The path to Hana's former resting place was long-forgotten, hidden beneath tangled roots and time.
They called it Ashfall Ridge—a cliffside temple reduced to ruins after the ancient pact's collapse. Few dared approach it, for the fire that once protected it now whispered curses in the wind.
Hana stood at the base, heart pounding as her pendant throbbed faintly in rhythm with each step she took.
Taemin was quiet beside her, his hand brushing hers now and then, as if grounding them both.
"You sure about this?" he asked, voice low.
"No," she admitted, "but I have to be."
The Shaman remained behind, saying the echoes here would only respond to bonded spirits. Hana and Taemin were all that could pass through the seal.
The air changed the moment they crossed into the ridge.
Ash drifted through the air like snow, and flame-shaped flowers bloomed among crumbled stones. Every ruin burned with a soft, golden glow—like ghosts that refused to leave.
"This is where you made the pact," Taemin murmured. "Where we both… fell."
They reached the heart of the ruin: a cracked altar still glowing faintly with foxfire.
As Hana touched it, the world spun.
Her vision fractured—and the past crashed into her.
---
FLASHBACK
Aran knelt at the altar, hair singed, tears in her eyes.
Taemin—bloodied, fading, but alive—was cradled in her arms.
Flames devoured the forest behind them. Enemy fox spirits surrounded the ridge. The Crimson Fang laughed somewhere unseen.
Aran whispered:
> "By my flame, I seal this bond. Let our hearts burn together. Let death be the echo of our vow, not its end."
She poured her life into him.
Flame. Light. Pain.
And then—darkness.
---
PRESENT
Hana collapsed, gasping.
Taemin caught her, wide-eyed. "You saw it?"
"I… was her," Hana said, breath trembling. "I died saving you."
She looked into his eyes, suddenly overwhelmed. "Why didn't I remember until now?"
"Because," he whispered, "you weren't ready to bear it. But now… you are."
The pendant flared between them. And the altar responded.
A hidden glyph—once long sealed—lit up beneath their feet. A portal opened, shaped like a fox's eye, golden and ancient.
Taemin stared.
"That's… a path to the Spirit Plane."
The Shaman's voice echoed faintly from afar, though she wasn't there.
> "The pact has rekindled. The path is open once more. But be warned—where fire can heal… it can also summon what was meant to stay buried."
And in the distance, on the ridge's edge, a shadow watched them.
Eyes glowing red.
A mask shaped like a broken fang.
The Crimson Fang had seen enough.
---