The ocean boiled.
Not with heat—but with presence.
A pressure so dense it made my bones ache. The sea itself recoiled. The very abyss cracked open like a wound—and from it ca a hum... low, ancient, full of hunger.
Thalyra hovered beside , eyes wide.
> "We were wrong," she whispered. "The Hollowed didn’t find the Rift Maw.
They were called by it."
---
Escape From the Sunken Vault
The Vault around us began to collapse. Cracks raced across its coral foundations, glass pillars burst from the pressure of the force awakening below. Deepfire sputtered out. Magic fractured.
"Go!" Thalyra roared. "Fly, Darian!"
"But—"
She didn’t wait.
She slamd her wings together, sending a tidal shockwave that hurled upward. In the split second before I lost sight of her, I saw her dive—back toward the abyss.
Toward it.
> "I’ll hold it back! Tell the Flaborn!"
---
Breaching the Surface
I shot upward like a spear of fla. The Aether Sea churned violently, waves rising into walls, sky blackening even as the moon trembled.
When I broke the surface, it was like being born again—gasping, panting, wings wet and heavy.
A mont later, a ripple tore through the horizon.
A beam of black fla erupted from the ocean behind —wider than any mountain, twisting the clouds into ash.
> It was awake now.
The Rift Maw had begun to see.
And it wanted to feed.
---
Return to Emberwatch
I flew harder than I ever had, crossing entire mountain ranges before nightfall. My wings bled. My fla burned low.
But I made it.
Emberwatch stood alert, torches lit, scouts patrolling the walls. When I crash-landed in the main courtyard, Kaela and Solin were the first to reach .
"What happened?" she demanded.
Solin touched my shoulder—and flinched.
"You saw it," he whispered. "The Rift Maw."
"I felt it," I breathed. "It’s not just an ancient weapon. It’s a... a hunger. A mind. And it’s waking."
Kaela paled. "Where’s Thalyra?"
I looked down.
"Still fighting. But not for long."
---
The Rift Explained
Later that night, in the council chamber, Solin summoned fla-maps across the room—ancient images burned into the aether itself.
"The Rift Maw," he began, "was created by Vaelus in the First Cataclysm. But even he could not control it. It devoured gods, dragons, whole kingdoms. So, the last of the Flabound sealed it beneath the sea, guarded by sorrow and silence."
"But the Hollowed broke the seal," I said.
"No," Solin corrected. "They rely arrived in ti. Sothing beneath the Hollowed... called them."
Silence fell.
And then the real truth sank in.
> "There’s sothing worse than the Hollowed."
---
The Call of the Rift
As the others debated strategy, I stood by the window.
And I heard it.
A whisper—not in words, but in instinct. A pressure on the back of my mind, like talons scraping my soul.
It wasn’t a threat.
It was a promise.
> "You belong to , Sovereign. You always have."
I staggered back.
Solin turned to sharply. "It’s already chosen you."
"What?"
"The Rift Maw... feeds on fla bloodlines. Sovereigns. You’re the last true vessel it needs."
---
Rise of the Hollowed Host
The next day, our scouts returned.
They didn’t speak.
They couldn’t.
One died imdiately—his fla drained, his eyes hollow. Another babbled nonsense, eyes blackened by Voidfire.
Only one remained coherent long enough to speak:
> "They’re marching. All of them. From the North, East, Sea. Thousands.
Dragon shells. Fla wraiths. Risen gods.
The Hollowed Host is coming."
Kaela drew her blade. "Then we stand here."
I shook my head.
"No. If we fight them at Emberwatch, we lose."
"Then what do we do?"
I turned to the fla-map—and pointed to the mountains beyond Coldspire.
"There’s another Vault. Untouched. Sealed. A fragnt of Sovereign Fla still sleeps there. If we reach it first, we gain a weapon. If they reach it... they finish what Vaelus began."
---
Final Orders
Kaela stepped beside , hand on my shoulder. "Then we ride with you."
"No," I said. "I go alone. The Rift Maw wants . If I bring a legion, it will sense our strength."
Solin nodded solemnly. "I will guard Emberwatch with my life."
Kaela hesitated—but finally gave in. "You better co back, Darian."
I smiled faintly.
> "This ti, I’ll bring back the sun."
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