The wind howled across the mountain ridge as night fell, bringing with it a bone-deep chill that crept into the very soul of Hollow Ember. Within the rebel camp, the fires remained low, their glow muted under canvas shades to avoid detection. Silence reigned—an unnatural quiet born not from peace, but from fear.
Chris sat alone atop a tower of rusted scaffolding, watching the stars.
There were more of them now than he remembered. Or maybe he was just finally looking up again.
Mira joined him quietly, her presence as familiar as it was volatile. She carried two mugs of warm root-brew, one of which she handed to him without a word.
"Thanks," he said, taking it.
They sat together in silence for a time, the sky vast above them, the world below cracked and uncertain.
"You don't trust her," Mira said.
Chris didn't need to ask who she meant.
"Maya?" he asked anyway.
Mira nodded.
"I used to," Chris admitted. "She trained me. Gave me my first job. Smuggled me out of a Dominion cell when I was fifteen."
"She left you behind," Mira said flatly.
Chris didn't respond.
"I don't care what history you two have," Mira continued. "People like her? They play the long game. And if we're part of it now, we better figure out what the rules are."
Chris looked at her. "You think she's lying?"
"I think," Mira said carefully, "she's not telling you everything."
Chris sipped the brew, grimacing at the bitter tang.
"Welcome to war," he muttered.
Then—footsteps behind them. A shadow emerged from the stairwell.
It was a young girl—no older than thirteen—with pale skin and inked runes spiraling down her neck. She bowed quickly.
"The map you asked for," she said, holding out a roll of cloth. "From the scribe's tent."
Chris took it. "Thanks."
She lingered.
"Is it true?" she asked softly. "That you fought the Seeker and lived?"
Chris blinked. "Who told you that?"
"Everyone."
Mira raised an eyebrow. "Rumor moves fast."
Chris offered the girl a small smile. "Yeah. It's true."
The girl nodded solemnly. "They say she can kill with a whisper."
Chris looked away. "Not always."
The girl hesitated. "She wasn't always like that. The Seeker. I remember her. When I was little. She used to protect us."
Chris froze.
"You knew her?" Mira asked.
The girl nodded. "Not well. But she saved my family once. Back before the Dominion branded her. Before she wore the mask."
"What was her name?" Chris asked quickly.
The girl frowned. "They erased it. Like they always do."
Chris's hand clenched around the map.
Later, back in the command tent, Maya stood over a projection of the Weeping Spires—jagged peaks that jutted from the land like broken teeth. Mist coiled around their roots, obscuring anything beneath.
"This is where the shard is," Maya said, tapping a glowing red dot on the map.
"What's guarding it?" Chris asked.
Maya grimaced. "A relic unit. Dominion tech—half machine, half soul-binder. Powered by god-flesh harvested from the old temples."
Mira cursed softly. "You're sending us into a graveyard."
"Better us than a thousand innocents," Maya said. "If the Dominion gets access to the lost shard, they'll find the temple. And if they find the temple…"
She didn't finish.
Chris looked at her. "You still haven't told me what's in that temple."
Maya met his eyes. "A weapon."
"Of course," Mira muttered.
"Not just any weapon," Maya said. "One forged by the gods before they disappeared. Something they left behind when the old world shattered. Something the Dominion wants to rewrite the laws of magic."
Chris stepped back. "And we're supposed to steal the key to that?"
Maya nodded. "With your speed. With Mira's fire. With the rebels' help. Yes."
Chris exhaled slowly.
The girl who hunted him might soon be the least of his problems.
That night, as the camp settled into uneasy slumber, Chris lay awake beneath a cracked canvas roof, staring at the glowing embers in the fire pit beside him.
He remembered the Seeker's mask.
The way she'd paused.
The tremble in her voice.
She wasn't just a weapon.
She was someone once.
And maybe, just maybe, she could be again.
But first… they had to survive the Spires.
And the relic waiting within.