Chapter 82 so terrified
The weight of the lead wolf’s words lingered in my mind. Do not fear the fire. Fear what happens if you let it die.
I clenched my fists, trying to steady my breathing. The fire inside me still pulsed, flickering beneath my skin, restless.
Lena exhaled sharply, sheathing her dagger. “So, just to recap—we fought a bunch of shadow monsters, you turned into a human flamethrower, ghost wolves knighted you or whatever, and now we have to chase an unknown ‘next flame’ while avoiding more creepy hooded figures?”
Logan scoffed. “Sounds about right.”
She turned to me, eyes sharp. “Please tell me you have some kind of plan, Elias.”
I looked past her at the ruins, at the faintly glowing symbols carved into the stone. They were still warm, still thrumming with energy. The lead wolf had said this place had given me what it could—but I wasn’t so sure it was done with me yet.
I stepped forward, placing my hand against one of the symbols. The stone was smooth, unnaturally so, and as soon as my skin made contact, the fire inside me flared in recognition.
A pulse of heat surged through my arm.
Not a warning. A direction.
My gaze snapped to the north, beyond the ruins, where the dense forest loomed. The fire inside me coiled, shifting toward that pull, as if drawn by an unseen force.
“That way,” I said, my voice steadier than I felt. “The next flame is that way.”
Lena followed my gaze, her expression wary. “And you know this because…?”
“The fire,” I admitted. “It’s guiding me.”
Logan ran a hand down his face. “Oh, great. We’re following mystical instincts now.”
Lena shrugged. “Beats standing here waiting to get ambushed again.”
She wasn’t wrong.
I let go of the stone and turned to them. “We move now. Before those things come back.”
No one argued.
We grabbed what little supplies we had and slipped into the forest, the ruins fading behind us. The deeper we went, the quieter the world became, the air thick with something unseen.
Something watching.
And somewhere ahead, waiting in the dark—
The next flame burned.
The deeper we moved into the forest, the heavier the air became. It wasn’t just the quiet—there was something else. A pressure. Like the trees themselves were holding their breath, waiting.
Lena stayed close to my left, her fingers twitching near her dagger. Logan walked ahead, his movements tense, scanning the shadows like something might lunge at us at any moment.
I couldn’t blame him. I felt it too.
The fire inside me still pulsed, guiding me forward, but it wasn’t a smooth pull. It was erratic now, flickering with unease. Like whatever lay ahead wasn’t just waiting.
It was watching.
Lena broke the silence. “You sure we’re not walking into some kind of elaborate death trap?”
“Not sure,” I admitted. “But we don’t have a choice.”
Logan grunted. “Fantastic. Love having no options.”
We kept moving. The deeper we went, the more the forest changed. The trees here were thicker, their roots twisting unnaturally through the dirt. The canopy overhead swallowed most of the moonlight, leaving us moving through patches of silver and shadow.
And then I saw it.
A break in the trees up ahead. A clearing.
But not just any clearing.
The ground was blackened, scorched like a fire had raged through here long ago. At the center stood a single, twisted tree—its bark charred, its branches bare.
The fire inside me pulsed wildly.
This was it.
“The next flame is here,” I said, stepping forward.
Lena gave me a skeptical look. “Where? Because all I see is a creepy dead tree.”
I wasn’t sure either. But the fire inside me wasn’t wrong. I moved closer, the heat rising beneath my skin.
As I reached out—
The air shifted.
A whisper. Not with words, but with feeling. Like something waking up.
Then—
The ground trembled.
Logan swore, drawing his weapon. “Okay. That’s not normal.”
Lena took a step back. “Elias…?”
Before I could answer, the charred tree split open.
Not like it was falling apart.
Like it was unfolding.
A shape emerged from the hollowed trunk—tall, humanoid, but wrong. Its body was made of blackened bark, its limbs twisting and cracking like old wood. Eyes like smoldering embers locked onto mine.
The whispering grew louder.
Then it spoke.
“You carry the fire.”
Its voice wasn’t like the hooded figures. It wasn’t dry and brittle. It was deep, ancient, like the sound of burning forests and cracking embers.
I swallowed hard. “Yeah. And?”
The creature tilted its head, considering me. Then it stepped forward. “Then you must prove you are worthy to wield it.”
The ground cracked beneath my feet.
The fire inside me roared to life.
Lena cursed. “Why is there always a test?”
Logan exhaled sharply, bracing himself. “Because nothing in our lives can ever be easy.”
The creature raised its hand, and the flames around me surged higher, twisting into something alive.
And just like that—
The second trial had begun.
The fire surged, spiraling around me like a living thing. The creature’s ember-like eyes burned with expectation, waiting—watching—to see what I would do.
This wasn’t just a test.
It was a challenge.
Lena and Logan had already stepped back, their weapons drawn, but they weren’t the ones this thing wanted. It was here for me.
I clenched my fists, feeling the heat coil beneath my skin, wild and untamed. “Fine,” I said, voice steady despite the fire raging inside me. “Let’s do this.”
The creature’s lips curled—if it even had lips. Then it moved.
Fast.
One moment it was standing in front of me, the next it was on me, its burning fingers wrapping around my wrist.
The pain was immediate—like molten metal searing into my skin.
I barely had time to react before it shoved me backward, and suddenly, the clearing was gone.
I wasn’t falling. I wasn’t flying. I was just—somewhere else.
A world of endless fire.
Flames stretched in every direction, licking at a sky that wasn’t there. The air was thick with heat, but it wasn’t unbearable—it felt familiar. Like home.
But I wasn’t alone.
A figure stood ahead of me.
Not the tree creature.
Not an enemy.
Me.
Or at least—something that looked like me.
Same face. Same stance. But the fire in its eyes wasn’t just burning—it was consuming.
It grinned, tilting its head. “Finally,” it said. “I was wondering when we’d meet.”
My pulse hammered. “Who the hell are you?”
The other me laughed. “Come on. You already know the answer.”
I did.
And that terrified me.
This wasn’t an illusion. It wasn’t some shadow creature or hooded enemy.
This was the fire.
The raw, untamed force inside me, given form.
And I had a feeling I wasn’t leaving until I proved which one of us was in control.