Location: Furnace Temple – Inner Flame Basin
Time until Vaelrick's arrival: Five Days
The walls of the Inner Flame Basin pulsed like a heart. Runes inlaid with molten silver writhed in slow rhythm around the chamber's edge, humming with ancient power. In the center, a wide platform floated over a lake of glowing magma—its surface serene but deceptively volatile.
Here, the First Ember Trial would begin.
And at its center stood Lysa Emeris, eyes closed, fists clenched, the wind of awakening ruffling her hair.
Brent stood at the threshold, watching her with pride—yet unease.
"Rae," he said, glancing at the silver-haired girl beside him, "keep her safe."
Rae nodded, slipping past the barrier with ease. The Soul Bond between her and Brent pulsed in acknowledgment, but now it twisted, connecting faintly to Lysa as well.
A shared fate was forming.
The Trial BeginsTrial of the Emberchild Initiated
Objective: Ignite the Heartflame Corewithout losing control.
Companion Support Approved: Rae Ellanor
Environmental Modifier: Core Heat Intensity – 72%
Emotional Link Vulnerability – HIGH
As the platform lifted, the lava surged. Geysers of silver fire erupted in slow spirals, and the heat—gods, the heat—pressed into Lysa's lungs. Her old illness, the tar-coated breath of black lung, reared its head, coughing up phantom pain from years past.
But she stood firm.
And Rae stood beside her, her hand sliding into Lysa's.
"You don't fight this alone," Rae said softly.
Lysa blinked. "I'm… I'm scared."
"I know. That's why I'm here."
The Emotional FlameUnlike Brent's trials of steel and endurance, Lysa's was one of emotion, of scars still bleeding beneath her skin.
Visions flashed in the fire:
Her mother crying as she coughed blood in the night.
Her father selling tools to buy medicine that never worked.
The look in Brent's eyes when he thought she wouldn't make it.
She trembled, knees buckling.
But Rae caught her.
"I don't want to be a burden," Lysa whispered.
"You never were," Rae said. Her own voice cracked, shadows of her past bleeding into her words. "You're not the only one who's been broken."
Flames rose around them—dancing, listening.
Together, they reached toward the Heartflame Core—a crystal sphere of pure fire hovering above the lake.
As Lysa touched it, her Core ignited like a thousand heartbeats.
Trial Complete: Lysa Emeris – Flamekeeper of the Dawnline Recognized
Trait Unlocked: Heartfire Warden – Immunity to corruption flames and tarblight
Shared Bond Created: Rae & Lysa – Emberchain
Bonus Skill (Duo Only): Pulse Flare Shield– Reactive barrier that reflects magic if trust levels are high
Meanwhile – The TrapOutside the Temple, hidden in the mountains beyond the caldera, Brent and his father knelt beside a narrow cliff pass, placing carved crystal sigils into the rocks.
"You're doing this for her," his father said, tightening a runic anchor. "For all of us. And for everyone they silenced."
Brent nodded.
The trap was complex: a glyph snare interlaced with Twilight Flame distortions and powered by the Echo of Her—a trace left from Brent's last confrontation with the Gate.
Their plan: to lure Vaelrick and Kalen through the mountain pass, where the natural ley-lines would amplify Brent's flame… and turn the whole ravine into a burning crucible.
System Update: Trap Progress – 78%
Target: Vaelrick the Undying
Subtarget: Reborn Host – Kalen
Estimated Conflict Level: Cataclysmic
Passive Alert: Presence of Gate-linked Corruption approaching from the South. Recommend Completion of Defensive Measures within 48 hours.
End Scene: Reunion by Fire
As Lysa and Rae emerged from the Temple—hand in hand, fire trailing their feet—Brent stood to greet them, sweat on his brow from a long day of trap-crafting.
Lysa's eyes now glowed with a steady ember-gold. Rae's presence had become sharper, more grounded—her bond with both siblings strengthening like braided flame.
"We're ready," Rae said, her gaze locked on Brent's.
He smiled.
Then turned toward the south, where the wind carried the faint scent of burned roses and iron.
"They're coming."