Behind them, the shouts of the guards and the clashing of armor echoed in the darknessbut then, silence.
Ari stopped, breathless, and turned to Kael. "Why did they stop?"
Kael scanned the shadows, his brows furrowed. "I don't know, little one. But it's not a good sign. Looks like they're returning to the castle. The king must be planning something new."
Blood still trickled from the wound on his shoulder, but he had no intention of slowing down.
"We have to reach the altar. You need to complete the talisman."
By the time they reached the heart of the Lava Cracks, the heat was unbearable.
Molten rock glowed with a blinding orange hue, casting an infernal light across the terrain.
And there, in the center, stood the ancient altar once mentioned by Zoryn's former student a weathered stone platform carved with strange runes. Steam hissed into the air, the atmosphere trembling.
Ari stepped forward, clutching the Fire Stone tightly in her palm.
"What do I do, Kael? The woman mentioned my blood, but what comes next?"
Kael kept watch around them. "Combine the wings and the stone, little one. Bond them with your blood. But be warned this might save you, or it might destroy you."
Ari swallowed hard and drew her dagger.
She placed the Demon Wings in the center of the altar, laid the Fire Stone on top. A soft hiss rose as the stone touched the wings. Her hands were trembling, but her will was firm.
She pressed the blade into her palm, the sharp edge slicing her skin. A single drop of dark red blood fell onto the stone.
In that instant, the altar shook violently.
A blinding crimson light burst from the stone, wrapping around the wings and merging with Ari's blood.
A wild, scorching wind rose, throwing Ari backward.
Kael shielded his eyes. "What's happening, little one?!"
But Ari couldn't answer.
Her eyes were wide open, her mind overwhelmed with visions her family's fading faces, Zoryn's final breath, Lira's outstretched hands.
And then, from the heart of the darkness, a presence emerged.
Above the altar rose a figure woven from shadow and flame supernatural, ageless.
It was the Legend.
The ancient guardian of the Ash Pit, bearer of a 9,000-year-old curse.
Its face was both young and ancient, its eyes piercing through to Ari's soul.
"Are you ready, Ari?" the Legend whispered, its voice echoing through the cavern walls.
Ari held her breath, the talisman's warmth pulsing through her veins. "Yes," she said, her voice steady but trembling.
The Legend drifted closer, gliding through the air. "Are you ready?" it asked again, this time with a weight that bent the air around them.
Ari clenched her fists, eyes locked onto the figure. "Yes!" she shouted, determination burning through her fear.
The Legend paused, eyes reaching into the depths of Ari's spirit.
Then its voice thundered like a storm:
"I ask for the third time, Ari. Last of the seer's bloodline. Immortality 9,000 years of it will pass to you. But the price is steep. Your bloodline ends. No one you love will remain. Are you ready to sacrifice Lira?"
Ari's heart stopped.
"Lira?" she whispered, her eyes filling with shock. "She's the only one I have left… I could never accept that!"
She pressed the talisman against her chest, fury and sorrow surging through her.
"I reject you!"
At that moment, the world trembled.
An explosion deep beneath the altar shook the Lava Cracks.
A wave of red and black energy surged outward, swallowing everything in its path.
Ari and Kael were thrown to the ground, stones shattered, pools of molten rock overflowed.
In a distant corner of the Pit, 60 of the king's 80 returning guards were obliterated consumed by falling rocks and searing flames.
The Legend's curse had awakened.
Kael struggled to rise, his face smeared with ash and blood.
"What did you do, little one?!" he shouted, more in awe than fear.
Ari knelt, still clutching the talisman though now, it was ice cold.
Her eyes were dull, her breath shallow.
"I couldn't sacrifice Lira, Kael… I came here to save her from the cruel king."
The ruins of the Lava Cracks were no longer just stone and ash; they had become the silent bearers of a memory reborn from the ashes of the past, a warning carved into time itself. As the last breath of sunlight faded into the grey horizon, Ari's fingers still trembled over the talisman. It was nothing more than a cold piece of stone, perhaps, but the darkness stirring within it seemed to touch his soul. Kael stood silent. The blood trickling from the wound on his shoulder tested not his body, but his faith.
"You want to save Lira," Kael said, his voice raw but sincere. "But this curse is dragging us not just toward the castle, but into something far darker. We need a plan."
Ari lowered his head. His eyes held no exhaustion, only a weight that seemed to stretch beyond time itself. He knelt to the ground, took the talisman into his palm, and whispered into the void, "Lira is in that castle. And I will not return without her."
Kael was about to respond when a strange hum rose from the wind, as if a nightmare was awakening beneath the stones. The mist of the Ash Pit parted, and from within emerged twenty figures, stripped of their humanity. They were filth-born warriors, not marked by mud, but by the sins of a forgotten past. Their leader's gaze locked onto the talisman in Ari's hand, and with a twisted grin, he spoke:
"Hand it over, child… or we'll turn your skin into a fable for sale."
Kael sprang up, drawing his sword. "You've stepped into the wrong dream." With a swift strike, he cut down the first warrior. Ari drew his dagger too, but they were outnumbered. Chains clashed with curses, and blood mixed with smoke. Kael was struck again, a heavy chain crashing onto his shoulder, forcing him to his knees.
"Ari, run!" he shouted, but it was already too late. Blades gleamed, and lives evaporated into vapor.
In that moment, a voice echoed in Ari's mind.
"Legends are secrets. If deciphered, they become curses."
It was Zoryn's voice, once a comfort, now a warning. Ari's eyes widened. He raised the talisman high, his voice cracked but resolute.
"This is what you want? Yes, it's a legend but legends do not suffer greed!"
And he smashed the talisman to the ground.
The sky dimmed as the stone shattered. Black smoke rose from the broken shards, choking the air in a poisonous silence. From within the shadow, something awoke Thanar. A being trapped between life and death, more than a figure, a prophecy. His eyes were crimson illusions, his voice the echo of an endless void.
"I am the immortality you seek. But you have already lost life itself."
The warriors froze. Some collapsed, others screamed and fled. But the hands that rose from Thanar's shadow consumed them all. Swords turned to dust. Bodies turned to ash. And after a moment of silence, only fear remained.
Kael slowly pushed himself up, his eyes still shaking. "What… what was that?"
Ari couldn't look away from Thanar. "I don't know… but I must save Lira. Thanar, help me!"
Thanar's gaze pierced deep. "Help? Help demands a price, child. For Lira, you must journey to the Temple of Shadows. There, you will choose: her life… or your soul."
And like the wind, he vanished. Only death's cold breath lingered behind.
Ari dropped to his knees, his heart pounding like thunder. Kael limped over, locking eyes with him.
"This curse is closing in around you, Ari. Who is Thanar? Where is this temple?"
Ari lifted his head. The look in his eyes no longer belonged to a boy, but to someone who had met fate face to face.
"I don't know… but Lira is there. And Thanar is watching us."
At that moment, a scream tore through the night. A light rose from the king's castlenot a beacon of hope, but the invitation of a trap.
Kael stood, clutching his sword tighter. "We're going to the castle. But if Thanar returns"
He never finished the sentence. The ground beneath the Ash Pit trembled. Something unseen leaned from the heavens above, and deep inside Ari, a voice rang out:
"The Temple of Shadows awaits you, chosen child."
As Ari walked along the road, she suddenly stopped. Her heart hammered in her chest, and the world around her seemed to freeze for a brief moment. She clenched her fists, her voice trembling as she whispered to herself, "I won't accept this. After Lari dies, she's the only one I have left. I can't allow this."
Kael, sensing the storm within her, stepped closer, trying to calm her. "Ari, listen to me. You have to understand... Lari is the king's daughter. She's probably going to be married to a prince. You can never be with her. Choosing immortality isn't foolish, it's the only way for you to survive. At least you'll avenge your family. Choose this. You have to."
Ari's eyes filled with anguish, tears streaming down her face. She shook her head violently. "No, Kael. I won't choose immortality. Lari must live! I can't accept anything else!" she cried.
Kneeling down, her eyes, burdened with the weight of her heart, looked at the ground. Then, in desperation, she cried into the darkness, "Thanar, help me! Please… I need to get out of this pit! I need to reach the castle, I need to reach her…"
Three times she begged, her voice growing more fragile with each plea.
Finally, as though responding to a summons, Thanar appeared. He rose from the shadows, his dark figure growing with each step.
As Ari looked at him, she immediately dropped to her knees, bowing her head in deep gratitude. "Thanar… I don't know how to thank you. This is so important for me to succeed…"
But Thanar's expression remained unchanged, the dark thoughts inside him far different than Ari could comprehend.
"I'm not here to show you mercy, Ari," Thanar's voice rumbled, deep and ancient, like an echo from another time. "For the legend to be completed, Lari's blood is required. And I will bring you closer to her… so I can take her life."
Ari's heart stopped for a moment. But she didn't understand; after all, the hope of saving Lari was everything to her. She had no idea of Thanar's true purpose.
While Ari was willing to sacrifice everything to save Lari, unaware of what the legend truly promised, she was risking it all in the pursuit of her beloved's life.
Yet, the reader knew: According to the legend, a cruel king had decided to eradicate his family's bloodline, invoking this curse. Thanar's true aim wasn't to destroy Ari's people, but to bring down that tyrannical king. But Ari, blinded by her hope to save Lari, remained unaware of Thanar's dark plans.
Thanar's eyes glowed from within the depths of darkness. "You will reach the castle, Ari. But remember: Lari's fate has already been written. In the end, you will have to choose… her life… or your own soul."
Meanwhile, the kingdom stood on the brink of a great war. The kingdom was surrounded on all sides. The combined forces of neighboring kingdoms had rolled up their sleeves for the siege. The king sat silently on his throne, his eyes anxiously scanning the battle map, but with each passing minute, reality was crumbling more and more. He only had 20,000 soldiers, while the enemy's army, a colossal force of 50,000, surrounded his castle. His soldiers grew more exhausted with each passing moment, their morale fading.
The people of the city were equally hopeless. Arrows rained down like a storm, shaking the stone walls, and the sounds echoed through the sky. Everyone was waiting for an end. With the enemy army at their gates, the only hope left for the people was the king. But even he had no hope left. Faces everywhere in the city were walking toward death. Neither slaves, nor nobles, nor peasants… all awaited the same fate. The war had become an insurmountable danger.
The king's soldiers struggled to defend the castle walls as the sky darkened further. Nearby villages witnessed the exhaustion of the king's forces, while whispers from surrounding kingdoms spoke of a looming catastrophe. It seemed the king had no choice but to watch the end of his family's centuries-old legacy.
Kael stood beside Ari. On one side was the fate of the woman he loved, and on the other, a war that would shape the course of history. Everything could change in an instant. But there was something in Ari's eyes, something beyond the war. The path fate had drawn for her was not just about the battlefield. She was following a much deeper path.
Outside, as the noise grew louder, the war bells began to toll. Each person in the king's palace took their place. The moment of battle had arrived. A tension stretched like the neck of a river. Everyone would soon face the final blow, the ultimate choice.
Ari's eyes vanished into the lightning streaking across the castle walls, but with unshakable determination, she made a decision. And in that moment, right in the heart of the battle, a voice was heard.
"Can you change what's happening? It's time to complete the legend."
This voice was like Thanar's deep, resonating voice, but this time, it wasn't just a warning to Ari, but to the entire kingdom. Ari's heart raced. A secret of the future, a power from the shadows of the past, was about to be reborn.
The war bells tolled once more. But this time, it was not just the bell of warit was the bell of the beginning of an end.
And everyone, only one thing in mind: To choose their own fate.