The Heart Of The Mountain
The path to the final Seal began with silence.
Not just quiet—but a total stillness that spread through the land like rot. No birds. No wind. No sound but the crunch of footsteps over stone and ash. Even the flame in Kael's blood dimmed, like it sensed what was coming.
The Heart of the Mountain awaited.
The last Seal.
The last key.
And beyond it... Malrekh.
---
They passed through the Vales of Hollow Stone, a jagged labyrinth of peaks where sound was swallowed and light twisted. The locals called it the "mouth of the dead god." Mira said it was once a place of pilgrimage—before the gods burned each other into myths.
Now only cursed things lived here.
Kael said nothing.
He carried Rendlight strapped across his back, and the three Seals already burned into his body—flame, ember, and stardust.
They felt heavy now.
Like expectation.
---
On the third day, the mountain came into view.
Kael-Durak.
A monstrous stone titan jutting from the earth, its peaks shaped like fangs and claws. Ancient chains dangled from its cliffs, rusted links thicker than tree trunks. Long ago, something had been bound inside the mountain.
And long ago, it had broken free.
---
They reached the Gate of Thorns by dusk.
A massive archway carved into the base of the mountain, guarded by statues of warriors in agony. Their eyes had been gouged, and their mouths sealed with molten gold.
Tana muttered, "This place doesn't want us here."
Korrin added, "Neither do I."
Kael stepped forward.
The gate opened without a sound.
---
Inside, the air changed.
It was hot, yes—but not like fire. It was the heat of breath, of something alive deep in the stone. The tunnels pulsed with red veins in the walls, glowing like arteries. Ancient runes flickered overhead.
Mira consulted her notes. "The Heart of the Mountain is not a place—it's a creature. A living flame. The last guardian of the Seals."
Kael nodded.
"Then I'll speak to it."
---
As they descended, Kael felt pressure building—like the mountain itself pressed inward. Visions struck him harder now: flashes of Malrekh's fortress, of Elaine chained to a wall of fire, of Alin screaming.
And through it all, a whisper:
> "Almost mine."
He gritted his teeth and kept moving.
The tunnels widened.
And finally… opened into a chamber of fire.
---
It was massive.
Lava flowed through the air like rivers. Stone platforms floated in space. At the center hovered a heart—not a metaphorical one, but a real, pulsing heart the size of a fortress, suspended by flame and magic.
Kael stepped onto the platform.
The heart pulsed once.
And from it formed a guardian.
---
It was a golem made of obsidian and magma, twenty feet tall, crowned with a ring of fire. Its voice was the grind of stone on stone.
> "You carry the Seals. You are the end of the cycle."
Kael raised Rendlight. "I'm the one who's going to finish this."
> "Then prove yourself."
The platform trembled.
The heart beat louder.
And the fight began.
---
The guardian struck with fists like mountains.
Kael ducked, rolled, and countered with a flare of flame from his wings. Rendlight clashed against the golem's arm, sending sparks across the air. Tana and Korrin tried to intervene, but the air repelled them—this was Kael's trial alone.
The golem moved faster than it should. Its flame twisted like a serpent. Its strikes echoed with thunder.
Kael fought harder than ever.
Each swing was a scream.
Each blow a memory.
Each parry an act of defiance.
---
Finally, Kael shouted—
> "I'm not your weapon! I'm not Malrekh's puppet! I'm not the end! I'm the one who chooses!"
With that, he drove Rendlight into the guardian's chest.
The creature cracked.
Light exploded.
And the chamber went still.
---
The heart lowered.
Kael approached, burned, bloodied, gasping.
The final Seal hovered above the heart—pure, molten flame in the shape of a tear.
Kael took it.
And fire raced through his veins like lightning.
---
He saw everything.
Every hunter before him. Every sealed gate. Every moment Malrekh tried to twist fate.
He saw his mother, still alive, still fighting.
And he saw the truth.
The Seals were never meant to lock Malrekh out.
They were meant to lock something else in.
---
He dropped to his knees, panting.
Mira rushed forward. "You did it. You have all four."
Kael whispered, "No. I broke something."
The chamber shook.
Cracks split the stone.
The heart beat faster.
---
Above them, in the sky, a tear opened.
Not clouds—reality.
Through it came wings. Claws. Shadows. Screaming.
Malrekh's army.
The Seals hadn't been binding him.
They'd been protecting the world from something worse.
---
Kael stood.
His eyes glowed like suns.
"I have to go to the Rift."
Mira's voice trembled. "It's suicide."
"No," Kael said. "It's a choice."