The Flames Beneath

I. Kasa – Trial of the Second Seal

The cave walls pulsed as if alive.

The first seal had shown betrayal.

The second? Orikai warned:

"This one burns the soul, not the skin."

Kasa pressed his palm to the etched flame.

The stone glowed.

His mind unraveled.

He stood in a hall of gods.

Towering forms. Boundless light. But their faces…

Cold. Masked. Watching.

In the center, Nzobalu, radiant and defiant, stood before judgment.

"Your flame spreads too far," one god said.

"You give mortals too much," said another.

"You've broken the Accord."

Nzobalu did not kneel.

"What is divinity if it fears the fire of change?"

The gods raised their hands.

A verdict. A shattering.

A fall not from grace—but from fear.

Kasa screamed as the vision ended, smoke pouring from his eyes.

The Ember-Blooded caught him before he fell into the ashes.

Orikai whispered:

"They erased him from history… but the truth cannot be chained forever."

"Three more seals, and you'll burn with what they feared most."

Kasa did not answer.

But in the flame-glow, his eyes had changed.

II. Nouvo Lakay – Rising Currents

Atop the communal hill, Ajima met quietly with delegates from both subsidiary tribes.

"We give offerings. We give warriors. But we do not sit among those who speak to gods."

"Why?" she asked. "Because we weren't chosen?"

"Then perhaps we must choose ourselves."

Murmurs turned to nods. Plans began to take form.

III. Zion – Beneath the Masks

Zion walked the perimeter of the ancestral circle, feeling the ground beneath his feet shift.

He had asked for unity. Built it with fire and sacrifice.

But now?

"They want more than protection," Ayola said beside him.

"They want power. Voice. Place."

"Shouldn't they have it?" Zion asked.

Ayola's stare was unreadable.

"That depends on whether this is still a tribe… or a kingdom."

IV. Sael's Warning

That night, Sael entered Zion's chamber unannounced.

"Ajima is meeting in secret. She's gathering arms, not votes."

"You gave her land. Authority. Respect. She wants more."

Zion clenched his jaw.

"Do we act?"

"Not yet," Sael replied. "But we must prepare."

"Because once fire spreads through dry grass, it doesn't ask who planted the spark."

V. Kasa – A Flicker of Destiny

Back in the caverns, Orikai sat with Kasa beside the smoldering basin.

"Do you wonder why you were marked, and not someone else?"

"Nzobalu did not choose you randomly."

"He chose you because of the wound you carry."

Kasa said nothing.

But within him, something stirred—

Not vengeance, not yet.

But the beginning of direction.

And far above them, lightning broke the sky.

As if the gods had begun to remember.

VI. Convergence Begins

In Nouvo Lakay, Zion gazed toward the east, where fires rose on the distant hills.

"Someone is coming," Ayola said.

"Not a threat yet," Thalia added, "but not a friend either."

Zion nodded.

"Then we walk forward with open eyes… and a steady hand."

And in the ruined groves of ash, Kasa whispered to the shadows:

"You feared his fire once."

"This time, you'll face mine."