The wind was still. Too still.
Squad Umbra stood at the mouth of a jagged cavern in the heart of the Obsidian Wastes. This wasn't just another Bist hideout—this was ancient. The rock carried the burn of forgotten wars, its veins pulsing with faint red glows, like the ground remembered blood.
Captain Rylen knelt, placing a hand on the scorched soil. "It's not just dormant energy," he muttered. "Something is watching."
Kaizen stepped forward, eyes narrowed, his breath fogging though the air wasn't cold. Ayaka stood beside him, her hands clutching a small Vein crystal that vibrated softly.
"Nerovar," she whispered. "He's near. Or at least... his will is."
The squad advanced, weapons drawn, nerves stretched thin like silk before the snap.
The cave opened into a ruin carved by hands no longer remembered. Massive columns spiraled upward into darkness, engraved with symbols of flames and eyes. At the center stood a circular chamber, silent and ominous.
Kaizen paused. The ground beneath his boots pulsed.
"This is it," he said. "The Silent Flame."
The artifact lay on a pedestal—a black shard flickering like it was on fire, though it emitted no heat. Just presence.
Rylen ordered the team to form a perimeter.
As Kaizen approached the shard, his fingers trembled. Visions flickered—cities burning, Ayaka crying blood, the sky split in half. His knees weakened.
"Kaizen!" Ayaka shouted, catching him as he staggered.
His eyes rolled back.
The vision came.
He stood on a battlefield of ash. A million corpses burned behind him. And across from him, a tall, shadow-cloaked figure—its face veiled, its eyes two glowing eclipses.
Nerovar.
"You were born to end it," the voice said, distorted and deep. "But ending comes at a price."
Kaizen lifted his sword, but the blade melted. Nerovar raised his hand—and Kaizen fell, blood exploding from his chest.
And then—darkness.
---
Kaizen awoke, gasping. The shard was still in place. The chamber was silent.
But something was different.
Ayaka helped him to his feet. Her face was pale.
"There's... something here," she said, pointing behind the pedestal.
They followed a narrow path into a sealed room, torchlight flickering on the walls. Then they saw it:
A mural. Ancient, massive, carved in obsidian.
It showed two figures. One—clearly Kaizen, the mark of flame on his chest unmistakable. The other was a man cloaked in shadow, with no face—just two crescent-like eyes.
The mural depicted their battle. A hundred armies fell beneath them. Cities crumbled. And at the end—Kaizen knelt, pierced by a black blade. Blood pooled at his feet.
Below the mural, ancient text read:
> "The One Who Burns Will Kneel Before The One Who Devours."
Ayaka's breath caught in her throat. "Kaizen... this isn't just history. It's prophecy."
Kaizen stared at the mural, his hands shaking. The shard in his pocket began to glow hot.
And then—
A low voice whispered across the chamber. Not from outside, but inside their minds.
> "Run."
The shard cracked. The chamber darkened. And a faint chuckle echoed through the walls.
Goosebumps surged across every member's skin.
Kaizen looked up—his eyes no longer just red, but flickering with something... ancient.