feel them — her brothers — more clearly than ever.
Suddenly, the shrine trembled.
A guardian spirit awakened — a being of mist and light, formed from the shrine itself. It attacked without warning.
Kael drew his blade, but Aria held out her hand.
The bracelet glowed. A shield of light formed in front of her, blocking the strike.
Then — with a roar — she sent out a blast of force, knocking the spirit back.
"I didn't know you could do that," Kael said, stunned.
"I didn't either," she replied, panting. "But it's part of me now."
The spirit faded, leaving behind a mark on the stone: a star wrapped in flame. A sign that Aria had passed the trial.
She turned to Kael, eyes burning with clarity.
"I'm ready to face the third beacon. Whatever it is — I won't break."