Wanderers on a Burning Path
The road away from the academy was long and cracked—ash still clung to the sky from the Sever's last attack.
Christian and Kien traveled by spirit rail partway, then on foot through the Spinewood Mountains, following the map Garran gave them.
Each night they felt it: the tether between them pulsing stronger. Their emotions bled across the link—joy, anger, pain.
Kien nearly collapsed once when Christian remembered his father's death.
Christian stumbled another time, overwhelmed by Kien's first frozen kill.
They were becoming more than partners.
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An Unexpected Trial – The Mirror Hollow
Midway through the pass, they encountered a spirit field—an echo of ancient war where souls still screamed in silence.
There, the tether reacted violently, pulling them into a shared vision.
They stood in a mirrored world—each surrounded by a version of themselves twisted by fear.
Christian saw himself consumed by black flame, his eyes hollow and wild.
Kien saw herself alone—cold, untouchable, her heart encased in ice too thick for anyone to reach.
> "This is what we become," Christian whispered.
> "Unless we learn to control it," Kien said.
In a desperate act, they merged their spirits to break the illusion—and their bond surged in response.
Their flames didn't cancel out.
They began to harmonize.
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Arrival – The Sanctuary of Ash and Frost
At the edge of an ancient forest, hidden behind spirit wards and forgotten glyphs, they found it:
A blackened temple crowned with blue ice.
Waiting inside, wrapped in shadow and fire, was a woman with silver flames flickering in her hair.
> "So," she said, without turning.
> "The last bond has returned."
> "Let's see if it breaks you... or saves us all."
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Closing Scene – Elsewhere, In a Temple of Embers
The Scorch-Eater stirred, rising from the molten pit beneath the Flame Cult's sanctuary.
Its first words echoed through the chamber:
> "A soul-thread strong enough to bind the Flame?"
> "I will devour it."
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To Be Continued…