The cavern was eerily silent after the destructive power of the Forgotten Flame had burned through everything in its path. The faint glow of the Ember in Victor's hand was the only light, casting long shadows against the jagged stone walls. His chest heaved with the remnants of the battle, but his mind was already racing, far beyond the smoke and ash that hung in the air.
Skritch landed next to him, his small form flickering in and out of existence as he remained cautious, still recovering from the turbulence of the battle. His sharp eyes scanned the surroundings, then shifted back to Victor. "Is it really over?"
Victor glanced at the Ember, now dimming to a mere ember of its former intensity. The cavern was empty of threats, but there was a heavy sense of something unspoken, something still lingering. The Forgotten Flame had consumed Caligo, yes, but Victor felt a strange emptiness inside. Something was missing, a piece of the puzzle that hadn't been resolved.
"I don't know," Victor murmured, his voice distant. "It feels too easy."
Skritch let out a soft squeak, his wings shifting nervously. "Well, maybe that's just the way of things now. You've beaten him. That has to count for something, right?"
Victor shook his head. "We've won the battle, but we haven't won the war. Caligo was only a piece of the puzzle. The shadows that followed him—this mountain itself—they weren't just after me. They were after something more."
Skritch tilted his head. "Like what?"
Victor didn't answer immediately. His eyes were fixed on the slowly dying flames, their light flickering as though responding to an unseen force. The air around them felt thick with an unnatural tension, as though something ancient was awakening deep within the mountain.
The ground beneath them trembled lightly, a low hum that resonated through the stone floor. Then, from the shadows beyond, a voice echoed—low, ancient, and full of malice.
"You think you've won, Victor?"
Victor froze, his grip on the Ember tightening. The voice was familiar, but not in a way he could place. It was a voice that stirred something deep within him, a memory he couldn't fully grasp.
Skritch's wings flared as he looked around, panic rising. "That's... that's not possible! Caligo—he was—"
The voice laughed, its tone filled with dark amusement. "Foolish. You think Caligo was the end of the shadows? He was merely a puppet. A vessel. You've destroyed him, but you haven't even begun to understand what you've set into motion."
Victor narrowed his eyes, scanning the cavern once more. "Who are you?"
From the darkness, a figure emerged—tall and draped in tattered robes that seemed to absorb the light around them. Their face was hidden, but the air crackled with the power of their presence. The voice, however, had a chilling familiarity that gnawed at Victor's instincts.
"You do not recognize me, Victor?" the figure asked, stepping forward with slow, deliberate movements. "You should. After all, it was I who made you."
Victor's heart skipped a beat. The Ember pulsed once more, as though responding to the figure's presence. A flood of memories, unbidden and fractured, rushed to the forefront of his mind. A dark place. A forgotten ritual. Pain and betrayal. **A creator who abandoned him.**
"No…" Victor whispered, a cold shiver running down his spine. "It can't be."
The figure lowered their hood, revealing an ashen face, marked with symbols Victor had never seen before. Their eyes were empty, hollow voids that seemed to suck in all the light around them, leaving only a swirling darkness in their wake.
"I see you remember now," the figure said, their voice thick with contempt. "You were always so eager to forget, weren't you? So eager to run from what you truly are."
Victor's mind raced, struggling to place the face before him. He had no memory of this person, yet their presence felt suffocatingly familiar. The sensation was overwhelming, like trying to recall a dream just before it faded into the abyss of oblivion.
"You were my creator?" Victor finally asked, his voice heavy with disbelief. "The one who…" He trailed off, unable to finish the thought, the memories too fragmented to make sense of.
The figure chuckled softly. "Yes, Victor. I gave you life. I gave you purpose. But you failed me. You failed to understand the true nature of the flames you now wield."
Victor's pulse quickened. "Flames? You mean the **Eternal Flame Ember**."
The figure nodded, their smile widening. "Ah, the **Eternal Flame**. The true power that lies within it. The Forgotten Flame is nothing more than a fragment, a shadow of the original fire. But you, Victor—you hold the key to the flame's true potential. That is why you are here."
Victor shook his head, trying to block out the rising panic. "I've never wanted this. I never asked for any of it. You created me, but I've made my own choices. My own path."
The figure's expression twisted with dark amusement. "Your choices? You've always been a pawn, Victor. Every step you've taken, every victory you've claimed—it was all part of the plan. The plan I set into motion long before you ever stepped foot in this world."
Skritch's voice trembled as he hovered next to Victor. "What does that mean? What does he want from you?"
Victor's mind raced, but there was no time to answer. The figure took a step forward, and the ground beneath them seemed to crack open, revealing the dark chasm below. A faint red glow pulsed from the depths, casting eerie shadows on the walls.
"You are not free, Victor," the figure intoned. "Not now. Not ever. You belong to the Flame, and the Flame belongs to me."
Suddenly, the **Eternal Flame Ember** erupted with blinding light, pushing back against the encroaching darkness. Victor felt the heat surge through him once more, but this time, it wasn't just fire—it was power. Raw, untamed, and destructive.
The figure recoiled slightly, sensing the shift in energy. "You fool," they hissed. "You think you can control it? You cannot contain the power of the **Eternal Flame**. It will consume you, just as it consumed the others."
Victor held the Ember tightly, feeling its pulse, its fury. He could feel the power within him—he wasn't just a servant of the flame. He was the flame. The fire that burned through the worlds, shaping them as it willed.
"I am not yours," Victor said, his voice cold and resolute. "You made me, yes. But I control my own fate now."
The figure's eyes narrowed, a flicker of something ancient and dangerous flickering within them. "We shall see, Victor. We shall see."