The Furnace Wastes

Some players chase beauty in Eternum Online.

Rolling meadows. Floating cities. Places with glowing cherry blossoms and koi ponds that make you forget the real world exists.

Then there's us—wading knee-deep through molten ash and lava-blasted ruins in a region literally called "The Furnace Wastes."

Brutus squinted ahead, his helmet steaming. "Can someone explain how this part of the map even exists? Is the game allergic to shade?"

"Lore says it's the ancient forge of a forgotten civilization," Sera replied, fanning herself with a fire scroll.

"Feels more like the inside of a broken toaster," Aiko muttered.

We'd been walking for ten minutes and my boots were already making squelching noises I didn't trust.

The quest log had updated as soon as we entered the zone:

Memory Seal II: Trial by Flame

Clue: "Speak not lies, for the flame knows truth. Only honesty may pass."

"Great," I muttered. "So we're about to be roasted by a glorified lie detector."

Brutus raised a brow. "So what if someone lies? Do we get zapped?"

"No," Sera said. "We get judged."

I stared at her.

She stared back.

"What? I read the dev wiki."

We climbed over a hill of blackened stone, and there it was: a massive brazier the size of a house, set in the center of a cracked obsidian arena. Runes glowed around its base, flickering like dying embers. The air shimmered.

As we approached, the ground trembled.

System Alert: You have entered the Ember Crucible.

Trial of Truth Initiated

Participants: 4

Rules: Each player must answer one question aloud.

Falsehoods will be punished.

Success will reveal the Memory Seal.

"This is the part where you say, 'Hey, maybe let's turn back,'" Brutus whispered.

"No turning back," I replied. "We're in this."

Flames burst from the brazier, and a voice echoed—not robotic, not NPC-like. Almost… divine.

"EchoPrime," it said.

I stiffened.

"What do you fear most?"

The others turned to me.

Not the kind of question you can dodge. Not here.

I thought about lying. About saying "failure" or "spiders" or some joke to break the tension.

But the furnace didn't want jokes.

It wanted the truth.

"…Being forgotten," I said.

The flames dimmed slightly, then steadied.

Accepted.

Aiko's turn.

"AikoDrift," the voice said, "What was your greatest betrayal?"

She sucked in a breath. "I once sold out my old guild in another game for a top-tier mount. Didn't tell anyone. I still log into the server just to ride it sometimes."

Silence.

Then a gentle flicker.

Accepted.

Brutus went next.

"BrutusBeefcake," the voice boomed, "What do you pretend not to know?"

He looked sheepish. "How to craft potions. Everyone thinks I'm the team's tank AND the cook. I've just been buying them from an NPC and switching the labels."

The flames roared.

Then subsided.

Accepted.

Sera stepped up last.

"SeraVale. What truth do you hide?"

She hesitated.

Then spoke quietly.

"I used to hack games. Just for fun. I got banned from a big VRMO two years ago. Since then, I've gone clean… but I still worry I'm just pretending to be legit."

The fire stilled.

Accepted.

A sound echoed—metal shifting.

A stone pillar rose from the brazier's center. Embedded within was a glowing seal: a fiery red gem, shaped like a teardrop, engraved with the same triangle-circle symbol of the Dawnwatch.

You have obtained: Memory Seal II

+1 Dawnwatch Token

Seal Imprint Added to Quest Progress: 2/3

No enemies. No boss fight.

Just brutal honesty.

We collected the seal and left the arena in silence.

For once, even Aiko had nothing to joke about.

We made camp just outside the Crucible. The fire crackled low, and the stars above the Furnace Wastes looked sharp and cold—like tiny blades hanging overhead.

I sat apart from the others, staring at the two tokens in my inventory. One mirrored, one molten. Each one heavy with something more than just code.

Memories.

Sera sat beside me.

"You okay?" she asked.

"Yeah," I lied. Then paused. "Actually, no."

She didn't push.

So I kept talking.

"This place. These trials. I know it's a game, but… it's starting to feel real. Like it knows us."

She nodded slowly. "It does. Not just the game. The memory of it."

I turned to look at her.

"You knew before, didn't you?"

Sera's eyes flickered.

"I woke up on launch day… and I remembered everything. My first guild. My ban. The tournaments. The fall of the original Dawnwatch."

"Why didn't you say anything?"

"I wanted to be sure you were really EchoPrime. Not just a copy. Not just pretending."

"And now?"

She offered a half-smile. "Now I know you're not the only one trying to rewrite the past."

A quiet clicked into place between us—not awkward, but full. Like shared weight.

Aiko broke it by snoring loudly.

Brutus rolled over in his sleep and mumbled something about lava sharks.

I couldn't help but smile.

We had one seal left to find.

And five days until the Reset.