Ember of Aetherra

The compass hadn't stopped spinning since the attack.

Kael gripped the brass instrument at the bow of the Rust Sparrow, its needle twirling like a trapped ghost. His knuckles whitened as the wounded ship groaned beneath him, held aloft by the Driftborn crew's desperate efforts. Lyra's vines wove through torn sails, Jinro's wind gusts kept their descent steady, and Cragg's stone-clad fists pounded the hull back into shape.

"We're being dragged into the Maelspire Belt," Lyra said, her voice sharp. She clutched a scorched map, its edges curled from her Bloom magic's heat during the battle. "No charts go this far. No captain with sense sails here."

Kael's Chaos Embera pulsed under his ribs—a jagged beat, like a heart fighting itself. The compass needle froze, pointing to a dark shape piercing the storm ahead.

An island.

Uncharted. Wrong.

Its cliffs jutted like shattered fangs from the glowing sea, wrapped in black vines that glowed faintly. Ruins crowned the peak, not eroded but half-swallowed by the mountain, humming with a sound that set Kael's teeth on edge.

Then the whispers came.

Not in their ears. Not in their minds. Somewhere deeper, crawling up their spines like ice. Talli clutched her temples, her Echo Embera amplifying the noise. "It's in my bones—make it stop!"

Jinro dropped to his knees, blood dripping from his nose. Lyra stumbled, her tattoos flaring green in defense.

Kael stood steady. His Chaos sigil burned crimson—not its usual silver—resonating with the island's call.

"It wants me," he said, voice low.

The Temple of Forgotten Embers

They anchored at a crumbling dock, its stones too perfect yet worn, as if waiting for them forever. The air tasted sharp, like lightning and old secrets.

As they climbed the path, the ruins spoke:

Catalyst markings. All nine. And a tenth.

Lyra traced a spiral carved into the temple's arch. "This was a haven," she whispered. "For people like you, Kael. Before the Guild hunted them down."

A weathered statue guarded the entrance—a hooded figure holding flame and shadow. Below it, faint letters:

V—R

Kael reached out—

—and the world vanished.

Stars spun in a black void. Silver fire fell from a bleeding sky. Ghostly figures in old robes drifted past, their mouths moving in silent cries.

"You are the second."

A cloaked figure stood behind him, masked like a Sentinel but broken—cracks in the porcelain showed sad, storm-gray eyes.

"He was the first."

Above, a burning skyship fell like a star. On its deck stood a man like Kael, in a torn coat, standing as he did now.

"He fought fate," the figure said softly. "So fate broke him."

Kael's chest tightened. "Who was he?"

The mask tilted. "Chaos picks the broken, not the strong."

A sound like shattering glass yanked him back.

Kael gasped, back in the temple, his crew frozen mid-step. An obsidian mirror now stood before him, its surface rippling like dark water.

His reflection wasn't his.

An older Kael stared back—scarred, eyes empty, his Chaos sigil cracked and leaking red light. Behind him, cities burned in silver flames.

The reflection reached out—

—and time crashed back like a wave.

"Kael!" Lyra grabbed him as he staggered. "You were gone for minutes! We couldn't reach you!"

"I saw him," Kael rasped, the vision's heat still on his skin. "Another me. He burned everything."

The Guild's Trap

Night brought no rest. Kael sat on the temple steps, staring at the compass—now still—while Jinro stood watch nearby.

"What if this power's a curse?" Kael asked the stars. "What if it turns me into a monster?"

Jinro's hands moved slowly: Monsters don't fear becoming monsters.

Lyra, in the doorway, didn't need to translate. The words hit hard—until a blue flare lit the sky.

Cragg burst through the vines, crushing a Guild letter in his stone fists. "They're here," he growled. "And they're not playing fair."

The note bore the Ninth Guild's seal and a cold demand:

Bearer of Chaos,

Come alone by dawn,

Or we take your crew apart.

Kael looked up. Clouds parted, revealing nine airships descending, their hulls glowing with battle runes. Not just Sentinels. The whole Guild had come for him.

The compass twitched, pointing not to the ships but down, into the island's heart. Kael's Chaos Embera thrummed, echoing the island's hum.

"They knew we'd come here," Lyra said, her tattoos glowing faintly. "This isn't a hunt. It's a setup."

Talli, pale, forced herself up. "The whispers are louder. They're warning us. Something's waking below."

Cragg cracked his knuckles. "Let it wake. I'll break it."

Kael's eyes fixed on the temple's arch, the tenth marking twisting in his mind. The vision of that scarred Kael lingered. He burned everything.

"I'm going," Kael said, standing. "Alone, like they said."

Lyra stepped forward, fierce. "No way. We're Driftborn. We stick together."

Jinro signed: Go alone, die alone.

Kael met their eyes—loyal, scared, defiant. He wanted to protect them, but the island's pull was too strong, his sigil too loud.

"Together, then," he said. "But we're not walking into their trap. Lyra, can your vines scout the island? Find a way to outmaneuver them?"

She nodded, touching the glowing vines. "They're strange, but they'll guide me if I ask."

"Jinro, Cragg," Kael said, "get the Rust Sparrow ready to fly—or fight."

Jinro signed: She'll hold. Just.

Cragg grinned. "I'll make her a wall."

"Talli," Kael turned, "can you pick out anything clear in the whispers? Something we can use?"

She swallowed, her Echo Embera flickering. "It's broken, like a half-heard song. But it keeps saying 'key' and 'lock below.' It's under the temple."

Kael gripped the compass. Its needle pointed downward, into the island's core. Whatever waited there was tied to him—and to the reflection that haunted him.

"We find it before the Guild does," he said.

As the crew moved, Kael stayed a moment, watching the airships' runes gleam like eyes. The Guild's threat was a knife at his throat, but the island's secrets were a chain on his soul. He didn't know which would cut deeper.

The compass spun once, then stopped, pointing to the darkness below.