The exit of the Ember Gate yawned before Kael and Sirena, leading them into a narrow gorge of black stone and flickering orange light. Kael's steps were heavier now, not from fatigue but from weight the kind that came with power newly awakened. Vel'tarion pulsed on his back, alive with flame and memory.
Sirena glanced at him. "The sword changed you."
He nodded. "It remembers more than I do. It speaks in fragments… names, places, ruins. All of it… old."
"The Hollow Flame?" she asked, slowing her pace. "The masked smith mentioned it."
Kael paused, resting his hand on a smoldering rock wall. "The Hollow Flame… is not a place. It's a creed. A legacy of wielders who bore Vel'tarion before it shattered. They were guardians chosen by fire."
"And now you're the last."
Lightning cracked far above the gorge. The wind picked up, and somewhere in the distance, drums echoed.
They weren't alone.
Kael raised a hand. "Hear that?"
Sirena nodded, drawing her blade. "Bandits?"
"No. They march in rhythm. Discipline. Soldiers."
Kael stepped ahead and climbed the ridge. From the height, he saw them: a warband of nearly two hundred, draped in the red-and-black sigils of the Dreadflame Order. Their armor shimmered with obsidian scale. At the center, riding a skeletal drake, sat a woman with crimson tattoos along her scalp and a whip made of bone and fire.
"The Flamehunters," Kael whispered.
Sirena's breath caught. "They're hunting relic bearers. They think the sword is theirs."
Kael's grip tightened around Vel'tarion. "They'll try."
The drake roared, and the warband halted. The woman's voice, cold and clear, rang out over the canyon:
"Prince Kael of Velmora! I am Commander Nyra of the Dreadflame Order. You hold what does not belong to you. Surrender the blade, and we will grant you a swift death."
Kael drew Vel'tarion. The blade blazed to life, flames spiraling along its edge.
"Come take it."
Nyra's eyes narrowed. "Then burn."
She raised her hand.
The sky darkened. Flaming arrows lit the air. Kael turned to Sirena.
"Run?" she asked, smirking.
Kael smiled. "No."
They leapt from the ridge into battle.
---
The gorge became a crucible. Arrows struck stone and flame. Kael moved like wind through fire, Vel'tarion carving arcs of burning fury. Sirena danced at his side, every slash precise, her curved blade cleaving through armor like parchment.
But the Flamehunters were relentless.
A blast of dark fire struck Kael in the chest. He tumbled back, coughing blood. Nyra dismounted, her whip unfurling.
"You are not the Flamebound," she hissed. "You're a mistake."
Kael forced himself to stand. The runes on his arms ignited, golden light clashing with Nyra's crimson fire.
Their duel began.
She struck first. Her whip wrapped around his blade, dragging him forward. He twisted, using the momentum to slam his elbow into her ribs. She staggered.
But only for a moment.
They fought across shattered stone, fire colliding with fire. Kael pushed himself beyond exhaustion. His mark burned, glowing with the echo of something ancient.
Then Vel'tarion sang.
A high, humming sound clear and pure. Time slowed.
Kael saw her next strike before it came. He sidestepped, reversed his grip, and plunged the blade through her chest.
Nyra gasped. Her whip dropped.
Flames consumed her body as she fell.
The remaining Flamehunters, leaderless, broke ranks and fled into the storm.
Kael collapsed to one knee, his breath ragged.
Sirena pulled him up. "You did it."
Kael stared after the flames.
"No," he said softly. "This was only the first."
Above them, the skies cleared revealing stars that hadn't been seen in years.
And somewhere, deep within Kael's soul, the Hollow Flame stirred.