Night fell heavy and red.The valley glowed faintly, lit by the fire that lived inside the stone.
Kael sat cross-legged in front of the monolith, his hands pressed gently against its cool surface. The air around it shimmered, carrying a strange hum that felt almost like breathing.
Lira stood nearby, her eyes filled with worry. "Are you sure it's safe to touch?"
Kael nodded slowly. "It's calling to me. It doesn't want to harm… it wants to remember."
The leader of the Children, Seren, stood a few steps behind them. "We've tried to speak with it before. It only ever hums. Never answers."
Kael's voice was calm. "Maybe it's waiting for the right voice."
He closed his eyes. His heartbeat slowed until it matched the pulse of the stone—steady, deep, endless.
A soft whisper filled the air.At first, it was like the sound of wind moving through hollow wood. Then it grew clearer.
"Flamebearer…"
Lira gasped. Seren stepped back, bow in hand.
The stone's glow deepened. The hum became a soft voice, gentle but full of age, like the sigh of an old tree.
"You carry what we once protected. You carry what we failed to keep pure."
Kael's eyes opened, golden light shining in them. "Who are you?"
"We are echoes," said the voice. "The last memories of the First Flamekeepers. Bound to stone when the world began to burn."
Kael's breath caught. "Then you knew the giant beneath Vareth."
"Yes," the voice said. "He was our guardian, the first among us. When men began to twist the flame for war, he sealed himself beneath the ash. We sealed our voices in stone, waiting for the one who could hear again."
The stone flickered softly, and images began to form—light and smoke swirling into shapes.
Kael saw cities of gold and crystal, where people carried small flames in their palms, lighting the skies. He saw healers curing the sick, and builders shaping mountains with warmth instead of iron.
Then the light darkened. The same hands began to burn. Towers fell. Rivers turned red.
"The flame was never evil," whispered the stone. "But hearts became greedy. They wanted more warmth than the world could hold."
Kael's throat tightened. "And now it's happening again."
"Yes," said the voice, sorrowful. "Every age repeats what it forgets."
Lira stepped closer, her eyes full of awe. "Can it show us how to stop it?"
The stone's glow dimmed for a moment, then flared.
"There is no stopping, only balancing. You carry both the fire and its shadow. Together, they can remake what was broken… or end all light."
Kael frowned. "End all light?"
The voice trembled. "When chaos devours its reflection, the world becomes silent again. No flame. No shadow. Only sleep."
Seren looked alarmed. "You mean everything dies?"
"No," said the whisper. "Everything sleeps. Until another bearer wakes."
Kael closed his eyes. "Then maybe that's what the Eye wants—to return everything to silence."
The stone pulsed once more. "Beware its song. It calls not with rage, but with comfort. It offers peace without struggle, rest without memory. That is its trap."
The light flickered again, softer now, like the stone was tired.
Kael pressed his hand deeper against it. "If the Eye is awakening… can I face it without losing myself again?"
The voice hesitated.
"You cannot destroy what you do not accept. The Eye is not your opposite—it is your mirror. When you look into it, you will see what kind of fire you've truly become."
Kael's heart pounded. "And if I fail?"
"Then you will burn the sky itself."
The stone went dark. The air fell silent.
Lira rushed to his side. "Kael! Are you all right?"
He nodded slowly. "It showed me… everything. The first Flamekeepers. The fall. The truth about the Eye."
Seren knelt by the stone, touching its surface gently. "It's never spoken before. Only to you."
Kael looked down at his hands. They were faintly glowing again—not wild, but steady. "Maybe because it knows what's coming."
That night, Kael couldn't sleep. He sat outside, staring at the valley's quiet glow.
Lira joined him, wrapping her cloak tighter. "You're thinking too much again."
He smiled faintly. "It's hard not to. Every time I think I understand this fire, it changes shape."
She looked at him, her voice soft. "Maybe that's what life is. Change."
He nodded. "But change always costs something."
Lira reached out, placing her hand on his. "Then we'll pay the price together."
He looked at her, warmth flickering in his eyes. "You really think the two of us can carry something that once burned the world?"
She smiled. "I think the world has burned enough. Maybe it's time someone learned to listen to the fire instead."
The night wind whispered through the valley, carrying faint echoes from the stone.
Kael turned toward the sound.
"Balance is not found in silence," the whisper said faintly. "It is found in the courage to keep walking through the fire."
He stood, looking toward the dark horizon."Then I'll walk," he said softly. "Until the fire learns my name."