The morning air in Martha was thick with the clang of hammers and the hiss of steam. Nova and Scarlet made their way through winding alleys, past the bustle of market stalls and the shouts of traders hawking their wares. The city's Iron Quarter was a world apart from the marble grandeur of the palace. Here, the scent of hot metal and coal smoke hung heavy, and the ground trembled beneath the rhythmic pounding of forges.
They stopped before a workshop that seemed to crouch at the edge of the district, half-swallowed by the shadows of ancient pine and spruce. The building was old, its thatched roof weedy and wild, but the stone walls were thick, and the heavy oak door bore the scars of countless years. A battered sign hung above the entrance: **Bill's Forge**.
Inside, the world was fire and iron. The forge's heart glowed with a fierce orange, bellows pumping air into the flames. Rows of weapons lined the walls-swords, axes, spears, and strange tools whose purpose Nova could only guess. The air was alive with heat and the tang of steel.
At the center of it all stood a man like a mountain. His arms were thick as tree trunks, muscles corded beneath skin marked by old burns and scars. His beard was a tangled thicket, streaked with gray, and his eyes were the color of hammered iron-unyielding, sharp, and full of secrets. He worked the anvil with a shatterproof hammer, sparks flying with every blow, the sound echoing like thunder in the close air.
Nova felt a strange sense of awe. This was no ordinary craftsman. Bill was a legend made flesh, every movement purposeful, every breath a testament to a lifetime spent shaping the world with fire and force.
Scarlet cleared her throat, and the blacksmith paused, looking up with a frown. His gaze swept over them, weighing, measuring.
**"What do you want?"** His voice was a low growl, rough as gravel.
Nova stepped forward, his own voice steady.
**"I'm looking for answers. About Lilith."**
The hammer paused mid-air. Bill's eyes narrowed, suspicion flickering across his face.
**"You don't want to know about Lilith, boy. No one does."**
Nova didn't flinch.
**"I have to. Please."**
Bill set the hammer down with a heavy thud. He wiped his hands on a rag, the muscles in his arms flexing with every movement.
**"You're not the first to come asking. Most don't come back."**
Nova met his gaze.
**"I'm not most people."**
For a long moment, Bill said nothing. The only sound was the crackle of the forge and the distant clatter of the city. Then, with a grunt, he turned and strode to the door. He flipped the sign to **Closed**, bolted the lock, and gestured for them to follow.
They moved deeper into the workshop, past racks of gleaming swords and half-finished armor, to a small room at the back. Here, the air was cooler, the light dim. Bill sat on a battered stool, his massive hands folded in his lap.
He looked at Nova, eyes hard.
**"You're a Worldshaper, aren't you?"**
Nova hesitated, then nodded.
**"Yes."**
Bill let out a long breath, as if a weight had been lifted.
**"Then you deserve the truth."**
He leaned forward, his voice dropping to a whisper that seemed to fill the room.
**"Years ago, I was a different man. Young, reckless, hungry for glory. I took a job-escort a caravan through the southern wilds. We never made it. The ground opened up beneath us, and we fell into the nest."**
Nova felt a chill run down his spine. The blacksmith's words conjured images from his own past-memories of war, of darkness, of running through blood and fire with death at his heels. He clenched his fists, forcing himself to listen.
Bill's eyes grew distant, haunted.
**"Lilith is no cave. It's a wound in the world. The air burns, the ground is alive with things that should not be. There's a bird down there-a thing made of flame and bone, with wings that scorch the flesh from your bones. It hunts the living. I saw it eat men whole, their screams echoing off the stone."**
Scarlet shivered, pressing closer to Nova.
**"Below the bird, there's nothing but lava. Rivers of it. I ran through blood, slipping, crawling, trying to find a place to hide. I found a hole, small enough to squeeze into. Inside, I saw it-the heart of Lilith. It's not a stone, not a jewel. It's a thing that throbs, alive, pulsing with red light. It calls to you, whispers in your mind. I didn't wait. The bird almost found me, but I hid beneath the corpses of the dead, holding my breath as it passed overhead."**
Bill's hands shook, just a little, as he remembered.
**"I don't know how long I stayed there. Hours, days. Time doesn't work right in Lilith. But I survived. I crawled out, half-mad, and I've never gone back."**
Nova's throat was dry. The story was too close to memories he'd tried to bury-memories of crawling through mud and blood, of hiding beneath the bodies of friends and enemies alike, praying for the nightmare to end. He felt Scarlet's hand on his arm, grounding him, pulling him back from the edge.
Bill looked up, his eyes suddenly sharp.
**"But I wasn't alone. Down there, I met a man. Or something like a man. He was old, older than anyone I've ever seen, skin like parchment, eyes like dying embers. He told me a secret-a curse, maybe, or a blessing. He said that the blood of Lilith's heart can make a man immortal."**
The words hung in the air, heavy with possibility and dread.
Scarlet's breath caught.
**"Immortal?"**
Bill nodded.
**"That's what he said. But he also said that immortality comes at a price. The heart takes as much as it gives. It's not a gift. It's a bargain."**
Nova's mind spun. Immortality. The answer to the price of his power-or another trap, waiting to close around him. He looked at Bill, searching for any hint of deception, but saw only exhaustion and truth.
**"How do we find it?"** Nova asked, his voice barely more than a whisper.
Bill stood, his massive frame filling the room.
**"You'll need a guide. There's a shepherd who lives in the mountains north of here. Name's Eryk. He knows the rules of Lilith's game-how to get in, how to survive. He's the only one I trust to lead you there."**
He scribbled an address on a scrap of parchment and handed it to Nova.
**"Find Eryk. Tell him Bill sent you. And be careful. Lilith changes people. It changed me."**
Nova took the parchment, the weight of it heavy in his palm. He looked at Bill, seeing the scars that ran deeper than skin, the haunted look in his eyes.
**"Thank you,"** Nova said quietly.
Bill nodded, turning back to his forge.
**"Go. And may the gods have mercy on you."**
They stepped out into the sunlight, the city suddenly too bright, too loud. Nova felt the chill of old memories clawing at his mind-memories of war, of blood, of running for his life through chaos and fire. He closed his eyes, breathing deeply, trying to steady himself.
Scarlet slipped her arm around his waist, her presence a balm.
*"You don't have to do this alone,"* she whispered.
Nova managed a shaky smile.
*"I know. But it feels the same. The fear. The darkness. I thought I'd left it behind."*
Scarlet pressed her forehead to his, her eyes fierce.
*"You're not the man you were then. You have me. You have Thalara. You have hope."*
He nodded, holding her close. For a moment, the world shrank to just the two of them-her heartbeat, steady and sure, the only sound he could hear.
They walked through the Iron Quarter, the city's life swirling around them. Nova watched the blacksmiths at their forges, the sparks flying as they shaped metal into weapons and tools. He wondered how many of them had faced the darkness and survived, how many had scars that no one could see.
The address Bill had given them led to the edge of the city, where the houses thinned and the land rose toward the mountains. The road was long, winding through fields of wildflowers and stands of ancient trees. The air grew cooler, the sky wider.
As they walked, Nova's thoughts churned. The promise of immortality was a beacon, but also a warning. He remembered Micha's words-*the more you use your gift, the closer you walk to the edge.* Was he willing to pay the price, whatever it was, to save himself? To save Thalara?
Scarlet seemed to sense his turmoil. She took his hand, her grip firm.
*"We'll find Eryk,"* she said.
*"We'll find the heart. And we'll find a way to survive. Together."*
Nova looked at her, gratitude and love swelling in his chest.
*"Together,"* he echoed.
The mountains loomed ahead, their peaks shrouded in mist. Somewhere beyond them, Lilith waited-a place of nightmares and miracles, of death and rebirth.
Nova squared his shoulders, determination hardening in his heart. Whatever waited in the darkness, he would face it. For Scarlet. For Thalara. For himself.
And as they walked into the shadow of the mountains, the sun dipped low, painting the world in gold and crimson. The journey to Lilith's den had begun.