Chapter 56 — Cavern of Embers
The silence inside the cavern was deceptive.
Faint light shimmered across its walls, reflecting off veins of silver mineral roots that ran through the stone like frozen lightning. The air was dry and heavy, carrying the faint metallic tang of spiritual residue. Every few seconds, droplets of condensation fell from above, vanishing into the cracked, glowing floor.
Vaibhav sat near the cavern's mouth, arms resting on his knees, gaze distant. The crimson glint in his eyes pulsed faintly with each breath.
Alicia was seated across from him, her posture perfect as always, hands folded on her lap while her aura pulsed gently in tune with her heartbeat. Shin, on the other hand, lay flat on his back, one leg crossed over the other, staring at the silver-lined ceiling.
For a while, none of them spoke.
Finally, Shin broke the quiet. "You ever notice," he said lazily, "that peace always feels like a setup?"
Alicia gave a faint glance in his direction. "That's because it usually is."
Vaibhav's lips curved slightly. "You talk too much before a fight."
"And you brood too much after one," Shin shot back.
Alicia sighed. "Both of you, shut up. Let the valley breathe before it spits more monsters at us."
Her words hadn't even finished echoing when the first crack split the wall.
A faint rumble followed — low, deep, rhythmic. The silver roots trembled. Tiny particles of dust drifted from the ceiling like falling ash.
Then came the sound — not a hiss, not a growl, but a swarm's hum.
Vaibhav rose instantly, his instincts flaring. "They're inside the walls."
Cracks spread across the cavern's stone like spiderwebs. From them poured a black tide — sleek, chitin-armored creatures with razor mandibles and crimson compound eyes. The Ant Beasts of Venarae.
Eight of smaller forms scuttled along the walls, followed by larger ones, their limbs sharp enough to carve through stone.
Alicia's aura snapped to life in an emerald glow. "Exalted-class," she said calmly. "Eight of them at least. And one more beneath—something heavier."
Shin grinned, rising with his blade already gleaming in his hand. "Nine? Sounds fair."
The ground exploded as the first Ant lunged. Shin moved first, cutting through its thorax in one clean motion. The creature shrieked as black blood sprayed across the floor.
> [Beast Spirit Acquired: None]
Before the corpse had even stopped twitching, Vaibhav's aura rippled — the beast's lifeforce drawn to him in a crimson shimmer. He didn't move or speak; the absorption came naturally, instinctive.
[+5 Exalted Power Points Gained]
Another Ant came from behind. Alicia turned sharply, thrusting both hands forward. A burst of focused light erupted from her palms, engulfing the creature in a searing wave of energy. When the light dimmed, nothing but charred shell remained.
> [Beast Spirit Acquired: None]
[+6 Exalted Power Points Gained] — Vaibhav (life force absorbed)
"Keep them away from the center," she ordered, stepping forward, her energy still burning faintly along her arms.
Three more came crawling across the walls, moving faster now. Shin dashed up the side of a boulder, cutting one mid-jump, then pivoting to strike another before it landed.
Alicia caught the third with a pulse barrier, slamming it into the cavern roof.
> [Beast Spirit Acquired: None]
[+4 Exalted Power Points Gained]
[+1 Exalted Power Points Gained]
[+3 Exalted Power Points Gained] — Vaibhav (absorbed life force of all three)
The swarm was thinning, but the air was still trembling. The ground vibrated like something massive was tunneling below.
Vaibhav's gaze hardened. "Queen."
The cavern split open.
From the depths emerged the Ant Queen — twice the size of the others, her carapace glowing red from beneath, wings pulsing with molten veins. Her presence filled the space with suffocating pressure.
Alicia's expression didn't waver. "Mutated Exalted."
Shin rolled his shoulders. "Finally."
The Queen screamed, a sound so shrill it fractured part of the cavern wall. Dozens of silver roots shattered instantly, scattering glowing dust into the air. The beast lunged forward, mandibles snapping.
Vaibhav met it head-on. The impact sent a shockwave through the chamber, scattering loose debris. He caught the creature's head, muscles straining as the jaws bit against his arm. His aura flared crimson, veins of red light snaking along his forearm.
"Shin—now!"
Shin dashed forward, his blade flashing like lightning. He struck the Queen's left eye, forcing it back with a roar. Alicia's aura burst outward again, sealing the tunnel exits with radiant barriers.
Then she gathered her focus — a single breath — and unleashed a blast of compressed energy straight into the Queen's chest. The shell cracked, molten ichor spilling from the wound.
Vaibhav twisted his arm free and drove his fist straight through the opening.
The Ant Queen convulsed once — then fell.
> [Beast Spirit Acquired: Ant Queen]
[+5 Mutated Exalted Power Points Gained] — Vaibhav (life force absorbed)
The world went quiet again — save for the faint drip of burning ichor onto stone.
Alicia lowered her arms slowly. "Clear."
Shin flicked his blade clean, exhaling. "Nine down. That felt good."
Vaibhav looked at the corpses — then at the Queen's cracked husk. "Get the shards."
They began the grim work.
Alicia approached her first kill — the charred husk still faintly smoking. She crouched, cut through the abdomen, and reached inside. A dull blue shard pulsed weakly, dimming with each second. She pulled it out, cleaned it, and absorbed it.
> [+4 Exalted Power Points Gained]
Shin followed, crouching beside the one he had sliced in half earlier. He pried open the chest with his blade until the shard glimmered beneath the flesh. He absorbed it.
> [+5 Exalted Power Points Gained]
They continued — one shard after another.
Alicia extracted her second, glowing faintly red this time.
> [+5 Exalted Power Points Gained]
Shin's second shard, smaller but brighter, followed.
> [+3 Exalted Power Points Gained]
Alicia's third, pulled from one buried in rubble.
> [+2 Exalted Power Points Gained]
Shin's third came next.
> [+1 Exalted Power Points Gained]
Alicia handled the fourth with practiced care — a shard burning brighter than the others.
> [+5 Exalted Power Points Gained]
Finally, they reached the Queen. Her chest plate was still hot to the touch. Alicia sliced through carefully, revealing a massive shard glowing deep crimson — almost alive. The light pulsed like a heartbeat.
She looked briefly at Vaibhav, then at Shin. "Mutated core."
Shin nodded. "Your turn."
She pressed it into her palm.
> [+7 Mutated Exalted Power Points Gained]
The shard dissolved into her skin, light fading. The Queen's body went dark.
Vaibhav glanced at the corpses. "Viggy."
The Unbound Wolf appeared — vast, silent, eyes burning with restrained hunger. The cavern's light dimmed under its shadow.
"Eat," Vaibhav commanded.
Viggy lunged — tearing into the corpses, devouring flesh and spirit alike. Glowing red threads flowed from each body, vanishing into its form until nothing but dust remained. When it was done, it turned its crimson gaze toward Vaibhav.
"Good work," he said softly.
The wolf bowed its head once before fading into the mist, dissolving back into Vaibhav's consciousness.
Shin leaned back against a wall, exhaling. "I'm starting to think we're exterminators, not hunters."
Alicia smiled faintly. "Same thing, depending on perspective."
Vaibhav's gaze turned toward the cavern's far exit, where faint heat shimmered in the distance. "Let's move. It's getting warmer."
They stepped out into blinding light.
The landscape beyond was alive with fire.
A vast expanse stretched before them — a scarlet plain of molten rock and heat waves rising like ghosts. At its heart lay Ember Lake, glowing like a molten mirror. Rivers of liquid flame fed into it from all directions, and above, ash clouds drifted lazily across a blood-red sky.
The heat pressed against their skin the moment they stepped closer.
Alicia shielded her eyes. "Temperature's rising too fast."
"Because it's not water," Shin murmured. "That's liquid fire."
They walked along the blackened edge of the lake. Cracks spidered across the crust beneath their feet, faint magma light bleeding through. Then — ripples broke the surface.
The first Fire Lizard emerged, skin like molten stone, eyes burning yellow.
"Six," Alicia said quickly, scanning. "Three near the ridge, three under."
Vaibhav's expression didn't change. "Take them."
The beasts lunged — streams of fire cutting across the surface. Shin leapt first, slashing through the flames with his aura-charged blade. The impact shattered the crust, splashing molten droplets into the air. One lizard split apart midair.
> [Beast Spirit Acquired: None]
[+3 Mythic Power Points Gained] — Vaibhav (life force absorbed)
Another followed, diving straight at Alicia. She extended both arms — two pulses of green light shot forward, hitting it dead in the chest. The creature exploded into ash.
> [Beast Spirit Acquired: None]
[+5 Mythic Power Points Gained] — Vaibhav (life force absorbed)
The others came together in pairs — spitting flames, weaving around each other. Vaibhav advanced through the firestorm, the heat bending around his aura. He grabbed one by the neck, slamming it into the molten ground, and crushed its skull.
> [Beast Spirit Acquired: None]
[+2 Mythic Power Points Gained] — Vaibhav (life force absorbed)
Another leapt at him from the side; he caught it midair, twisting and hurling it into Shin's blade.
> [Beast Spirit Acquired: Molten Serpent]
[+6 Mythic Power Points Gained] — Vaibhav (life force absorbed)
Alicia destroyed the fifth with a beam of white-hot focus energy.
> [Beast Spirit Acquired: None]
[+3 Mythic Power Points Gained] — Vaibhav (life force absorbed)
The last roared, diving beneath the molten surface. Bubbles rose, and then — silence.
Shin narrowed his eyes. "Below."
Vaibhav nodded once. "Let it come."
The lake burst open — a massive lizard, twice the others' size, erupted from the lava. Scales glowed white-hot, cracks of light running through its body like molten veins.
"Mutated variant," Alicia warned.
Vaibhav's aura pulsed crimson. "I'll handle it."
The creature lunged — jaws wide. He caught its head in both hands, heat scorching his arms. His aura flared brighter, veins burning red. He turned the force back, slamming it into the molten ground, driving a punch through its skull.
The body convulsed once, then went still.
> [Beast Spirit Acquired: Fire Lizard Spirit]
[+4 Mythic Power Points Gained]
Alicia exhaled, lowering her arms. "All clear."
Vaibhav didn't respond — his chest still glowed faintly as the lifeforce faded into him. "Get the shards."
They began again.
Alicia knelt beside her first kill, prying open the charred ribcage to find a shard faintly flickering orange. She absorbed it, energy flowing smoothly into her core.
> [+6 Mythic Power Points Gained]
Shin's first came next — glowing red like a coal. He absorbed it in one swift motion.
> [+6 Mythic Power Points Gained]
They continued methodically — shard after shard.
Alicia's second shimmered golden.
> [+5 Mythic Power Points Gained]
Shin's second burned silver.
> [+7 Mythic Power Points Gained]
Alicia's third flickered faint blue-white, absorbed without hesitation.
> [+3 Mythic Power Points Gained]
Shin's third pulsed deep orange.
> [+4 Mythic Power Points Gained]
Finally, Alicia and Shin stood over the last — the mutated Fire Lizard. The shard glowed like molten glass, brighter than anything they'd seen before. Alicia lifted it carefully, the light dancing across her face before she absorbed it, her aura flaring briefly in response.
> [+7 Mythic Power Points Gained]
When the glow faded, Vaibhav's voice came — calm and steady. "Viggy."
The Unbound Wolf emerged from the shimmering air, larger than before, its eyes glowing fierce crimson. It padded toward the corpses, breath steaming against the molten heat.
"Eat."
Viggy obeyed. It devoured the remains one by one, pulling fiery essence from the corpses until the air itself dimmed. When it finished, the lake's surface reflected nothing but shadow and ember.
The trio stood together in silence.
The wind shifted — carrying with it the distant sound of something roaring beyond the lake. Something vast. Something waiting.