Smoke lingered on Kaelion's tongue long after the Binder vanished. It wasn't real smoke—not from fire—but something older, like the memory of ash clinging to breath. He rose slowly, his limbs leaden, gaze still locked on the spiraled skull at the center of the ring.
They left the Spiral Nest in silence.
Wren didn't speak. Nyro didn't growl. Even the wind seemed to follow at a distance.
The path ahead was narrower now, winding between roots that twisted like ancient fingers reaching for ankles. Kaelion's boots crunched through dry leaves as if he were walking across a page being torn apart.
"How long have I been part of this?" he asked finally, voice soft.
Wren looked over, then back to the trail. "I don't think there's a clear start. I think you were always in the story. You just didn't know which chapter."
He grunted, thoughtful. "Feels like I skipped the prologue and landed in the climax."
A faint smile tugged at her mouth, but it faded fast. "You heard what they said. Lysandra's close."
He nodded. "And we're not ready."
They reached a clearing lit by shafts of amber light bleeding through the trees. In the center stood a stone spire—weathered, cracked, yet humming with Spiral resonance. Its surface was etched with moving glyphs, glowing like embers beneath soot.
Wren's expression tightened. "Trial Stone."
Kaelion looked at her. "What kind of trial?"
"One that tests your bond. Your will. Your limits."
The air shifted. The Spiral mark on Kaelion's arm flared as if answering a call. The spire responded, its light blooming brighter, casting flame-like patterns across the forest floor.
Nyro snarled once—not in warning, but recognition.
The Trial had begun.
The ground fell away beneath Kaelion's feet.
He didn't fall far—but when he landed, the forest was gone. So was Wren. So was Nyro.
He stood in a circle of scorched ash.
And surrounding him were versions of himself.
One carried a blade. One carried a chain. One carried a child wrapped in shadow.
All of them spoke at once.
"You are the seal."
"You are the break."
"You are the one who forgot."
Kaelion drew in a sharp breath, the Spiral burning through his veins.
The Trial of Embers had only just begun.
The ash beneath his boots shifted, alive with memory. Flames danced at the edge of his vision—not fire, but echoes. Moments he didn't remember living.
He stepped toward the figure with the blade.
"You want to fight me?" Kaelion asked.
The blade-bearer shook his head. "I want to finish what you were too afraid to start."
In a blink, the blade was at Kaelion's throat.
He parried with his forearm, Spiral energy coiling from his skin like molten lightning. The clash sent sparks scattering into the air, which turned into burning butterflies, fluttering up and dissolving into smoke.
The figure backed off, smiling. "You're learning. But you're still pretending you're something small."
Kaelion turned to the one with the chain. This version of him was gaunt, eyes hollow.
"Who are you supposed to be?"
The chained Kaelion let the metal coils drop to the ground with a heavy clang. "The part of you that obeyed. The part that followed every order because you thought it would keep you safe."
Chains writhed from the ground and snapped around Kaelion's wrists.
"You never stopped being afraid of what you are," the chained version whispered.
Kaelion struggled, Spiral light flickering from beneath the bindings. "I'm not afraid anymore."
"No?" The figure tilted its head. "Then why are you still lying to yourself about what Umbrix really is?"
That name struck like thunder. Kaelion's eyes widened.
Umbrix.
The shadow that had bonded with him. The forbidden spirit.
The third version of himself—the one cradling a child of shadow—finally stepped forward. The child blinked up at Kaelion with eyes made of stars.
"This is what was born when you stopped running," the version said. "But birth is not the end of becoming. Do you dare raise it? Or are you hoping someone else will shape it for you?"
Kaelion reached toward the child, trembling.
The child took his hand.
In that moment, every flame around him surged upward, turning the ash into golden fire.
Chains melted.
Echoes vanished.
Only Kaelion remained—marked, pulsing with Spiral light, and no longer alone.
The Trial had ended.
And something inside him had awakened.
The golden fire receded like a tide pulled back into the stone. Kaelion opened his eyes with a quiet gasp as his boots met solid ground once more.
The clearing returned—unchanged, yet tingling with power. Wren was standing exactly where he'd last seen her, a hand gripping Nyro's scruff. Her eyes widened the moment she saw him.
"You're back," she breathed, rushing forward. "You were gone for—Kael, are you all right?"
He blinked once. Then nodded. "I think so."
Nyro sniffed him once and growled low, tail wagging. The wolf's gaze lingered on Kaelion's arms, where the Spiral had changed—now curling higher along his veins, glowing with slow, pulsing embers.
Wren's eyes flicked to the mark. "It changed you."
Kaelion flexed his fingers slowly. "No... I changed me."
A voice echoed lazily inside his head.
"Took you long enough, sunshine."
Kaelion nearly stumbled. Umbrix.
"You saw all the scary versions of yourself, wrestled a metaphysical guilt chain, held hands with your metaphor-baby... and you didn't even think to invite me to the campfire?"
"I was a bit busy not dying," Kaelion muttered inwardly.
"Pfft. You call that surviving? I call it dramatic flailing with flair. Impressive flair, though—I give you a solid eight out of ten. Would've been a nine if you'd screamed less."
Kaelion bit back a smile.
Wren gave him a look. "What?"
"Nothing," he said quickly. "Just... Spiral stuff."
Nyro huffed.
"Tell the wolf I still think his tail's too smug."
Kaelion rolled his eyes and whispered, "He heard you."
They stood in the stillness for a beat longer.
Then Wren took his arm gently. "Come on. Let's get away from this place."
As they stepped back into the trees, the Trial Stone dimmed behind them.
But the Spiral did not.
It whispered through Kaelion's bones.
And this time, he listened.