The camp fell silent.
The elderly man stepped into the firelight, his weathered cloak stained with ash and soot. Deep scars covered his left arm, disappearing beneath a worn leather glove. In one hand, he carried a blacksmith's hammer polished smooth by decades of use.
He wasn't a soldier.
Yet every step he took carried quiet confidence.
Captain Darius was the first to react.
"…Master Garrick?"
The old man smiled faintly.
"So you still remember me."
Aurelia stared at him in disbelief.
"Everyone said you died."
"I almost did."
Garrick rested his hammer against a nearby rock before warming his hands over the fire.
"The mountain simply wasn't ready to let me go."
Lyra studied him carefully.
His eyes held the same determination she had seen in Kael, but they also carried the weight of painful memories.
"You said you crossed the Trial Pass."
"I did."
"And you know why the Guardian sealed herself away."
Garrick nodded.
"I know because I was there when it happened."
No one interrupted him.
Even the crackling fire seemed quieter.
"Twenty years ago," Garrick began, "Ignis was united."
"The Guardian of Courage wasn't feared."
"She was admired."
Aurelia frowned.
"That doesn't match the stories."
"Because the stories only tell you how they ended."
He picked up a small piece of charcoal and began drawing in the dirt.
A mountain.
A fortress.
A circle surrounding both.
"The Guardian's name is Seraphine."
The name lingered in the air.
"She believed courage meant standing at the front of every battle."
"No matter the danger."
Kael folded his arms.
"That doesn't sound wrong."
"It wasn't."
Garrick looked up.
"Until she stopped trusting anyone else to stand beside her."
He continued.
"When the first signs of corruption appeared inside the Heart of Courage, Seraphine decided it was her responsibility alone."
"She refused advice."
"She rejected help."
"She even dismissed the Ash Guard."
Captain Darius lowered his eyes.
"My father served under her."
"He admired her."
"So did I."
Garrick sighed.
"She thought protecting people meant carrying every burden herself."
"At first…"
"It worked."
He paused.
"Then the volcano awakened."
The fire crackled louder.
"Thousands of people fled."
"Seraphine held back the eruption by herself for three days."
Rylan's eyes widened.
"Three days?"
"Without food."
"Without rest."
"Without anyone replacing her."
Lyra could already imagine the outcome.
"When the mountain finally calmed…"
Garrick's voice grew heavy.
"…she collapsed."
"And while she was unconscious, the corruption reached the Heart."
Silence settled over the group.
"She blamed herself," Garrick continued.
"She believed that if she had been stronger…"
"…none of it would have happened."
"So she sealed herself inside the Forge."
"She swore never to let anyone fight beside her again."
The Hope System appeared before Lyra.
Heart of Courage
Primary Corruption Identified
Isolation born from misplaced responsibility.
Lyra read the message carefully.
It wasn't fear that had corrupted Seraphine.
It was loneliness.
She had confused strength with solitude.
Aurelia stared into the flames.
"I always believed she abandoned us."
Garrick shook his head.
"No."
"She imprisoned herself."
Kael broke the silence.
"If she refuses everyone's help…"
"How do we reach her?"
Garrick looked toward the towering volcano.
"You don't begin at the Forge."
"You begin at the Trial Pass."
"The mountain decides who may continue."
Rylan groaned.
"I was hoping the mountain didn't have opinions."
"It doesn't."
Garrick smiled.
"But the ancient trial does."
"What kind of trial?" Selene asked.
The old blacksmith became serious.
"It doesn't test your strength."
"It doesn't test your skill."
"It reveals the one moment in your life when you chose fear over courage."
The words settled heavily over the camp.
"You'll face that memory."
"If you run from it…"
"You'll never leave the pass."
Lyra glanced at her companions.
Each of them carried regrets.
Each of them had memories they would rather forget.
The trial would force them to confront those wounds.
Not together.
Alone.
Before anyone could speak again, the silver compass at Lyra's belt began spinning wildly.
Its emerald gem flashed with urgency.
The ground beneath the camp trembled.
A deep horn echoed across the valley.
Captain Darius immediately stood.
"That's impossible."
"What is it?" Kael asked.
Darius looked toward the dark mountains.
"The Trial Pass has opened."
Aurelia's expression hardened.
"It only opens once every ten years."
Garrick slowly picked up his hammer.
"Then fate has made its decision."
He looked directly at Lyra.
"If we don't enter before sunrise…"
"…the path will disappear for another decade."
Lyra rose to her feet.
She tightened her grip on the compass.
There was no time left to prepare.
No time to hesitate.
The mountain had issued its challenge.
And by dawn…
Each of them would have to face the truth they had spent years trying to forget.