It was now that the world felt different.
Rin stood in the clearing, her hand still curled around the Emberstone, burning with warmth in her palm. The rush of power was intoxicating but came at a price. She felt as if she were grasping a flame that could light the way before her, or incinerate her altogether. Energy pulsed through the air around her, and the pulse of the stone vibrated through earth and up into the bones in her body.
The figure had disappeared into the shadows, leaving behind only the faint hint of its existence. But Rin knew better than to believe it was really gone. There'd been a shift. She could feel its aftereffect still rifting in the air. Dark hadn't been routed. Only stalled.
She looked down at the Emberstone, how it pulsed in her hand in soft, gentle light like a heartbeat. Her fingers burned, but not with pain—the sizzling was from elsewhere, something old as time itself. It was as if the stone had waited for her, and found, it would not let go.
A chill crept up her spine, and Rin pulled her cloak tighter over her shoulders, feeling suddenly very small in the scope of the forest. The wind had passed but there was an unnatural stillness in the air, and as if the world were holding its breath. She knew she could not stay here much longer.
That voice still, so faint at first, so urgent, rang in her ears once more: Find the Emberstone. before the darkness does.
Rin shuddered, for she knew that voice was not wrong. The dark was real. She had felt it, tasted the presence of it in the air. And the figure that had stepped out of darkness was only the first of many to come for the stone. There was no more pretence now. What she bore was more than a quest. It was a battle to survive.
But then where to? The map, given her by her grandmother, was little more than a used piece of parchment now, the ink washed to almost invisibility, and the instructions garbled. Still, it had gotten her here. To this clearing. To the Emberstone.
She looked up at the trees around her, her heart thudding in her chest. The stone circle seemed a refuge. A sanctuary. Now it felt like an enclosure. Darkness had already found her once before. It wouldn't take long before it found this place again.
Something was moving near the edge of her vision. She spun sharply.
Another flame. And this time, not alone.
From the very center of the forest, lights materialized in a procession: floating like will-o'-the-wisps, brighter and brighter, each one till the air was charged with sparks of potential energy as the flames swirled about her in a delicate, pulsing dance. Her heart slowed down of its own accord, mesmerized, as if inviting her to trail behind.
Only for a moment did Rin hesitate. The darkness out there was still present, but so was the light. There was no other choice but to trust it.
Deep breaths did little to calm her; she continued moving toward the nearest light. The others followed, flames swirling in a delicate pattern, almost as if guiding her through the woods. As she walked, air grew warmer, the chill lifting; with it, her sense of dread began to ease - just slightly.
The lights took her deeper into the forest, past twisted roots and towering trees. She could feel the weight of the stone in her hand; something stronger than her own will dragged her forward with each step. Almost as if she could feel its power building, it thrummed beneath her skin, urging her to hurry and move along.
The sun was setting. She saw that for herself. The forest had opened up onto a great clearing. Rin stood frozen, unable to breathe.
A massive stone building lay in the center of a clearing. It was of an ancient yet somehow familiar shape. Its walls ran with symbols that shimmered in the dying light, and its air pulsed with ancient power. This was no ordinary place. She could feel that. She'd felt it the same way when she'd sensed the Emberstone calling her. This was a place where magic had once thrived.
The flames danced in front of her, and one by one, each flame settled at the base of the stone structure, there casting light on the carvings upon its surface. The air felt almost heavy with meaning, and she knew she was there.
Nothing disturbed the stillness, except the rise and fall of her breathing as she walked toward the stone steps leading up to the entrance. She stopped, her fingers tightening around the Emberstone. A chill of foreboding crept over her, but there was no going back now.
A low growl emerged out of the darkness. Rin's pulse spiked. She was not alone.
The figure again came out from the edge of the clearing, its robe billowing with the power of the wind. Its shape was discernible this time, and its existence undeniable. It was no longer just a figure-it was a being, a force of darkness personified.
"Do you think you can hide here?" the voice boomed deep and resonant. "The stone belongs to the darkness. You cannot protect it forever."
Rin closed her fists, the emberstone's heat flaring through her, like waves of fire. The voice was trying to crumble her, break her will. But not now.
"I won't let you take it," she said, her voice unbroken.
The figure took one step forward, its shadow stretching long across the clearing. But before it could come any farther, the flames around Rin flared up, surrounded her like a protective barrier. The figure recoiled, hid its face back in the depths of its hood, but Rin could feel its rage, its hunger.
"You can't stop it, kiddo," the figure hissed. "The Emberstone is not only a weapon. It's the secret to everything: life and death, time. And it will be mine."
Rin took a step back. Her breathing was picking up now. His words were strong, full of a truth she could feel deep in her chest. The Emberstone was more than just stone. It was a key-one that opened to something far greater than she could imagine. Yet it had chosen her. It had chosen to stay with her.
She could feel the will of the stone—growing stronger with every breath. Heat spread in her chest and, with it, a churning flame across her veins.
"I am the one it chose," she said calmly. "And I will defend it."
The figure hesitated, its shadow shuddering. For an instant, Rin almost thought it would pull back. And then it laughed. Low and cruel.
"We shall see, little Firebringer," it whispered. "We shall see."
Earth rumbled underneath her feet; wind rampaged as that figure vanished into blackness, leaving Rin in the clearing. Rin's heart ran like a stampede; she could hear her heartbeat pulsing wildly in her ears. She felt branded by something ancient and terrible—something that would stop at nothing to reclaim what she held.
And yet, in that instant, she was clear on one thing: the darkness would not win the Emberstone. At least, not while she had breath left in her chest.
She took one final defiant look at the shadowed wood and stepped inside the stone structure, illuminated by the warmth of Emberstone. Whatever waited for her inside, she was prepared for.
It wasn't close to being done.
And the darkness would never cease to hunt for her.