🔥 Chapter 4 — Duel on the Ridge
The ridge trembled under the weight of the Harrowed Knight's presence. Kael could feel it before he saw it—an oppressive aura of shadow and heat, radiating from the massive figure towering above the Iron Sentinels. Every step it took left scorch marks and cracks in the stone.
Rhyne tightened his grip on his silver sigil blade. "Kael, stay behind me. This is no ordinary duel."
Kael's Ember burned along his arm, bright blue and hot, almost alive in his veins. "I'm not staying behind," he said, voice firm. "If I wait, the valley will be overrun."
The Knight's molten eyes fixed on him. "Bearer of the Ember… you are mine," it boomed, voice echoing like rolling thunder.
Kael stepped forward, fire spiraling from his fists. The Knight lifted its colossal blade, shadow flames licking the edge. With a roar, it charged.
Kael met the strike head-on, Ember clashing with shadow in a burst of light and sound that threw him backward. The ridge cracked beneath him, debris flying. Rhyne intercepted the next swing, silver sigils flaring as he deflected it, sparks raining around them.
Kael rose, letting the Ember flow through him rather than forcing it. Flames wrapped around his blade, extending its reach in arcs of blue fire. He struck, cutting through the Knight's shadowed armor—but the Knight barely staggered.
It countered with a sweeping strike, and Kael was sent tumbling down the ridge, skidding over rocks and loose gravel. Pain flared along his side, but the Ember surged again, as if urging him to rise.
"I… won't let it win!" Kael shouted, jumping to his feet. Flames arced around him, forming a protective halo. The Knight's attack met the barrier, sparks exploding in every direction.
Rhyne's voice cut through the chaos: "Kael! Channel the Ember fully! Bind it to your strike, or you'll be consumed!"
Kael clenched his fists, feeling the Ember surge like a living storm. He pushed all his focus, and the fire obeyed—streaming from him in a concentrated spear of light. The Harrowed Knight's eyes widened as the Ember pierced through its armor, sending it staggering backward.
For a moment, silence fell. The ridge trembled, the Iron Sentinels paused, and Kael realized: he had struck the Knight. But it was not defeated.
The Knight's voice echoed, deeper and colder than before: "This battle has only begun, Bearer… and I will not be denied."