Frostbound Flame: Legacy of the Forbidden Clans

The wind howled through the Eldervault Mountains, carrying with it an ancient scent—of ash… and stars.

Kaien stood atop the highest spire of the Sanctuary, his golden cloak billowing, the warmth of the sacred flame pulsing behind his ribs. A week had passed since his coronation as Flamebearer, yet rest had never come.

Because the portals were waking.

Not the trial gates, nor the teleportation shrines used by clans—but the primordial gates carved into the bones of the world. Hidden. Forgotten. Feared.

They had begun… to breathe again.

A Message from the Snow

Yuki's return to the Himetsuru Clan had not gone as expected.

Her uncle—Lord Hisen, current clan head—had greeted her coldly.

"You walk with foreign fire," he'd said, eyes narrowing at her frostblade laced with Kaien's seal. "And yet call yourself daughter of the ice."

But Yuki didn't flinch.

She stood her ground, offered no apology, and placed Kaien's name among the sacred records of clan allies. It was a silent war—but one she would not lose.

On the seventh night, she received a scroll—marked with the flame-symbol of the Sanctuary.

Inside, Kaien's handwriting:

"The first portal opened in the east. Near Hollowrift Crater.It's no longer dormant.I'm going. Meet me if you can.—K"

Yuki smiled.

And packed her blade.

Gathering the Survivors

In the heart of the Sanctuary, Kaien called together his allies—Akari, Baran, and three new faces:

Saejin: a shadow-dancer from the lost Moonveil Clan, once thought extinct. Calm, calculating, deadly with twin daggers and nightstep magic.

Lira: a healer from the Sunspire Monastery, gifted with light seals and prophetic dreams.

Toru: a massive hammer-wielding exile from the Stormgarde, a walking tempest with a heart too big for war.

Akari crossed her arms. "We really doing this? First portal?"

Kaien nodded. "Hollowrift Crater. If the Hollow Flame's really tied to it, we need to reach it before they do."

Baran grunted. "If they're already there?"

"Then we burn through them."

The Hollowrift Crater

The journey took three days.

The land near the crater was dead. Trees twisted. Birds silent. The wind blew in unnatural patterns, like it was searching.

When they arrived, the earth was cracked open like a wound. In the center stood a spiraling gate of bone and molten stone—half open, bleeding red light into the sky.

Dozens of masked cultists knelt around it, chanting. And above them floated a figure—hooded, armored in silver obsidian, face hidden by a veil of smoke.

Kaien's heart stopped.

He recognized the voice that drifted down.

"We greet the Flamebearer… with open arms.You've come just in time… to watch the first beast awaken."

The figure lifted a hand.

And from within the portal…

something crawled out.

A beast of ash and horn, dripping black flame, eyes hollow but filled with hate.

Kaien's New Power — The Flamebond Spear

Kaien summoned his flame—but this time, instead of the usual sword, it shifted.

The Third Seal responded.

Flame coiled into a spear—long, ancient, glowing with runes from the Dragon King's own age. Not just for offense… but to seal portals.

Baran widened his eyes. "You've never used that before."

"I haven't," Kaien said. "But the flame says it's time."

He leapt forward.

Yelling:

"Dragon Seal Art — Flamebond Spear: First Form!—Pierce the Rift!"

He hurled the weapon into the center of the portal. The runes ignited.

The gate screamed.

The beast inside reeled—its body torn between planes.

The cult leader shrieked. "NO—YOU CANNOT—"

Yuki's froststorm descended from the sky.

"Too late."

Her sword drove through the beast's skull just as the portal slammed shut with a blast of heat and smoke.

Aftermath — The First Portal Closed

The dust settled.

The Hollowrift Crater was sealed—for now.

But as Kaien retrieved the Flamebond Spear, the Keeper's voice echoed faintly through his flame:

"Six more portals remain.And one… leads to the Void Dragon.Be warned, Flamebearer. That one… cannot be sealed.Only sacrificed to."

Kaien's blood ran cold.

Behind him, the survivors regrouped.

Saejin wiped his blades. "That was only the first."

Akari frowned. "The next ones won't be that easy."

Kaien looked to the horizon.

Where a second glow was already rising.