The training ground was drowned in a terrifying silence.
Asher and Nova looked at each other — frightened, confused, yet alert.
Before either of them could say anything—
Gaaaanng!
The mansion's ancient iron bell rang.
A deep, primordial sound — one that hadn't echoed in years.
Nova gasped.
"That's the Inner Bell. It only rings… when a spiritual force stirs within the estate."
Asher's skin tingled.
This was not just the Void Shade — something bigger was happening.
They immediately sprinted toward the inner wing.
As they descended deeper, the light seemed to fall behind them.
The air in the old section was heavy — dust particles drifted like tiny wandering souls.
A faint herbal fragrance spread through the corridor — old scrolls, incense, and long-forgotten rituals.
At the end of the corridor stood a heavy wooden door…
Its engraved symbols were unlike anything Asher had ever seen.
His sister whispered,
"The Spirit Archive Chamber."
The door creaked open by itself.
Inside, thin curls of incense smoke drifted like spirits through the air.
Shelves were filled — ancient scrolls, broken talismans, old paintings, and strange relics.
At the center burned a lantern with blue flames —
one that was lit only when a spiritual threat was detected.
From within the smoke, an elderly figure emerged.
A white beard.
Eyes tired but sharp.
A staff etched with hundreds of tiny runes.
Grand Elder Ratan Juyal — guardian of the mansion's ancient knowledge.
He looked at both of them with piercing eyes.
"So," he muttered,
"the Void has finally touched this mansion."
Asher swallowed.
"You… you knew that shadow?"
Ratan tapped his staff.
"Knew it? Boy, your ancestors fought it."
---
Ratan stepped forward and examined Asher's palm.
The golden sigil pulsed once.
He froze.
A mix of awe… and fear shimmered in his eyes.
"So it has begun."
He took a trembling breath.
"Child… the force awakening within you is neither a normal spirit… nor a guardian… nor a forest soul."
His voice dropped.
"It is a Primordial Echo."
Asher blinked.
"…what?"
Nova stepped closer.
"Grandfather, I've only heard legends—"
"Yes. Legends," Ratan said heavily.
"Spirits that existed before the elements themselves.
Before mankind.
Before the world took shape."
He pointed at Asher's sigil.
"That mark… is the insignia of the First Flamebearer."
Asher's heart lurched.
"F–Flamebearer?"
Ratan nodded gravely.
"The first being who sparked fire out of the void.
Whose breath ignited the first suns.
Whose dormant spark shattered into fragments across realms — waiting for a bearer."
Nova whispered,
"You mean Asher is that—"
Ratan cut her off.
"No. He is not its reincarnation."
He stared deeply at Asher.
"He is its vessel.
A fragment.
A spark.
A forgotten shard…
of the divine entity that once walked the Void."
Asher's chest tightened.
"Then that shadow… the Void Shade… it came because of this?"
"Yes," Ratan replied.
"And more will come."
---
The blue lantern suddenly flared violently.
Ratan's eyes narrowed.
"There's no time.
The Primordial Fragment is awakening.
You must gain control now."
Asher felt heat swelling beneath his skin.
Wild and unstable.
His vision blurred — golden light rushed through his veins.
Thump.
His heart pounded — as if fire wanted to erupt from within.
Thump.
Louder. Faster.
Nova stepped back in fear.
"Asher… your aura—"
FWOOOM!!
Suddenly, golden fire erupted around Asher — but it wasn't ordinary fire.
It did not burn.
It breathed.
It curved, spiraled—
forming runes, wings, memories…
glimpses of some lost realm of ancient flame and darkness.
Ratan slammed his staff to the floor.
"Asher!! Control it!
This is not human fire!"
Asher clutched his chest — struggling to breathe.
The fire surged upward, striking the ceiling, making the room shake.
Ratan roared—
"Bearer of the Primordial Flame — if you don't calm it now, it will consume you from within!!"
The fire growled—
as if a beast had awakened.
And then — a voice whispered inside his mind.
Deep.
Ancient.
Echoing through countless ages—
"Bearer…
Do you seek dominion…
or destruction?"
Asher collapsed to his knees—
hands digging into the floor.
Nova screamed,
"Asher!!"
Ratan prepared a spiritual seal.
The fire surged — then abruptly froze.
Everything went still.
Asher opened his eyes and found himself wrapped in golden flame.
---
At the center of the chamber, the blue flame still trembled violently, as if touched by an unseen wind.
But it wasn't the wind—
Asher knelt, breathing heavily, hands pressed to the ground.
Golden fire still flickered faintly within his eyes—
as if another being was watching through them.
Nova whispered,
"Asher… is that you?"
He looked up. He seemed himself — but his shadow was not.
His shadow… moved late.
Not copying his body — but acting on its own will.
Grand Elder Ratan's face hardened.
"Step back," he whispered.
"His shadow… is no longer his."
But it was already too late.
Old talismans on the walls began to rattle.
A painting — depicting a battle between a primeval fire deity and a shadow god — fluttered violently.
The room's light dimmed abruptly.
Suddenly…
all shadows began pulling in one direction — toward Asher.
His shadow stretched.
Long.
Deep.
Formless.
And then—
Another shadow stepped out of it.
The same height as Asher…
but completely black.
Face indistinct.
Eyes nothing but two burning pits — like voided holes peering into eternity.
Nova screamed,
"The Void Shade… again?!"
But Ratan shook his head.
"No. Not the same. This is… the Echo's reflection.
Primordial Flame and Void recognize each other."
The dark figure tilted its head — as if seeing Asher for the first time.
Then it whispered his name.
"Asher…"
Cold shot down his spine.
---
In the next instant, Asher's golden fire clashed with the shadow's black void energy.
The room shook.
The blue flame stretched tall — then dimmed toward black.
Ratan yelled,
"ASHEEER! Hold your flame!
It is your power — you are not its toy!"
Asher clenched his fists.
Golden light pulsed from his body — but the shadow pulsed in the same rhythm.
As if they shared the same heart.
The shadow whispered—
"Your fire… is not ready to awaken.
And you… are unworthy of wielding it."
Asher gritted his teeth.
"I'm… not losing myself."
The shadow smiled — if it could be called a smile.
"Then prove it… Primordial Flamebearer."
It lunged.
But this time, Asher did not retreat.
His eyes flashed gold, and a ring of Primordial Flame burst around him.
The two forces collided — Void and Primordial Flame.
They struck like an explosion.
BOOOOOOM!!
The room filled with a storm of light and darkness.
Ancient symbols carved into the walls lit up, as if reliving a forgotten war after centuries.
Then fog spread.
The lantern flame died.
The shadow vanished.
Asher stood in the center.
But now — his eyes were not only golden.
Deep within, a dark blue eclipse-like glow shimmered.
Ratan whispered in a trembling voice—
"Oh gods…
He mastered the flame… but the shadow has touched him as well."
---
His eyes…
now carried both the power within them. Golden flame and blue-black shadow.
An ancient fear settled over Grand Elder Ratan's face.
"This… should not be possible,"
he whispered almost breathlessly.
"Primordial Fire and Void in the same body… cannot stay balanced.
This is… a formula for catastrophe."
Nova gasped.
"But he's standing! He stopped both of them!"
Ratan slowly shook his head.
"No, child. He controlled the fire… but the shadow has already marked him."
Suddenly Asher clutched his chest —
a strange, piercing pain tugged at his very soul from the inside.
A new, alien energy began pouring out of him —
neither golden nor black, but a fused, smoky essence drifting like vapor.
Ratan's eyes widened.
"Impossible… this isn't any known power…
This… this is the Unforged Ember!"
Nova stared, stunned.
"What is that?"
Ratan answered slowly,
"When an awakened ancient element is touched by the Void…
the force born from that collision is neither good nor evil.
It is born without purpose.
It can become a destroyer… or a guardian…
But the most dangerous part is — even the power itself does not know what it wants."
The unstable energy cracked the ground around Asher —
red-blue pulsating symbols began forming beneath him.
The entire room trembled,
as if a new entity was trying to birth itself into existence.
Then — the chamber suddenly filled with freezing cold.
No wind moved.
No door opened.
Yet…
A presence descended into the room.
So heavy that time itself seemed to slow.
From within the drifting smoke, a tall, shadowed figure emerged —
not like a Void Shade…
bigger, steadier, conscious.
Black sigils orbited around it like shattered pieces of souls.
Its face was covered by an ancient, torn mask,
with only one word carved across it—
"HERALD."
Ratan stepped back, his voice trembling.
"The Herald of the Void…
It only appears before those in whom fragments of the ancient gods awaken!"
Nova panicked,
"Meaning… it came for Asher?!"
Asher's shadow-lit eyes focused on the figure,
and the Unforged Ember inside him surged uncontrollably.
The Herald spoke for the first time —
its voice echoed like a cavern filled with many overlapping souls.
"Bearer of the Primordial Flame…"
It stopped before Asher.
"And tainted by the mark of the Void."
It bowed its head slightly—
in respect… or assessment—
impossible to tell.
"The power waking within you…
defies our decrees."
Asher clenched his jaw.
"I don't need anyone's decree."
The Herald smiled —
if that twisted curve could be called a smile.
"Then you…
will bear both burdens?"
At his words, the room suddenly went pitch black —
only the glow of Asher's eyes remained.
The Herald stepped closer.
"For if you fail to control both…
you will become the next Void Breach."
Asher's throat tightened.
A Void Breach —
a tear where worlds collapse.
"And then,"
the Herald whispered,
"we will not come to destroy you…
we will come to make you one of us."
---