Karrion wasted no hesitation. The dwarf's powerful arm pumped the bellows, and the forge fire roared higher with a thunderous bellow.
Amber flames greedily licked the specially made Dwarven charcoal. The cave's temperature shot upward; beads of water on the rock walls instantly vaporized into wisps of white steam. The stifling air, thick with the scent of sulfur and strange pine resin, pressed in on them.
Karrion seized his heavy tongs and carefully lifted the rune‑etched metal box. Inside, the Heart of Starflame seemed to quiver with the forge's heat; its light flickered unpredictably as the faint hum of clashing energy pulsed within—as if two imprisoned beasts were clawing at their bars.
He set the box at the exact edge of the firebed—close enough to draw warmth, yet far enough to avoid triggering an uncontrolled eruption of its violent power.
Drawing a deep breath, the dwarf's chest heaved. He picked up a small rune‑hammer and approached the anvil, his gaze sharpening to a single point: the iron block and the flames.
A low exhalation preceded his chant, a deep, resonant recitation in ancient Dwarvish. Each syllable struck the air like metal on metal, guiding the fire's fury and soothing the Heart's restless turmoil.
As his chant grew, the runes carved into the anvil glowed in turn. Their gentle pulses of light merged with the flames' glow, bathing the cavern in a sacred, scorching aura.
Raine leaned against the cool rock wall, the heat washing over him in searing waves. His body remained feeble—each breath a dagger in his lungs. The backlash of star‑magic writhed faintly within him, coiled and ready to strike. He watched Karrion's stout back loom larger than life in the inferno's glow.
Thalia curled deeper into the shadows, her vast cloak swallowing most of her. She breathed so softly it was almost silent. Only her eyes, glinting occasionally in the fierce light, betrayed her turmoil—worry, fear… and something like grim resolve.
Karrion's chanting rose to a fierce crescendo. He tapped the anvil gently with his rune‑hammer—ding… clang… ding‑ding. The crisp sounds wove with his deep song, stirring the forge's energies into a fine frenzy. Flames surged, and the anvil runes flared as though seeking escape.
Suddenly, Karrion hoisted a second, larger forging hammer. With a swift motion, he retrieved a glowing ingot from his pack—an alloy forged to channel celestial power—and plunged it into the roaring fire.
The ingot vanished in searing white heat. Karrion's chant sped up, each word laced with raw strength. He plucked the molten metal from the blaze with iron tongs and placed it on the rune‑etched anvil.
CLANG!
The first hammer strike sent sparks dancing like shattered stars. A shockwave rattled the cave; dust trickled from the ceiling.
CLANG! CLANG! CLANG!
He hammered with lightning speed. Each blow struck exactly where the glowing metal most needed shaping. With each impact, the anvil's runes flared, and raw power rippled outward.
Under his blows, the metal stretched and spread. No longer a simple ingot, it took the rough outline of a blade pulsing with energy. It drank in the forge's heat and the runic light, even drawing the faint star‑residue shimmering in the air.
The blade blank's color shifted—white‑hot, then golden, then a deep, lava‑like red flecked with starlight. Power pooled within it like magma ready to burst.
Karrion's brow beaded with sweat, but his eyes remained as sharp as a hawk's. Satisfied the core was forged, he tossed a handful of shimmering powder—ground star‑shard mixed with secret Dwarven rune dust—onto the blazing blank. The powder hissed, igniting into brilliant sparks.
He roared in triumph, then hammered again in a furious rhythm. The anvil runes burned fiercely, their glow converging into a swirling lattice around the blade.
At last, Karrion paused, placing his hammer aside. The forge crackled; the blade blank thrummed violently, as if about to break its bounds. In one swift motion, he wheeled toward Raine, eyes flashing imperative command.
The critical moment had arrived.
Raine's heart clenched. He stared at the dark‑red blade thrumming on the anvil, feeling the molten heat and raw force in the air. He knew his role: the final catalyst.
He sheathed his trembling resolve into action. Drawing a keen dagger, he ignored Thalia's barely audible gasp. His gaze locked on his own left wrist, pale and veined beneath the flickering light.
With a steady breath, Raine plunged the dagger deep. Pain exploded through him, yet he remained silent. Blood welled and spilled, jeweled with starlight.
This was Starblood, the living link between the heavens and earth.
He stumbled forward and pressed his bleeding wrist against the heating blade blank. Scorching air seared his flesh; the blade's hunger bellowed in silent roar.
The first drop fell.
SIZZLE—
There was no gentle hiss. Instead:
A pure, blinding white flash erupted from the blade's core. Furnace fire and starlight blazed together, washing out the forge's glow and filling the cave with brilliant radiance.
Raine's vision went to blinding white. A thunderous roar filled his ears, as if cosmic gates had been shattered. A wave of unimaginable power burst outward, warping reality itself in rippling waves. Rocks trembled; dust rained from the ceiling.
Karrion braced at the anvil, shouting ancient runes faster and faster to anchor the storm of energy. His beard and hair whipped backward in the blast.
Thalia's cry cut through the chaos as she threw up an arm to shield her eyes, cloak snapping in the gale. She felt that pure, overwhelming star‑force echo painfully within her own Dark‑Core.
At the storm's heart stood Raine, bearing its brunt. The blood sacrifice itself drained him. The blade's fusion with his Starblood spun an invisible vortex that nearly emptied him entirely.
Worse, the unleashed star‑power ignited the latent backlash of his own magic. Fire and ice racked his limbs, as if his soul were being torn apart.
"Aaaah—!"
He screamed, a raw cry of agony. A cascade of fractured visions tore through his mind: a dimmed night sky, the forest writhing in corruption, Marcus's cold gaze uttering, "Light must fade; only the void endures," flames ravaging his lineage, his sister's desperate cries, Thalia's pale, anguished face, Karrion's battle roar, and the Blade itself screaming with joy and grief… finally, a bottomless void swallowing all.
Blinding pain detonated inside him—countless molten needles searing his brain.
Then, everything went black.
"Raine!"
Thalia's desperate shout cut the thunder. Rae fell limp, the world still pulsing around him as darkness claimed him.