Chapter 6 – The Silent Temple
The mountain night was cold, the kind of silence that made every step echo like thunder. Iroh led Ashura, Shoto, and Temari down a narrow path lit only by lanterns. No words were spoken; even Ashura, usually quick with a joke, felt the tension pressing on his chest.
They descended into a cavern hidden beneath the mountainside. At the end of the path stood an ancient wooden gate, cracked but still standing. Strange carvings ran across it — unfamiliar symbols that pulsed faintly as Ashura approached.
Ashura (uneasy): "…Why does this feel like it's waiting for me?"
Iroh didn't answer. He slid the gate open with both hands. Inside, the chamber was vast, lit by torches that flickered to life the moment Ashura stepped in.
At the center stood a massive statue — a warrior cloaked in robes, hand outstretched, the same diamond-shaped mark carved into its palm. Dust covered everything, yet the statue's gaze felt alive, piercing.
Shoto clung to Ashura's sleeve.
Shoto (whispering): "Big brother… it looks like you."
Ashura swallowed hard. The resemblance wasn't perfect, but something in the statue's posture — the eyes, the aura — mirrored his own.
Iroh finally spoke, his voice low and heavy.
Iroh: "This temple honors the last wielder. The one who carried the artifact before it vanished from the world."
Ashura stared at the statue, feeling the faint pulse in his palm quicken. His body reacted before his mind could.
Ashura: "…And now it's inside me."
Temari's eyes widened as the seal on Ashura's hand faintly glowed, resonating with the statue. For an instant, the chamber filled with whispers — fragments of voices, overlapping, impossible to understand.
Ashura flinched.
Ashura: "What was that?!"
Iroh's gaze sharpened.
Iroh: "Echoes. Memories of those who bore the seal before you."
The nurse's words from earlier clawed at Ashura's mind: A curse. A vessel. Power to save, or to destroy.
But before he could press Iroh for more answers, the old man turned his back, hiding the storm in his eyes.
Iroh (to himself): "Not yet. He's not ready to know the rest."
The torches dimmed, and the statue loomed above them, silent and eternal.
For Ashura, the questions only grew heavier. For Ir
oh, the weight of secrets had just begun.