The Final Seal
The sky turned black before they reached the edge of the chasm.
Not from night—but from smoke.
The land Mike and Ren entered next was a scar. Blackened trees twisted like burnt fingers. The air stank of scorched iron and decayed magic. Even Aero hesitated in the wind, landing only to walk beside them rather than fly.
The map pulsed with growing urgency. The seals on Mike's belt—Phoenix, Flame, Frost—each glowed faintly now, responding to the final destination ahead: a ruin buried in fire, marked only by one symbol.
A broken chain.
⸻
The trial awaited in a place once known as Vaern's Pit—a collapsed fortress built into a ravine of glass and ash. Old banners flapped limply from shattered ramparts. A single stairway descended into the smoke.
They made camp on the ledge.
Ren stared into the pit. "You sure you want to go alone?"
Mike nodded. "This one feels different. I think… I think it's meant for me."
He gave Ren the map. "If I don't come back—"
"You will," Ren said.
Mike looked to Aero. "Stay with him."
Aero chirped, unsure.
Mike placed a hand on her shoulder. "This is something I have to face alone."
And then he walked into the fire.
⸻
The path wound downward, carved by magic, not man. Symbols flickered on the walls as he passed—images of gates, of stars, of people being torn in half by shadows with too many eyes.
At the bottom was a circular chamber of black stone and ember-glass.
In the center: a mirror.
Or so he thought.
But as he stepped closer, the mirror moved.
It was him.
But older. Scarred. Eyes hard. Cloak torn. Bow darker.
The reflection spoke.
"Are you ready to lose who you were to become who you must be?"
Mike gritted his teeth. "Yes."
The figure raised its bow.
Mike raised his.
They fought.
⸻
It wasn't a battle of weapons. Not entirely.
Each arrow fired triggered a memory—a fear.
• Jake screaming in the forest.
• His mother calling out, but too late.
• His father turning away.
• The glowing device shattering.
• Aero bleeding, wings broken.
• Ren lying still.
• Mike failing.
The shadows closed in. He fell to one knee.
The mirror image stepped forward. "You were never strong enough."
"I was never meant to be," Mike whispered. "I was meant to stand anyway."
He fired one last arrow.
The mirror shattered.
A rush of flame washed over the chamber—but it did not burn.
Instead, it freed.
From the fragments rose the final seal.
A sphere of light and black, swirling like dusk caught in fire.
Mike reached for it.
As he touched it, the seals on his belt flared—then fused.
The map ignited.
Four symbols burned bright.
And the path—the true path—opened.
⸻
He climbed out of the pit at dawn.
Ren and Aero stood waiting.
Ren's eyes widened. "You did it."
Mike nodded, holding out the final seal.
"It's time to find the gate."