In the quiet town of Hanae, people lived ordinary lives, unbothered by tales of distant lands and forgotten legends. For most, magic was just a bedtime story, a relic of a world that only existed in the minds of the old. But Rin didn't believe that. She felt a strange tug in her chest whenever she gazed at the sunset, as though something beyond the horizon was calling her.
On this particular evening, Rin was perched on her favorite hill, watching the sun dip below the mountains. As the last rays of sunlight scattered, she felt it—a warmth that started in her fingertips, spreading up her arms and into her heart. Startled, she pulled her hand away from the ground. Was it just her imagination?
A faint voice drifted in the wind, soft but filled with urgency.
"Rin..."
She whipped around, expecting to see someone, anyone. But the hill was empty, save for the whispering grass and the distant cry of birds. A chill ran down her spine.
"Who's there?" she called, her voice trembling.
Silence followed, thick and heavy. But before she could dismiss it, the voice returned, clearer this time.
"Find the Emberstone… before the darkness does."
Rin's mind raced. The Emberstone? She'd heard that name before, in her grandmother's tales. It was a source of power, a flame that never died, a spark that could either save or destroy. But those were just myths, right?
She closed her eyes, breathing slowly to steady her heart. When she opened them, a small flicker of light appeared just a few feet ahead. She blinked. The light was still there, floating like a tiny flame, waiting for her.
Drawn to it, Rin stepped forward, reaching out hesitantly. The flame seemed to dance in her presence, brightening as her hand neared. When her fingers brushed against it, a surge of warmth shot through her, a feeling both powerful and strangely familiar, like a memory she couldn't quite grasp.
Then, as suddenly as it had appeared, the flame vanished, leaving her alone in the twilight.
Rin stood there, her heart pounding, her hand still tingling from the warmth of the flame. She didn't understand it yet, but something had awakened inside her. And she knew—somehow, she knew—that this was only the beginning.