The cursed city did not welcome them. It warned them.
From the moment they crossed into the ruins of Vael'Ashen, a low hum thrummed beneath the earth, like the aftershock of some ancient scream. Wind carried voices. Not memories, not illusions—real voices, layered and endless, whispering from the bones of stone towers long collapsed.
Aria clutched the Emberheart. Its warmth was distant, strained. As though this place smothered fire itself.
Lior drew his blade, cautious. "I don't like this."
Kael glanced skyward. "No birds. No light."
Only ash. And echoes.
---
Forgotten Shadows
Vael'Ashen had once been a marvel. A citadel of scholars and dreamsmiths, built on the edge of the world. It fell in a single night. No survivors. No known enemy. Just silence.
Now its buildings leaned like broken teeth. Statues wore blindfolds. Rivers ran dry.
As they moved deeper into the city, Mira stumbled.
"There's something under the ground," she hissed. "Something watching."
Aria's eyes burned golden. "No. It's not watching. It's waiting."
---
The Echo Core
They found the Core by accident.
Not in a vault or fortress—but beneath a ruined amphitheater, hidden by illusion and buried by time. A staircase spiraled downward, carved from obsidian veined with violet light.
At the bottom stood a pedestal. And on it, the Core of Echo: a shard of crystal vibrating so fast it blurred.
Aria stepped forward.
A voice spoke. To take the Echo, you must surrender your silence.
"What does that mean?" Kael asked.
Lior gripped his blade. "A trial. Of course."
The shadows thickened. And then the past rose.
---
The Price of Memory
Around Aria, specters formed. Ghosts of her past life. The girl before the flame.
Her brother, dead by sickness she couldn't heal. Her mother, distant and broken. Her own voice begging for escape.
Then came her first rebirth—the fire, the rage, the burning palace.
"I know who I was," she whispered. "But I'm not her anymore."
The spirits swirled.
Then Kael's memory appeared.
His betrayal. His pain. The prison cell where he carved Aria's name into stone, over and over.
Lior's failure. Mira's buried guilt.
Their secrets filled the chamber.
"To hold the Echo," the voice said, "is to hear truth—even when it damns you."
Aria touched the Core.
It screamed.
---
Bond of Echo
The Core pulsed. Violet fire spilled from Aria's hands.
Power rippled through her, not like the Emberheart's fury—but as understanding. Connection. She heard not just thoughts—but memories hidden beneath them.
She heard Kael's heartbeat and the guilt beneath it.
She heard Lior's resolve—and Mira's trembling fear of becoming like her mother.
"I can't carry it all," Aria gasped.
"You were never meant to carry it alone," Kael said, stepping beside her.
They placed their hands on hers. The Core flared, then calmed.
And Vael'Ashen breathed again.
---
The Broken Choir
With the Core awakened, the ruins changed.
Ghostly figures walked ancient streets. Some wept. Some smiled. A city caught between life and death.
A figure emerged among them. A woman in silver, her face half-burned, eyes hollow.
"I am the last voice," she said. "Once, I sang the song that kept this city safe."
"What happened?" Aria asked.
"The song ended. The gods turned. And we forgot how to listen."
"Can it be restored?"
The woman looked at the Core. "If you remember—not just what was—but what must never be again."
---
Fractures Within
That night, the group argued.
Lior wanted to move on. "The next Core will be worse."
Mira disagreed. "We should stay. Learn more."
Kael was silent.
Aria watched them. For the first time, she saw not just their words, but their truth. How fractured they all were. How afraid.
She stood.
"We leave at dawn. But we carry this with us."
"What?" Lior asked.
"Everything."
---
Departure
At sunrise, the echoes faded. The dead returned to dust.
The woman in silver bowed. "Your journey will only grow darker. But your fire now carries a voice."
As they left, Aria turned back once.
She saw the city not as ruins—but whole. Just for a heartbeat.
Then it was gone.
Ahead lay frost. And a name burned into her mind:
Syltharion. The Core of Ice.