Aeryn didn't remember closing his eyes.
He didn't remember falling.
He only remembered heat—like molten iron pressed into his lungs—followed by a suffocating darkness that swallowed every sound.
And then…
A voice.
Soft.
Familiar.
Worried.
"—ryn… Aeryn… hey, stay with me, flamehead."
Kaela's voice.
The darkness cracked.
Aeryn jerked awake.
He inhaled sharply, coughing as cold air stabbed into his chest like broken glass. His vision took a moment to adjust, shapes blurring in and out, white and black merging like spilled ink.
He wasn't dead.
He was inside a tent—dim, lit only by a single arcane lamp that flickered nervously like it was afraid to shine too brightly. He lay on a bedroll, his shirt torn open, his torso wrapped in bandages still warm from healing magic.
And at his side—
Kaela, looking more exhausted than he had ever seen her.
Dark circles under her eyes.
Hair a tangled mess.
Hands trembling slightly, still hovering over him as if afraid he'd vanish again.
She exhaled, relief flooding her face.
"You idiot," she whispered. "You nearly burned yourself alive."
Aeryn blinked.
His throat was raw.
His voice cracked.
"What… happened?"
Kaela swallowed, her gaze softening.
"You pushed your core too far. That attack—whatever you did—it wasn't normal flame. It was something else. Something destructive."
She paused.
"Leviathan nearly killed all of us. But you forced it back. You gave us the opening we needed."
Aeryn's head throbbed.
Images returned in flashes—
The Leviathan's roar.
Its obsidian scales.
Its abyssal eyes.
The mana corruption swirling around its monstrous body.
And then—
That moment.
That terrifying, blinding moment.
When something inside him broke open.
He didn't remember choosing to use it.
He didn't remember controlling it.
He only remembered the overwhelming sensation:
An ancient fire that wasn't his.
A will not entirely his own.
A power that felt…
Borrowed.
Alien.
Wrong.
Kaela leaned closer, studying him.
"What were you thinking? You barely survived. Your core cracked—Aeryn, do you understand how dangerous that is?"
He tried to sit up but immediately regretted it—pain shot through his ribs like lightning.
"Easy," Kaela said quickly, placing a hand on his shoulder. "Don't move too much. The healers repaired your core's structure, but not completely. It'll take time."
Aeryn nodded slightly.
"…How long was I out?"
Kaela hesitated.
"…Three days."
Aeryn's eyes widened.
Three days.
Before he could react further, the tent flap burst open and someone rushed in.
"HE'S AWAKE?!"
Lyria almost tripped over herself rushing to his side, ears flicked forward like an overly excited cat. She immediately shoved Kaela aside and grabbed Aeryn's face between her hands.
"You can't scare me like that ever again—do you hear me?! I thought we lost you! I almost dug you a grave! I mean—okay, it was just a small one, and only because Kaela told me to calm down—but still—Aeryn!"
Kaela rolled her eyes.
"I did not tell you to dig a grave."
"You implied it!"
"No, I told you to sit still."
"Same thing!"
Aeryn managed a weak chuckle.
It hurt, but it grounded him.
Grounded them.
"How's everyone…?" he asked.
Lyria's expression calmed, her hands dropping to her lap.
"We won," she said quietly. "The Leviathan is dead."
Aeryn froze.
Dead.
He hadn't expected that.
He remembered hitting it, yes—but defeating a creature like that?
He didn't think he had delivered a killing blow.
Kaela noticed his confusion.
"We didn't beat it because of your attack alone," she explained. "But you shattered its mana shield. Without that, Lyria and I were able to land finishing blows."
Lyria puffed her chest slightly.
"And I stabbed it in the eye."
Kaela glared.
"Lyria. He doesn't need vivid images right now."
"What? It was cool!"
Aeryn let out a slow breath. Relief washed through him—cold, heavy, overwhelming.
They were alive.
All of them.
But deep inside…
A question remained:
What was that power?
Aeryn clenched his fist under the blanket, feeling the faint heat pulsing beneath his skin. It was still there—dormant, like an ember waiting for a chance to ignite again.
Kaela saw the tension in his hand.
"Aeryn," she said softly. "Talk to me. What happened back there?"
Her eyes searched his like she was trying to pull the truth directly from his soul.
Aeryn looked away.
"I… don't know," he admitted. "It wasn't… normal fire. It felt like something else took over. Like I wasn't the one casting it."
Kaela's worry deepened.
"That's what I was afraid of."
Lyria tilted her head.
"So, what? You've got a demon living in your belly like some ancient mythology?"
Aeryn shot her a look.
"…No."
Lyria shrugged.
"Hey, I'm just brainstorming."
Kaela crossed her arms.
"We need answers. Whatever that was—it wasn't natural magic. It almost burned through your mana circuits. And the corruption in Leviathan reacted to it like it recognized it."
She sighed.
"Something inside you is awakening, Aeryn. And we don't know what it is."
Aeryn opened his mouth to respond, but suddenly the tent flap opened again—this time quietly, respectfully.
Elara stepped inside.
The elf carried a solemn air, even more than usual. Her silver eyes shimmered softly in the lamplight.
"You are awake," she said gently. "Thank the stars."
"Hey…" Aeryn said, his voice softening. "You okay?"
Elara gave a tiny nod.
"I am unhurt. Thanks to your reckless bravery."
"That sounds like a compliment," Lyria whispered.
"It was," Elara replied, deadpan.
Kaela sighed.
"Look, Aeryn. Once you're stable enough to move, Elara and I want to run some mana resonance tests. Maybe we can figure out the source of that power."
Elara added, "Not here, though. This camp is temporary."
Lyria grinned.
"And also because Aeryn exploded last time."
"I didn't explode," Aeryn muttered.
"Exploded-ish."
Kaela pinched her nose.
"We're not calling it that."
Lyria puffed out her cheeks.
"Fine. Mini-explosion."
Aeryn rubbed his forehead.
"I'm right here, you know."
Lyria patted his shoulder.
"We tease you because we love you."
Kaela flinched suddenly.
"I—I don't— I mean—obviously we care but—Lyria, why would you say it like that?!"
Lyria blinked innocently.
"Am I wrong?"
Elara coughed gently.
"Perhaps we should… shift topics."
Aeryn hid a smile.
Despite everything—despite the pain, the terror, the unknown—these three kept him grounded.
Human.
Alive.
Kaela cleared her throat and focused.
"There's more. The Leviathan wasn't alone."
Aeryn tensed.
"What do you mean?"
Elara stepped forward.
"When the Leviathan died, its body released a surge of corrupted mana. It didn't dissipate. It traveled."
She paused.
"Somewhere south. Deep into the fractured lands."
Lyria nodded grimly.
"Like something was calling it."
Kaela looked directly at Aeryn again.
"And the moment that surge moved… your magic reacted. Your mana flared on its own. Like your core was responding to something."
Aeryn felt cold all the way to his bones.
"So… what does that mean?"
Elara answered quietly.
"It means your power is connected to whatever lies in those lands."
Silence fell in the tent.
Heavy.
Uncomfortable.
Unavoidable.
Aeryn's heart beat faster.
He barely understood his own magic—and now there was something calling it? Something corrupted? Something powerful enough to influence the Leviathan?
Kaela placed a hand on his arm, gentle but firm.
"You don't have to face this alone," she said. "We'll go with you. We'll figure this out together."
Lyria nodded enthusiastically.
"Obviously! You're not going anywhere without your team, flamehead."
Elara's gaze softened as well.
"Aeryn, we chose to travel with you. That choice does not waver."
His chest tightened—not from pain, but from something warmer, something grounding.
"Thank you," he whispered.
But before the moment could settle, a distant horn blasted through the camp—deep, urgent, resonant.
Kaela's face immediately shifted from warmth to alarm.
"That's the alert horn."
Elara's hand went to her bow.
"Trouble."
Lyria's tail fluffed.
"Oh for the love of—can Aeryn have one peaceful wake-up?!"
Kaela looked at Aeryn.
"You stay here. No moving. I swear, if you try to walk—"
Aeryn tried to sit up again and nearly blacked out from pain.
Kaela glared.
"Exactly."
Elara approached him and placed a glowing hand above his chest.
"Aeryn. Rest. That is your battlefield for now."
He swallowed hard.
"…Be careful."
The three shared a look—a silent agreement forming between them—and then rushed out of the tent.
Aeryn lay there, helpless, listening to the growing noise outside—shouts, footsteps, clashing metal.
He closed his eyes, trying to breathe steadily.
But deep in his core—
that dormant fire pulsed again.
Slow.
Steady.
Hungry.
Something was coming.
Something that had felt the Leviathan's fall.
Something that wanted him awake.
The embers inside his chest glowed faintly—
too faint for anyone to see, but bright enough for him to feel.
The calling was getting louder.
And Aeryn knew—
This awakening was far from over.