The morning arrived without peace.
The air was thick, heavy with the residue of last night's attack. Even the birds seemed quieter, as if the forest itself felt that danger had been too close for comfort. The Ember Circle had not stayed around, breaking down their camp quickly, and before dawn, they were already moving.
Kairo walked in the middle of the group, flanked by Sera and Jorran. His muscles ached from straining with his flame surge, but he said nothing. He could not be weak today.
They moved along an ancient path winding through stone arches and root-choked trails. Moss-covered statues watched from the trees, their faces worn smooth by centuries. This land had once belonged to the Awakened. Now, it whispered of ghosts.
After nearly an hour of silent travel, Virella raised a hand. The group halted.
"We're close," she said.
"Close to what?" Kairo asked.
She faced him. "To something we've guarded for decades. Something for the next Awakened."
Kairo swallowed. "Me?"
Sera smiled faintly. "You're more important than you know."
They proceeded until they reached a narrow path along the cliff that ended at a sheer face of rock. Vines clothed its front, knotted and thick. Jorran stepped ahead and pressed his palm against a barely visible symbol cut into the stone—a flame surrounded by a circle.
The rock groaned. Slowly, silently, the cliff yawned.
A narrow corridor opened up, cut into the hill. Dust clouded the entrance, and a strange warmth seeped out.
"This place has not been broken in years," Virella said. "Not since the last burst of prophecy."
Kairo peered into the darkness. "What is here?"
"A Vault of Ember," Tenn answered, stepping out of the shadows. "A hidden sanctuary of your people."
They stepped inside.
The walls were inscribed with glowing runes that flared up as they passed. The air became warmer, but not uncomfortably so. It was. familiar. Like the warmth of a childhood fire on a cold winter's night.
The tunnel opened into a large chamber shaped like a circle, its ceiling high and domed. A pedestal stood in the center, and atop it rested a smooth, dark crystal the size of Kairo's fist. Flame danced within it—trapped, alive, flickering like a heart behind glass.
Sera motioned to the pedestal. "Touch it."
Kairo hesitated. "What does it do?"
"It listens," she said. "And if you're ready, it speaks."
He stepped on, the rest of them rooted.
As his fingers made contact with the crystal, a rush of heat along his arm—it was not a pain, yet it was like nothing else could have been—the fire in him reacted, oscillating like a struck tuning fork against the skeletons of the earth.
His eyes flashed white.
He was not where he was in the Vault.
He stood in a large hall of flame and gold. Pillars towered upwards toward a starless sky, and at the distant end of the hall a solitary figure waited—muffled in robes of ash, face hidden behind a mask shaped like a flame.
The figure spoke, its voice like thunder in a canyon.
> "Kairo Vane. Blood of flame. Offspring of that which was shattered.
Your fire belongs to more than yourself.
You are the key.".
You are the warning.
And you are not alone who have awakened."
The vision shattered.
Kairo backed away, gasping harsh, the crystal fading from his fingers.
The Circle was silent.
"What did you see?" Sera asked, stepping forward.
He looked at them all—his voice shaking but resolute. "A message. A warning."
Virella's eyes narrowed. "From whom?"
"I don't know," he said. "But… it knew my name. And it said something else."
He paused.
"They're not hunting me. There are others."
---
The camp lay quiet that night. Tense.
The possibility that there were other Awakened out there—untouched, untrained, and possibly in harm's way—hung over them.
Jorran sharpened his sword on the fire. "If there are others awakening, the Order will be moving fast. Faster than us."
"Then we do not wait," Sera said. "We go find them before the Order does."
Virella sighed. "It won't be easy. These new Awakened might not even realize what they are. They could be anywhere."
Kairo glared into the flames. "Then we find them anyway."
Everyone turned to him.
He stood up. "That message in the Vault wasn't meant for me alone. It was a call. And if I'd been left to myself for much longer, I might not have survived. We must reach the others before the Order."
Virella searched him. "You're still learning your own ability. Giving orders will not be easy."
Kairo didn't flinch. "I don't want to give orders. I want to help.".
A moment passed. Then Tenn nodded. "He's right. If other people are waking up, they'll need someone who knows. Someone who's already made the first move."
Sera smiled, quiet pride in her eyes. "Then it's decided."
Jorran groaned. "I liked it better when we were only hiding in the woods."
---
Before they slept, Kairo sat by the fire, watching the flames dance.
Sera came over, plopping down on the log beside him.
"You were brave today," she told him.
"I was scared."
"Same thing," she said, bumping his arm. "But that crystal… it taught you something strong. It decided to speak to you."
Kairo turned to face her. "Why me?"
She pondered. "Perhaps because you're the first in a very long time who might do more than simply survive. Perhaps because your flame still burns without bitterness."
He did not respond.
But deep inside, that spark again flared—to life stronger than ever.
Not just a weapon.
A signal.
A beginning.