Frostbound Flame: Legacy of the Forbidden Clans

The wind howled with a voice that wasn't its own.

The party stood before the towering cliffs of the Howling Spires, jagged mountains that pierced the clouds like black daggers. Atop their peaks, pale lightning flickered across the sky, and below, a deep humming echoed—a lullaby that made bones vibrate.

"This place…" Lira whispered, her hand trembling. "It knows my name."

The Sixth Portal is Alive

Unlike the others, this portal hadn't been sealed behind a beast or prison. It had awakened fully—nestled within a natural cathedral of stone and sound, warping the Spires into a symphony of madness.

Saejin's expression was hard. "We're too late. This isn't a defense—it's a trap."

Yuki narrowed her eyes. "Then we end it quickly."

But Kaien raised his hand.

"No. Something's off. The Flamebond Spear isn't reacting. The portal is… listening."

And it was.

Each step echoed not once, but twice.

The second echo whispered back twisted versions of their thoughts:

"Baran... you let your father burn."

"Lira… they never needed your light."

"Yuki… he'll never choose you."

"Kaien… you're becoming the Void Dragon."

A Voice From Lira's Past

At the temple's core, a floating shard of sound hovered—radiating harmonic frequencies. From it, a voice spoke in a soft, melodic tone.

"Lira… my little star."

Lira stepped forward, frozen.

"…Mother?"

A ghostly image emerged from the shard—her mother, cloaked in the same ice-blue robes she wore the day she died in the battle of Winterfall Keep.

Kaien grabbed Lira's arm. "It's not her. It's an illusion."

But the voice smiled.

"Would an illusion know the lullaby I sang you on your eighth name-day?"

Then she began to sing.

Lira's knees buckled. Tears flowed.

"I don't understand…"

The shard pulsed.

"Join us. Your power is harmony, not war. The Hollow Flame offers peace."

Betrayal Among Them

As the group debated what to do, a sharp crack split the air.

Baran fell to one knee, blood staining his side.

Saejin stood behind him—dagger wet.

This time… there was no hesitation.

"I warned you," he said. "The Hollow Flame promised me freedom from fate. You… all of you… are bound to chains."

Kaien turned, fury in his eyes.

"You said you changed sides."

Saejin's voice was bitter. "I did. And then I saw the truth. Your fire will end the world. The Void Dragon sleeps beneath the final portal—and you're its key."

Battle: Silence vs Flame

Kaien charged, his Flamebond Spear erupting with furious light.

But Saejin activated a silence field, muting Kaien's flames. Sound warped—Yuki's magic faltered, Lira's chants failed.

Saejin's voice rang alone in the silence.

"No noise. No pain. No destiny."

But Kaien clenched his jaw—and slammed the butt of his spear into the earth.

"You forgot one thing."

He closed his eyes.

And listened.

To Yuki's breath.

To Lira's quiet sobs.

To Baran's heartbeat.

Then he opened his eyes, fire reborn.

"My fire doesn't burn alone."

He spun the spear, dragging flame from every voice around him—creating a storm of Resonant Flame, merging the song of the Spires with the roar of his soul.

"Flamebond Spear – Fifth Form: Echoburst Nova!"

The silence shattered.

Saejin was thrown back, unconscious.

The illusion of Lira's mother faded—screaming.

The sixth portal cracked—but didn't seal.

A Fractured Party

Baran was wounded.

Lira sat motionless, trying to hold her tears back.

Kaien helped Yuki to her feet, who had shielded Lira from the collapsing shard.

"I'm sorry," Yuki whispered. "I almost froze again."

"You didn't," Kaien said. "You stood. That's what matters."

Saejin lay bound, unconscious.

Lira looked at him.

"He… was broken from the start, wasn't he?"

Kaien nodded. "And I almost was too."

The Portal's Warning

As they began to leave, the sixth portal flared one last time.

A voice not belonging to any of them echoed:

"Six songs sealed. But the final one… is silence eternal.""The Seventh Portal lies within the Heartgrave Cavern. And there… the Void Dragon dreams."