The car growled to life as Naomi turned the key in the ignition, its hum steady beneath the tense silence that filled the vehicle. They'd stopped for gas at a station they passed on the empty stretch of highway. Inside, truckers and travelers murmured anxiously, their voices low, eyes fixed on the ash-gray clouds and the eerie red glow spreading across the horizon—the last remnants of Volkov's mansion.
Elias sat in the back, draining a large cup of coffee to ward off exhaustion, his face lined with the ghost of sleepless nights. Ava, fast asleep, leaned against his shoulder, her quiet breathing the only sound from her corner.
Up front, Naomi adjusted her seatbelt, glancing back through the rearview mirror. Dan was in the passenger seat, but the usual grin he wore was gone. Instead, he had a focused frown that hinted his mind was already moving three steps ahead.
Naomi exhaled, brushing a loose strand of hair from her face. "Alright," she said, breaking the silence. "We're headed to The Company. They can offer some protection, but we still have the issue of the sword."
She looked at Lucius, her reflection catching his eye in the mirror. "What do we do about that, Lucius?"
Lucius's eyes gleamed with amusement. "Would you like the simple answer or the long one?"
"Simple, please," Naomi replied, unphased, a hint of a smile tugging at her lips.
Lucius chuckled, shaking his head. "The simple answer is that Elias needs to rebuild his sword with a different intention. The last one was born from anger, from desperation," he said, his eyes shifting to Elias. "If you recreate it with those same emotions, it'll break again."
Naomi pressed her lips into a thin line, turning the thought over. "A different intention... Not anger. Not desperation."
Elias looked up, his gaze shadowed but alert. "Then with what?"
She frowned, glancing back at him. "That's what we need to figure out. And how we even go about forging it. None of us are blacksmiths, and I doubt there's one on the internet who'd be keen to make a weapon like this."
Lucius nodded, a glint of satisfaction in his eye. "Good point. Fortunately, Mister Stratton might have a lead on that."
Dan leaned forward, resting his elbows on his knees. "I think I've pieced it together," he said, his voice breaking through the tension, his tone casual yet intrigued. "I looked into our archives and even some Celestial Requiem lore," he continued, shooting Lucius a pointed glance. "There's a place in both Aetherian and Celestial myth where legendary weapons are forged—the Immortal Forge."
He opened the glovebox, fishing out a notebook and drawing pictures for everyone as he spoke. "It's not just a forge like we know it. It doesn't just melt metal; it reshapes a weapon's very essence. Instead of simply reforging, it resets."
Ava stirred beside Elias, rubbing her eyes as she woke. "That sounds... abstract."
Dan didn't look up. "It is. But there's more. There's always mention of a figure who helps guide the process—someone who infuses the weapon with what they call 'immaterial essence.'"
Elias leaned in, glancing over the scrawled notes. "So, we have a forge... and an assistant?"
Dan nodded, looking at Lucius. "I think we know who that assistant is."
Lucius reclined, his lazy grin widening. "Well done, Dan. You've done your homework."
Naomi rolled her eyes. "There's that bromance again," she muttered.
Elias chuckled, surprising himself with the sound. It felt good to laugh, if only for a moment.
Naomi tapped her fingers on the wheel, her thoughts racing. "Okay, so we have a guide and possibly a forge... but we still need to figure out how to forge it differently." She glanced at the crimson glow in the distance, sparking a thought. "Lucius mentioned the sword was made from anger before. So, what's the opposite of that?"
"Love," Ava murmured, her voice soft and half-asleep.
The word hung in the air, dropping into the car like a stone into a pond, sending ripples through everyone's thoughts.
Naomi nodded slowly, as though something was finally clicking into place. "Yes. We need something stronger than anger. Something... purer."
Dan leaned back, whistling low. "Well, this just got real philosophical."
Ava shrugged, eyes barely open. "It's not that deep. Just... love. Forging it with the right intentions, instead of rage. I think that's what Esmer wanted us to understand with that memory."
Dan scribbled something in his notebook, nodding. "The forge won't just reshape the metal. It'll take in the purpose, the intent. And with Lucius guiding the process... it might actually work."
Lucius gave a quiet laugh from his corner. "You're all catching on well. I'm impressed."
Elias felt a faint flicker of hope, something new settling in his chest. They didn't have a full plan, but it was a direction. And that was enough for now.
"So, we find the forge," Elias said, sitting up straighter. "And we rebuild the sword the right way."
Dan closed her notebook with a firm snap, "Exactly." Then, a sly grin spread across his face. "And I think I know where to start."
Naomi raised an eyebrow. "What did you find now?"
Dan winked and set his laptop on the dashboard, angling it so everyone could see. "I mentioned that the game and our records overlap, right? So I looked into the Immortal Forge in Celestial Requiem. Guess what I found?"
"You didn't," Naomi said, her eyes widening.
"Oh, I did," Dan replied, triumphant, as he scrolled to a headline. "Here's Elias's character—WardensBlade—right in front of it."
The screen showed an article: "WardensBlade Ranked #1 Again in the Forge of Immortality."
"The arena?" Elias asked, incredulous.
"That's right. The arena is a place where players offer gold coins, and the winner gets a medal from those offerings," Dan explained. "If that's not a forge, I don't know what is."
"Holy crap, Dan! Great work!" Naomi said, offering him a high-five, which he returned with a smirk.
The group's celebration was short-lived, however, as a ripple seemed to pass through the air around them. In the distance, the faint red glow on the horizon blazed to life, as bright as a sunrise. The air thickened, vibrating with a power that felt alien, wrong.
"Best step on the gas, Naomi," Lucius said, his tone calm but urgent. "The portal's fully open now, and Asherah's presence is spreading. The Devourers can move freely and their destruction will not discriminate."
Naomi's fingers gripped the wheel tighter. "Hold on, everyone!" She pressed down on the accelerator, the car roaring in response, speeding toward whatever lay ahead.