Beyond Worlds, Beneath the Star God

The Pyrean Library wasn't a building.

It was a cavern.

Carved into the volcanic roots of Emberhold, its entrance was flanked by two giant statues of faceless scholars, their cloaks formed from fused books and ash. Between them, a spiral path of cooled magma descended into the mountain's heart.

Very few were allowed inside.

But Kun had passed the Trial.

And in the eyes of the flame… he now had the right to seek knowledge.

---

Guardians of Knowledge

At the gates stood a pair of Burnt scholars, their robes inscribed with glowing glyphs. They said nothing as Kun approached, only nodded once, then stepped aside.

The air inside the cavern was thick—warm not just with heat, but memory.

Torches burned with no visible fuel, suspended in glyph-etched braziers. Shelves of obsidian and iron held scorched tablets, melted scrolls, and even fossilized thoughts sealed in crystal.

Elandor had described this place once in whispers:

> "Where Emberhold remembers what the world wishes to forget."

---

The Glyph-Wall

At the very rear of the lowest chamber, Kun found what he was looking for.

A wall. Ten meters high. Made not of stone, but firebound crystal. Etched into it were moving glyphs—thousands of them—scrolling continuously like molten runes in a river of flame.

He approached.

The moment his hand hovered over the surface, the glyphs paused.

And rearranged themselves.

Into words he could read.

---

The Legend of the Emberheart

> The Emberheart is no mere weapon.

> It is a fragment of the First Star's Will, shattered during the Fall of the Flameborn and buried beneath the world to slumber.

> Its awakening signals the return of the Inheritance Flame.

> He who claims it shall not wield power, but awaken the fire in others.

Kun blinked.

Inheritance Flame?

He stepped closer—and the wall shivered.

A single glyph at the center began to glow brighter.

Then burn.

Then detach.

---

The Fire Wraith

With a sound like cracking glass and shrieking metal, the glyph tore free of the wall and hovered before him. It twisted, expanded, and coalesced into shape:

A floating humanoid form made entirely of flickering orange-white fire. No eyes. No mouth.

But a voice—soft and ancient—filled the cavern.

> "You are the one who remembers the flame."

Kun raised a brow. "And you are…?"

> "I am the record. The sentinel. The last breath of a fallen era."

> "I am what remains of the Flameborn… of you."

Kun stiffened. "What do you mean, me?"

> "You carried the seed through the void. You fell, and your light scattered. But the fire never forgets its bearer."

> "You are the Third Spark. The Incomplete Flame."

---

The Third Seal Stirring

Kun felt something deep in his chest stir.

Not pain.

Resonance.

The second seal, which had laid dormant since the Firefall Rite, pulsed once.

Then again.

He fell to one knee, clutching his chest. A sigil—half-formed—glowed beneath his skin.

The wraith hovered close.

> "The Emberheart is the Key. Not to destruction… but to restoration."

> "Find the Forge Beyond Fire. Claim the Heart, and the Third Flame shall remember you."

Before Kun could speak again, the wraith fractured—its essence flowing into a nearby crystal tablet that sealed itself shut with a hiss.

---

The Scholar's Warning

Elandor and Lyra arrived moments later, alerted by the pulse of raw magic.

Elandor looked at the sealed crystal, then at Kun's glowing chest.

His face darkened.

"You've awakened something," he said. "Something none of us are ready for."

Kun stood slowly. "Then we'd better get ready."