The mountain's shadow stretched far into the broken valley as Kaen and Lira moved forward, their steps uncertain but their resolve sharpened by fear. The air was thick, every breath tasting of ash and coming storm.
"We need to find shelter," Lira muttered, glancing up at the turbulent sky.
Kaen barely heard her. His mind was elsewhere—haunted by the vision of his mother, by the gate, by the thing he had unknowingly released. Every step he took felt heavier, as if unseen chains tried to drag him back toward the summit.
A sudden roar echoed across the valley.
Kaen and Lira froze.
From the jagged rocks ahead, a figure stumbled into view—no, not stumbled. It floated, dragging its feet along the ground, head lolling side to side. Its body was half-burned, flesh hanging in tatters, its mouth stretched wide in a silent scream.
One of the Ash Heralds.
Lira swore under her breath. "Looks like your welcoming party arrived early."
Kaen clenched his fists. He could feel something stirring inside him—the same burning energy that had awakened at the plateau. But it was faint, like an ember struggling against the cold.
The creature hissed, and more shadows emerged behind it. Half a dozen more Ash Heralds, their eyes hollow, their movements jerky and unnatural.
"We can't fight all of them," Lira said. "Not like this."
Kaen shook his head slowly. "No. But we can delay them."
Without another word, he slammed his hand against the ground. A pulse of raw force erupted from him, sending cracks spiderwebbing through the dirt. The Ash Heralds recoiled, stunned for a brief moment.
"Run!" he shouted.
They bolted across the valley, the ground trembling with each step. The Heralds gave chase, their bodies moving with horrifying speed once they recovered.
Lightning ripped across the sky, briefly illuminating something massive in the distance—a fortress built into the mountainside, black as obsidian and older than memory.
Kaen's chest tightened. "There!"
They sprinted toward it, their lungs burning. Behind them, the Ash Heralds shrieked, a cacophony of rage and hunger.
The fortress gates loomed larger and larger. Carved with symbols Kaen half-recognized, they pulsed faintly, as if sensing his approach.
Lira reached the gates first, slamming her palms against them. "Open, damn you!"
Nothing.
The Ash Heralds closed in.
Kaen staggered to the gate, pressing his cracked pendant against the surface. For a moment, nothing happened.
Then—
A low, grinding sound.
The gates shuddered and began to part.
"Inside!" Kaen barked.
They slipped through the narrow gap just as the first Ash Herald lunged. The gate slammed shut, severing its arm, which twitched violently on the stone floor.
Silence fell.
Kaen leaned against the cold stone wall, panting.
Lira looked around, her face pale. "Where… are we?"
Kaen swallowed hard.
"Somewhere worse," he said.
In the darkness beyond the gates, something stirred.
Not dead. Not alive.
Waiting.