Kael spent three days recovering in the inner sanctum of Ashvale.
His dreams were smoke and fire—visions of giants made of magma, of cities buried in ash, and of a voice calling him from the heart of a dying sun.
When he awoke, the mark across his chest pulsed like a heartbeat.
And the System whispered to him in a new voice—not synthetic. Not mechanical.
But alive.
> You are Kindled. The fire remembers you.
The monks avoided him now. They bowed when he passed, never meeting his eyes. Only Archivist Meira continued to speak freely.
And what she said chilled him more than the mask ever had.
"There are others like you," she said on the fourth morning, laying ancient scrolls on a table. "Not many. Not anymore."
Kael studied the faded names burned into the parchment—Veldran the Ash Prophet, Seraphine Flameborn, The Emberless King. Each one marked with a red seal: DEAD.
"All of them were chosen," Meira said. "All of them bore the ember. But none survived long enough to master it."
Kael clenched his fists. "Why tell me this?"
"Because you must understand the truth," she said. "Your flame is not power. It is a promise. And it will test you again… and again… until you are either worthy or gone."
She handed him a scroll sealed with wax and flame.
"The Order of Ember—what remains of it—exists in exile. Hidden in the Ashen Wastes, beyond the southern rim. If you wish to master your path, you must seek them out."
Kael broke the seal.
Inside was a map. Marked with a symbol he now knew too well: a burning crown.
> New Quest Acquired: [The Ember Pact]
Objective: Journey to the Ashen Wastes and seek the Order of Ember.
Difficulty: Extreme
Rewards: ???
Risk: Very High
> System Alert:
Warning – From this point forward, your path is marked.
Flamebound foes will sense your presence. Divine entities may interfere.
> Do you accept the Ember Pact? [YES] / [NO]
Kael stared at the prompt.
Then he looked out the window, toward the far horizon—where distant smoke curled on the edge of the world.
> YES.
That night, before he left Ashvale, Kael stood before the monastery's inner flame—an eternal brazier lit by the first Ember Pact centuries ago.
He took a dagger, etched with runes, and cut across his palm.
Blood met fire.
> You have sworn the Ember Pact.
Flameborn Status: Active.
You are now tracked by the Burnt-Eyed Ones.
The flame flared, then dimmed.
And far away, in a fortress carved from blackened bone and obsidian, something ancient turned its head.
A voice rasped:
> "Another spark rises. Snuff it out."
Kael left Ashvale under a blood moon, traveling south with nothing but a blade, a fading map, and fire in his chest.
He wasn't sure what waited in the Ashen Wastes.
But he knew one thing now:
He wasn't just trying to survive anymore.
He was going to burn a path through the world.
And this time, it would remember his name.