The Obsidian Wilds were nothing like the maps had promised.
Cold, endless, and filled with a hum that gnawed at the edges of sanity, the forest stretched like a cursed wound across the southern fringe of the Ember Wastes. Even the trees looked wrong—twisted black wood with crimson leaves that hissed when the wind blew through them.
Surya moved cautiously behind Kaelen, boots crunching on scorched ash and stone. Though it was daytime, the sky above was clouded with thick gray smoke. Shafts of pale light barely pierced through.
"Stay close," Kaelen murmured. "This place doesn't forgive mistakes."
Surya nodded. The Flame Shard pulsed faintly against his chest beneath his robes, its warmth a comfort in the eerie cold.
They trudged through the undergrowth until the land dipped into a shallow ravine. A small stream, dark and sluggish, cut through the forest floor.
Kaelen knelt beside it, dipping two fingers into the water. He brought it to his nose, sniffed, then wiped his fingers clean on his cloak.
"Still tainted. The corruption is spreading faster than I thought."
"What corrupted it?" Surya asked.
Kaelen gave him a sideways glance. "Once, this land teemed with balanced essence. Each element in harmony. But something poisoned it—an influence that twists the elemental frequencies themselves. Most say it began after the fall of the Aether Spire."
Surya frowned. "The Aether Spire?"
Kaelen nodded. "A conduit between realms. When it shattered, the veil between dimensions weakened. Strange things have crossed over since then."
They continued deeper into the Wilds.
Occasionally, Surya saw movement out of the corner of his eye—shapes flitting between trees. Shadows without owners. Once, a glimmering eye blinked from beneath a root before vanishing.
"What lives here?" Surya asked quietly.
"Things that should not," Kaelen said. "Creatures left behind when the balance broke. They're not alive in the way we understand. Elemental husks, driven by madness."
As the forest darkened, they reached a clearing marked by a circle of standing stones. Vines with glowing white buds snaked up the stone pillars.
"This is where we rest," Kaelen said. "We'll reach the ruins by nightfall tomorrow."
Surya sat cross-legged, exhaling. Despite the danger, a strange peace filled him.
"Kaelen," he asked, "the vision I had during the Initiation… that burning city… was it real?"
Kaelen's face tightened. "It may be a glimpse of the future. Or the past. Sometimes the Flame shows both. What else did you see?"
Surya hesitated. "A woman. Her face was hidden in the fire. She was screaming my name."
Kaelen grew still. "The Flame remembers everything, Surya. Even what we try to forget."
They fell into silence. The wind carried distant howls. Surya's thoughts returned to the vision. To the woman.
He didn't remember his mother. Not her face. Not her voice. Only a single image: fire, crackling around a small room… and her hand, reaching toward him before being consumed.
He shivered.
Later that night, as Kaelen dozed lightly, Surya sat awake. The stars above were faint and distant, blurred by the Wild's unnatural haze.
The Flame Shard flared softly, and a pulse echoed in his chest.
Without warning, he felt the air change.
Movement.
He stood quickly. A rustle to the left. A shape detached itself from the shadows—slender, humanoid, skin glimmering like obsidian glass.
Its eyes were hollow. Elemental energy flickered beneath its skin, like trapped lightning.
"Kaelen!" Surya shouted.
Kaelen sprang up, hand already alight with fire.
Three more figures emerged, surrounding them.
"Hollow Wraiths," Kaelen said. "Back to back!"
Surya ignited his Core. The spiral mark glowed as a tongue of fire coiled around his arm.
The nearest Wraith lunged. Surya dodged, instinct guiding him. He swung his flame like a whip, searing the creature's side. It shrieked—a high, unnatural sound—and recoiled.
Kaelen's flames roared, forming a barrier around them. "We can't kill them like this. The forest feeds them."
"What do we do?"
"We run."
With a flick of his hand, Kaelen conjured a blast that knocked one Wraith back. They dashed into the trees, dodging roots and hanging vines.
The Wraiths gave chase, shrieking.
Surya glanced back—two were gaining.
He turned and thrust both hands forward. The fire roared from his chest, stronger than before. It struck the ground, creating a wall of flame.
The Wraiths screamed and halted, momentarily blinded.
They ran until the screams faded.
Finally, Kaelen signaled a halt. They bent over, panting.
"You're adapting fast," Kaelen said. "Your bond with the Flame—it's deepening."
Surya clenched his fists. "That vision… the woman in the fire. It felt real."
Kaelen looked at him quietly. "Perhaps it was. But not everything the Flame shows is truth. Sometimes, it's warning."
They moved again, slower now, until the trees thinned and the air grew still. In the distance, jagged spires rose against the dark horizon.
"There," Kaelen said. "The Ruins of Deltheris. We'll find answers there."
Surya stared at the broken structures silhouetted against the lightning-streaked sky.
Answers. Or more questions.
Either way, the Path was far from over.