I Became the Error the Gods Couldn’t Erase

The winds that swept across the gray plains carried the bitter tang of iron and ash, as if the earth itself had bled in the night. Above, storm clouds churned in bruised purples, swallowing the last slivers of twilight. In my hand, the Ember Shard pulsed with a heartbeat of its own, each glow echoing the frantic rhythm of my chest.

Kaelin moved at my side like a living shadow, her bowstring taut and eyes scanning every dark corner. Toren brought up the rear, his axes swinging lightly at his hips, each step measured yet ready to strike. My muscles burned from the endless march, but exhaustion was nothing compared to the power coiling within me.

I could still hear Lira's final words whispering in my mind: You're not chosen. You're cursed. That sting defined every moment now, fueling a resolve I couldn't yet name.

The sight of Velar Village felt surreal—stone cottages huddled together as if seeking each other's warmth, lanterns flickering behind shuttered windows. No laughter drifted through the air, no children's footprints dotted the paths. Only a hushed dread greeted us.

Mara's hut emerged at the village's edge, its door framed by ancient runes that glowed softly under the shard's light. Inside, the air was thick with the scents of dried herbs and candle smoke. Shelves sagged beneath dusty tomes and bone talismans, each humming with hidden magic.

Mara herself stood waiting, her silver eyes piercing me as though she could read every hidden thought. "The shard has awakened him," she said without preamble. "I felt the earth tremble when you crossed the threshold."

I swallowed and held out the Ember Shard. "I saw Rael," I admitted, voice trembling. "He stood in a sea of embers, bound by chains of fire and shadow."

Her gaze darkened. "Rael's sacrifice formed the seal beneath the Hollow Cradle. Morvaegoth, the Devourer, sleeps in its depths. But the seal frays, and your shard carries both Rael's triumph and his failure."

A distant howl shattered the quiet, rattling the runes on the door. Mara's lips curled into a knowing smile. "Then we have no time."

Outside, the night erupted. From the swirling mists emerged ash wolves—beasts of six limbs, fur swirling like smoke, eyes glowing with embers. Their low growls pulsed through the air.

Toren was first to respond, axes ablaze with runic fire. He met the lead wolf in mid-leap, and the creature collapsed to cinders. Kaelin's arrows flew true, cutting through shadow and bone.

I stiffened as the wolves turned their gaze on me, drawn to the shard's fierce glow. Instinct ignited beneath my skin. The shard flared, and a wall of golden flame roared to life, driving the beasts back. Fire wrapped around them, consuming their forms until nothing remained but drifting embers.

But the fire's hunger was insatiable. It lashed at the corner of a nearby hut, igniting straw and sending flames leaping toward a terrified child's window. A scream tore from my throat and I wrenched the flame back into myself, pain searing through my arm as the shard rebelled against control.

When the last wolf vanished, silence fell like a curtain. I sank to one knee, blood trickling from my palm as the shard's glow dimmed to a soft ember.

Mara knelt beside me, her hand gentle on my shoulder. "The Flame remembers its master," she explained. "Rael bound Morvaegoth, but the Devourer lives on. Your shard holds his essence."

I blinked, tasting ash on my tongue. "Then the Devourer will rise again?"

She rose, her staff tapping the ground. "The seal beneath the Cradle weakens with each Astralfall. You must journey to Velhara and stand where Rael fell. The Spire of Ash holds the next clue."

Night claimed me in exhaustion, yet sleep brought only visions: a battlefield of black glass, chains of molten iron snapping one link at a time as Rael kneeled beneath a sky of bleeding stars. A distant voice whispered, Find me in the city of graves—Nexaris.

I awoke with the shard's ember glow searing through my palm, the world around me bathed in a fierce red dawn. Kaelin stood over me, bow lowered in a rare gesture of concern.

"We leave at first light," she said softly. "The Ashen Road will guide us to Velhara, and then to Nexaris."

I rose, gripping the shard as if it was the only truth I still possessed. The path ahead wound through broken spires and rivers of black glass, but my purpose had never been clearer. The Ember's curse would lead me through shadow, toward the legacy of Rael, and to the final battle against the Devourer.

And as Velar Village faded behind us, the world held its breath—waiting for the flame that refused to die.