Kairos clutched his head, the world tilting as Ignis's whispers clawed at the edges of his mind. The flames on his fingertips sputtered out, leaving scorched marks on the crater floor. The bond—it wasn't just power; it was a invasion, a symphony of foreign memories flooding his thoughts. He saw glimpses: vast cosmic battles, stars fracturing like glass, and a phoenix soaring through voids, eternal and alone.
*Calm yourself, Voidling, *Ignis's voice resonated, no longer a thunder but a crackling ember in his skull. *The forge is fresh. Your soul resists, but it will adapt... or shatter.*
"Shatter?" Kairos gasped, pushing himself up on trembling arms. The crater's ruins stretched around him—crumbled pillars etched with faded runes, glowing fissures venting ethereal steam. The air hummed with residual energy from the shattered orb, and the defeated beasts' remnants dissolved into dust, their essences scattering like fireflies.
Above, the smoke from Riftedge billowed into the night sky, a funeral pyre for the only home he'd known. Survivors? He had to check. But the deeper roar echoed again, closer now, vibrating through the stone. Something massive stirred in the shadows beyond the ruins—a presence that made the hairs on his neck stand on end.
Ignis materialized fully beside him, no longer spectral but tangible: a phoenix the size of a large eagle, feathers shimmering with inner fire. Its eyes locked on Kairos, intelligent and appraising. *We are bound now, human. Soulforged. I am Ignis, fragment of the Eternal Flame. You... you are the key I did not seek.*
Kairos stared back, his storm-gray eyes reflecting the beast's glow. "I didn't ask for this. What are you? Why me?"
Ignis tilted its head, wings rustling like burning parchment. *The stars fell long ago, splintering gods into beasts like me. We wander, seeking wholeness. Your blood—the Voidheart—it's a relic of that cataclysm, a void that draws us in. It forged the pact without ritual or artifact. Rare. Dangerous.*
"Dangerous how?" Kairos pressed, wincing as a sharp pain lanced through his chest. The echoes—Ignis's rage—stirred again, urging him to burn, to consume. He clenched his fists, forcing it down.
*Each bond echoes the beast's essence into you,* Ignis explained, its telepathic tone laced with ancient weariness. *Mine is fire: passion, destruction, rebirth. Over time, it changes you. Too many echoes, and you fracture—become a monster, lost to madness. But wield it well, and we become more than mortal.*
Kairos nodded slowly, the weight settling on him. No turning back. "The village... I need to get up there." He started toward a winding path up the crater wall, but Ignis blocked him with a flare of wings.
*Wait. The Awakener approaches. It senses our forge.*
Before Kairos could question, the ground erupted. From a massive fissure, a colossal beast hauled itself into view: a Crater Behemoth, an amalgamation of stone and shadow, easily the size of a house. Its body was a hulking mass of jagged rock fused with writhing tendrils of darkness, eyes glowing like molten slag. This wasn't a fragment like Ignis—it was a guardian, born from the crater's depths to protect the ancient relics.
The Behemoth bellowed, a sound that shook loose boulders from the walls. It charged, tendrils lashing out like whips, cracking the air.
Kairos dove aside, rolling behind a ruined pillar. "What is that thing?"
*An unbound sentinel,* Ignis replied, taking flight. *It guards the cores. Our bond disturbed it. Fight or flee—your choice, partner.*
Partner. The word hung in Kairos's mind as adrenaline surged. Flames ignited in his palms again, instinctive. He wasn't a fighter by trade, but the bond amplified his reflexes, turning survival instincts into lethal grace. As the Behemoth's tendril smashed the pillar, Kairos leaped forward, hurling a fireball that exploded against its rocky hide. Chips flew, but the beast barely flinched.
*Aim for the eyes!* Ignis screeched, diving in with talons extended. Flames trailed its path, igniting the shadows. The Behemoth swatted at it, missing by inches.
Kairos circled, dodging debris. His mind raced—strategy over brute force. The bond let him sense Ignis's movements, a shared awareness like an extension of his body. "Distract it!" he shouted.
Ignis obeyed, weaving through the air in a blaze of fire, drawing the Behemoth's attention. Kairos sprinted toward a glowing fissure nearby, an idea forming. He plunged his hand into the steam, channeling the bond. Heat built within him, pulling from the crater's ambient energy. With a yell, he unleashed a torrent of flames into the fissure, superheating it.
The ground rumbled as the fissure exploded outward, a geyser of molten rock spraying the Behemoth's underbelly. It roared in pain, cracks forming in its stone armor. Ignis seized the moment, perching on its back and pecking at the fissures with fiery precision, widening them.
The beast bucked wildly, tendrils flailing. One caught Kairos across the chest, sending him flying into a wall. Pain bloomed, ribs cracking, but the echoes surged—Ignis's rage fueling him. He rose, eyes flickering with orange light, and charged back in. "Together!"
In sync, they struck: Kairos blasting flames at the cracks while Ignis dove into them, expanding the inferno from within. The Behemoth shuddered, its core—a pulsing shadow heart—exposed. With a final, combined assault, they shattered it. The beast collapsed in a heap of crumbling stone, its essence dissipating into wisps that Ignis absorbed hungrily.
*Victory,* Ignis purred, landing on Kairos's shoulder. *But the echoes grow. Control them, or they control you.*
Kairos panted, the pain fading as the bond mended his wounds—another perk, it seemed. But the rage lingered, a tempting whisper to crush more foes. He shook it off, focusing on the path upward. "Let's check the village."
The climb was arduous, the crater wall slick with dust and debris. Ignis scouted ahead, its flames lighting the way. As they neared the rim, the devastation hit Kairos like a gut punch. Riftedge was gone—huts reduced to smoldering ruins, bodies strewn amid the wreckage. The horde had been thorough.
"No..." Kairos whispered, dropping to his knees beside Elder Mira's form. Her eyes stared blankly at the stars, her net still clutched in rigid fingers. Grief twisted in his chest, mixing with the echoes into a volatile brew. Flames sparked unbidden around him.
*Hold,* Ignis warned. *Mourn later. Scents of survivors—faint, but there.*
Kairos's head snapped up. "Where?"
Ignis pointed with a wing toward the eastern trail leading away from the crater. *They fled toward the guild outpost. But hunters approach—Echo Hunters, drawn by your awakening.*
As if summoned, figures emerged from the treeline: three cloaked warriors, bearing sigils of crossed blades over a void symbol. Anti-tamers, fanatics who viewed beast bonds as abominations. Their leader, a scarred woman with a glowing anti-essence staff, sneered. "The Voidheart stirs. We felt the forge. Surrender the beast, boy, or join your kin in ash."
Kairos stood, Ignis flaring brighter on his shoulder. The echoes roared within—burn them, consume. But he tempered it, remembering Mira's words: survival first. "You did this? The horde?"
The woman laughed. "We stirred the nest. Loose ends like you don't deserve the power." She raised her staff, energy crackling.
Battle loomed again, but Kairos felt the bond's potential—untapped depths. Could he win? Or would the echoes overwhelm him?
As the hunters advanced, a new whisper echoed in his mind—not Ignis's, but something deeper, from his bloodline. *Awaken more...*