The whisper rolled through the clearing like a cold wind, brushing against Evan's skin with the chill of a grave. Lyriana moved instantly—positioning herself in front of him, bow raised, muscles coiled. Seren stepped to Evan's other side, palms glowing with woven sigils.
Evan's breathing came fast and uneven as Bloomfire flared inside him, uncontrolled—too hot, too bright. His Concept pulsed in time with the seal-stone, each echo sending a throb of heat through his ribs.
"Evan." Lyriana grabbed his face gently, forcing his eyes to hers. "Breathe. Stay with me."
The world warped. The trees blurred into streaks of color. He heard the Warden's voice—layered and hollow—curling through his mind.
"Ignition… the spark that awakens the forest's death…"
"NO." Evan tried to shout but barely managed a rasp. "Get… out."
Lyriana pressed her forehead to his—a grounding contact. Her breath warm against his lips.
"Evan, look at me," she whispered, fierce and desperate. "Not the shadows. Me."
Her voice cut through the haze like light slicing dark water.
The heat inside Evan steadied for a heartbeat.
Seren placed a hand on his back—cool, stabilizing magic flowing from her palm. "Your Concept is resonating with the seal-stone. It's drawing power from you. You need to break the connection before it consumes your focus entirely."
"How?" Evan gasped.
Lyriana's fingers tightened around his. "Let me anchor you."
He clung to her hand like a lifeline.
The whisper came again, stronger, unmistakably closer.
"…Ignition belongs to us…"
The forest dimmed.Shadows elongated.Wind died.
Seren's eyes snapped wide. "It's not just whispering. It's manifesting."
A figure began forming at the edge of the clearing—tall, thin, twisted, composed of interwoven roots and bleached bark. Not fully physical. Not fully spectral.
Its head turned toward them, hollow sockets dripping faint motes of silver ash.
The Pale Warden.
Lyriana stepped forward, bow drawn taut. "Stay behind me—both of you."
Seren's face hardened. "We cannot fight it directly. Not in this form."
Evan fought to stand, leaning on Lyriana. "Then what—what do we do?"
Seren pointed at the obelisk. "Break the seal-stone's influence. Sever its link to you, and the Warden loses its anchor."
Lyriana grabbed his arm. "Tell us what to do. Quickly."
Seren circled the obelisk, studying the cracks. "There are four sigils, each tied to the corruption lines. We need to purge them in sync."
"'We'?" Evan echoed.
"Yes, we," Seren said sharply. "Unless you want him to die."
Lyriana glared. "Say it more gently."
Seren blinked. "…unless you want him to die swiftly, perhaps painfully."
"Seren!"
"What? I softened it."
The Pale Warden took a step forward.
The ground froze beneath its feet.
No more time.
"Tell us the plan," Evan gasped.
Seren spoke quickly. "Lyriana sever the physical corruption lines around the sigils. Evan, use Bloomfire to purify the breaks. I will hold back the mental influence."
Lyriana was already in motion—spinning, slicing tendrils of shadow with quick, decisive cuts. The corruption reacted violently, snapping toward her, but she moved too fast, too precise.
Evan stumbled to the first break and thrust out his hand. Bloomfire flared—wild, uncontrolled—but Lyriana caught his wrist.
"Focus," she whispered. "Through me."
Her touch calmed him again. Bloomfire poured smoothly into the corrupted sigil, peeling shadow away like burning frost.
The sigil shrieked and died.
The Pale Warden shuddered, its form flickering.
"Good!" Seren called. "Again!"
They moved to the next sigil. Lyriana cut through the anchoring tendrils with a cry, then nodded for Evan to purge it.
But before he could—
The Warden's voice filled the clearing.
"The forest will take what is owed…"
Shadows surged toward Evan.
Lyriana jumped in front of him—blades crossed, intercepting the attack. The impact sent her sliding backward, boots digging into the soil. Evan caught her before she fell completely.
Her face was close—too close—breathing quick and hot. "You okay?"
"I should be asking you."
Her fingers curled in the front of his shirt, as if she needed to feel he was real. Alive. Here.
Seren cleared her throat loudly. "Focus. Romance later. Survival now."
Lyriana almost growled.
Evan stifled a half laugh and stepped forward again, channeling Bloomfire into the second sigil. The corruption peeled away, screaming and twisting.
The Warden staggered, its form glitching like a dying hologram.
Two sigils left.
Seren suddenly gasped, clutching her head. "It's stronger—it's pushing into my mind—"
Shadow tendrils wrapped around her ankles, creeping up her legs.
"Seren!" Evan rushed toward her.
"No!" Lyriana pulled him back. "She is the only thing stopping the Warden from overwhelming you. If you break her focus—"
Seren's voice was strained, shaking. "I can hold—just finish the seals—hurry—!"
Lyriana leapt to the third sigil, slicing the corrupting roots in a fluid arc. "Evan—NOW!"
He stumbled forward, thrusting Bloomfire into the exposed mark.
Light exploded from his hand—hot, fierce, wild—and for a moment the clearing shone like daylight. The Warden roared, staggering on twisted limbs, half its body shredding into white ash.
Seren collapsed to one knee. "Last one—before it fully reforms—GO!"
The final sigil pulsed violently, glowing with crackling violet energy. The corruption around it was thicker, denser, pulsating like a heartbeat.
Lyriana darted forward—
—but the Warden moved too.
It lunged.
Straight at Evan.
Lyriana screamed his name.
Evan raised his arms—Bloomfire roaring to life—
but the impact threw him across the clearing.
He crashed into a root-wall, pain ripping through his ribs.
The world swam.
The Warden loomed over him, skeletal fingers stretching toward his chest.
Toward his Emberheart.
Lyriana didn't hesitate.
She sprinted, tackled the Warden's arm, and slashed at its elbow joint. Bark and bone shattered.
The Warden shrieked.
Lyriana planted herself between Evan and the monster.
"You will not have him."
Her voice was a snarl. A promise sworn in blood.
Seren, panting, forced herself upright. "I'll bind it for a moment—Evan, the sigil!"
Evan staggered to his feet, pain blazing through his ribs. "Lyriana—buy me three seconds!"
She didn't answer, only spun into the Warden with a fury Evan had never seen—each strike fueled by fear, love, desperation.
Seren conjured chains of blue runes, anchoring the Warden's limbs momentarily.
Evan reached the last sigil.
Placed his hand on it.
Bloomfire roared.
Light erupted.
The seal-stone cracked fully, a shockwave blasting across the clearing as the corruption screamed and dissolved.
The Pale Warden's form ripped apart in a burst of white ash and vanished into the treetops with a sound like crumbling bone.
Silence fell.
Lyriana collapsed to her knees, breathing hard. Seren fell backward, exhausted. Evan stood shaking, Bloomfire fading from his hands.
Lyriana pushed herself upright and rushed to him, catching his face between her palms.
"Evan—are you hurt? Are you—"
He didn't let her finish.
He pulled her into his arms.
She sank against him instantly, fingers clutching the back of his tunic, her breath trembling into his neck.
"You scared me," she whispered, voice breaking. "You scared me so much."
He held her tighter. "I'm okay. I'm here. I'm not going anywhere."
She leaned back just enough to meet his eyes.
Her lips parted—soft, shaken, longing.
He brushed his thumb along her cheek.
Seren looked away politely… but not without a quiet sigh.
Lyriana leaned in, resting her forehead against his once more. "I cannot lose you."
"You won't."
She breathed in deeply—relief and affection mingled—then slowly stepped back, though her hand remained loosely entwined with his.
Seren finally stood, dusting off her robes. "The seal is broken. But that was not the Warden's full form. Only an echo."
Lyriana stiffened. "Then where is its true body?"
Seren's eyes darkened, turning toward the deeper forest.
"Awakening."
Evan shivered, not from cold.
And the Soulpetal in his satchel pulsed once—slow, warning.
Whatever lay ahead…
They had only just begun.