Far from the Cradle, across wastelands scorched beyond memory, lay the Sanctum of the Vessel Order—a hidden fortress carved deep into the petrified spine of a long-dead god. The walls pulsed faintly with shardlight, alive with whispers of forgotten souls.
In its hollow heart sat the Council of Ash.
Seven thrones circled a pit of simmering flame, each occupied by a Vessel—cloaked in different hues of shadow, their faces masked, their bodies partially consumed by the very power they wielded. They had given everything to the Ember God... except their purpose.
Malareth knelt in the center, her robes tattered, her pride fractured.
"She has taken the third," she said, voice flat.
The tallest figure stirred—Vessel Prime, robed in endless black, the only one whose mask bore the mark of the flame's eye.
"She merged it?" the Prime asked.
Malareth nodded once. "Without resistance."
Whispers rippled through the Council like snakes slithering across embers.
"She should not be capable," hissed the Vessel of Silence, voice like falling ash.
"She is Kael's daughter," muttered the Vessel of Echo, whose every word repeated twice, haunting and low.
"She is something more," said the Vessel of Bone, tapping long fingers against their throne. "The Heart does not merge with weakness. It chooses."
The Prime stood slowly. The flame in the pit flared.
"We underestimated her," he said. "That ends now."
Malareth lowered her head. "What would you have us do?"
The Prime raised a hand, and from the shadows behind the thrones stepped a new figure—tall, wrapped in silver chains, their face shrouded. Even the other Vessels tensed at the sight.
"Unchain the Sealed One," the Prime ordered. "Let her hunt the girl."
Malareth's eyes widened. "You're sending her?"
The Prime's voice grew thunderous. "You failed. The Hollow Ones failed. Now we unleash what we buried."
The chained figure stepped forward.
Her voice was quiet—cold as obsidian.
> "I remember her father.
I will teach her fear."
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Far away, atop a blackened hill, Mara woke with a shudder, though no dream had touched her.
The flame inside her flickered.
A new presence had entered the world.
And it was coming for her.
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