Chapter 13 – Embers in the Blood
The forge had quieted, but Kael's heart had not.
The Wyrm Seal fragment pulsed in his hand—warm one moment, cold the next, like it couldn't decide if it belonged to him or was trying to remake him. He could feel it tethering itself to his core, not merging completely, but waiting. Like it was testing him. Or watching.
Lys sat nearby, crouched on the stone steps, sharpening one of her frost-forged daggers.
"You're bleeding again," she said without looking.
Kael glanced down. Thin trails of blood seeped from his forearms—small fissures etched across his skin in patterns that looked almost… draconic. Not wounds, not from battle.
From the Seal.
"I don't feel hurt," he muttered.
"That's worse," she said flatly.
Kael closed his eyes and focused inward.
Inside his dantian, his internal Qi sea roiled more violently than ever. The fire within it had deepened in color—brighter, hotter, almost golden in places—but coiled around the flame now were dark red chains, tethered to the glowing Wyrm Seal fragment floating in the center.
> System Alert:
Wyrm Seal fragment has begun partial assimilation.
Temporary Trait Acquired: Draconic Embers (Dormant)
Effect: Enhances fire-based Qi output by 20% when internal temperature exceeds threshold.
> Warning: Unstable resonance detected. Recommend controlled meditation to prevent spiritual backlash.
> Cultivation Progress:
Kael – Fire Root Stage: 36% → 39%
Lys – Frost Vein Stage: 33% → 36%
Kael exhaled, the pain easing as he synced his breath with the Seal's slow pulse. But something lingered—a presence he hadn't felt before.
Not sentient exactly. But aware.
Watching.
The hair on his arms rose.
"Something's following us," Kael said.
Lys stood immediately, drawing both daggers. "I heard it too."
Kael tapped the bracer on his wrist, activating the demiplane ripple. The Scorchfang Reaver hummed into his hand once more, its red glow deepening as it reacted to the ambient heat left behind in the forge.
They moved as one toward the forge exit, weapons drawn.
But it wasn't a monster that emerged.
It was a woman.
Tall, robed in shades of volcanic gray and obsidian silk, her black hair threaded with glowing red strands like molten veins. Her eyes—pupil-less, entirely white—glowed faintly as if lit from within. Her presence was cold. Absolute.
Lys froze. "That's a Veilborn. A pureblood."
Kael had only heard stories.
The woman stopped a few paces from them, expression unreadable.
"You've touched what was meant to stay buried," she said softly. "The Seal belongs to the Worldheart. Not to you."
Kael stood firm, Reaver blade at the ready. "Who are you?"
"Call me Ashva. I serve the Circle of Flame. And you, child of fire, have stepped into a storm far beyond your knowing."
"Try me."
Ashva studied him.
Then—for the briefest moment—she smiled. "You will burn brighter than most. But even the brightest fires eventually devour themselves."
In a flash of flame and dust, she vanished.
Not teleported.
Melted into the air.
Kael stood there, breath still caught in his chest.
"What the hell was that?" Lys whispered.
"Warning," Kael muttered. "Or a test."
> System Log Updated:
New Faction Identified: The Circle of Flame
Hostile Intent: Undetermined
Motivation: Control of Wyrm Seal Artifacts
Priority Level: High
"We need to move," Kael said. "Before they send someone less… polite."
They escaped the Heartforge ruins by retracing their path—only now, the stairwell was colder, more hollow, as if Ashva's appearance had leeched some ancient breath from the place.
Back on the surface, the Blightwood was darker. Wrong.
Ravens circled overhead, watching.
And somewhere in the distance, the roar of something ancient echoed—something woken.
Lys knelt near a tree root and pressed her palm against it, whispering an incantation. Frost bloomed from her fingers, spiraling into the wood. The earth quivered, and a pulse of directional Qi surged through the ground.
She stood.
"There's another seal fragment in the Icerend Mountains."
Kael nodded. "North, then."
"And colder," Lys said grimly. "But at least we'll blend in. For a while."
Kael reached into his demiplane, storing away his scorched armor and pulling out a lighter set—tempered leather with flame-resistant weave. He checked his blades, all intact. But it wasn't the weapons he worried about.
It was the change.
Inside, something had shifted. His Qi wasn't just his anymore. The Wyrm Seal had marked him. Maybe more than just spiritually.
He felt it in the way his flames now flared higher when he was angry. In the way his eyes glowed faintly in the dark.
And in the way he didn't feel afraid anymore—even when maybe he should.
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