ASHES OF THE SUNDERED STAR

The Ashen Wastes did not forgive.

Kael's boots sank into the black sand with every step, the grains hissing like static as they shifted. Behind them, the Voidspawn general's fiery wings carved crimson streaks across the night sky, its shrieks echoing like a blade dragged over bone. Lira ran ahead, her ragged breath fogging in the chill air, while Tyrus lagged behind, humming a jaunty tune as if death weren't snapping at their heels.

"Would you hurry?" Kael snarled, glancing back. The creature was gaining, its molten feathers dripping embers that scorched the sand to glass.

Tyrus flashed a grin, sweat glistening on his brow. "Relax, Sunshine. I've outrun worse on a belly full of cheap wine."

"Not helping," Lira snapped. She clutched her side, where the Voidspawn's talon had grazed her earlier. The wound seeped black ichor, staining her tunic.

Kael gripped Soulbrand tighter. The hammer's warmth had faded to a dull throb, its light dimmed. Useless. He'd seen it blast the Voidspawn back in the smithy—why wouldn't it do that now?

"Herald…" The general's voice slithered into his skull, oily and relentless. "The Sundered Star… belongs… to us."

Lira stiffened. "It's talking about me."

"Flattered, are we?" Tyrus quipped, but his eyes darted to her, sharp and assessing.

A torrent of fire erupted overhead. Kael tackled Lira into the sand as the blast incinerated a boulder beside them. The heat seared his back, and he bit back a scream.

"Up!" Lira shoved him off, her hands already rummaging through her belt pouches. She pulled out a vial of murky liquid and hurled it at the creature. It exploded into a cloud of glittering dust, and the Voidspawn veered sharply, repelled by the shimmering particles.

"Iron filings," she panted. "They hate refined metal."

"Good to know," Tyrus said. "Got any silver? Might make a nice necklace for our friend."

Kael ignored him, scanning the wastes. The dunes stretched endlessly, broken only by skeletal trees and jagged rock formations. Then he saw it—a fissure in the earth, half-hidden by a slab of obsidian.

"There!" He pointed. "We can lose it underground!"

"Or get trapped like rats," Tyrus said.

"You have a better idea?"

The thief shrugged. "Dying is on my list of hobbies, but let's try your way first."

They sprinted for the fissure. The Voidspann dove, its beak snapping shut inches from Tyrus's heel. Lira flung another vial—this one released a earsplitting screech that stalled the creature mid-air—and they tumbled into the crack, sliding down a slope of loose shale into darkness.

Kael's shoulder slammed into stone. He bit his tongue, blood flooding his mouth, and scrambled upright. Moonlight filtered through the fissure above, barely illuminating the cavern they'd landed in. The air reeked of damp earth and something sour, like old blood.

"Well," Tyrus said, brushing dirt off his cloak, "this is cozy."

Lira ignited a glowstone from her pack, its blue light revealing walls studded with jagged crystals. "Quiet. It'll find us."

"Optimist," Tyrus muttered, but he unsheathed his daggers, their runes flickering faintly.

Kael leaned against the wall, his breaths ragged. The burns on his back screamed, but he refused to show weakness. Not in front of these strangers. "Why is it after you?" he asked Lira.

She hesitated, her storm-gray eyes avoiding his. "It called me the Sundered Star. I've… heard the term before. In my dreams."

"Ah, the classic 'prophetic nightmare' trope." Tyrus twirled a dagger. "Let me guess—you're the chosen one destined to save the world?"

"Shut up, Tyrus."

"No, really! Do you get a special sword? A glowing birthmark?"

Lira's glare could've frozen lava. "I get this." She yanked up her sleeve, revealing black veins crawling up her forearm like spider legs. "Every time I use my magic, it spreads. So forgive me if I'm not thrilled to be your damsel in distress."

Kael stiffened. The veins pulsed faintly, as if something moved beneath her skin. "What are you?"

"A problem," Tyrus answered for her. "Same as you, hammer-boy. Same as me." He tapped his temple. "But hey, problems make life fun, don't they?"

A low rumble shook the cavern. Dust rained from the ceiling as the Voidspawn's talons scraped the fissure above.

"It's digging," Lira whispered.

Kael gripped Soulbrand. "How long?"

"Minutes. Maybe less."

Tyrus crouched, examining the cavern floor. "There's a draft. This place connects to something bigger." He nodded to a narrow tunnel on their left. "Move or die?"

"Move," Kael said.

They crawled through the tunnel, the glowstone's light trembling in Lira's shaking hand. The walls narrowed until Kael's shoulders scraped stone, the air thickening with the stench of decay.

Then the tunnel opened into a vast chamber.

"Gods," Lira breathed.

Bones littered the floor—human, animal, and things with too many ribs or spines. At the chamber's center stood a stone altar, stained black, its surface etched with symbols that made Kael's eyes water. Above it hung a massive skeleton, its wingspan stretching the length of the room.

"Dragon," Tyrus said, uncharacteristically solemn. "Or what's left of one."

Kael approached the altar. The symbols matched those in Emberfall Canyon—the ones from his father's stories. "This is a shrine to Nyrisia."

Lira flinched at the goddess's name. "How do you know?"

"My father…" He traced a glyph depicting a star pierced by a blade. "He said the canyon carvings warned of her wrath. That she cursed the first knights who betrayed her."

"Betrayed her how?" Tyrus asked, too casually.

"They refused to burn a village. Nyrisia demanded loyalty, not mercy."

"Hm." Tyrus's dagger twitched in his hand. "Funny how the 'betrayed' always have their side of the story."

A roar shook the chamber. Chunks of rock clattered down as the Voidspann's talons broke through the ceiling.

"Move!" Kael shouted.

They dove behind the dragon's ribcage as the general crashed into the chamber, its fiery wings igniting the bones. The creature shrieked, its single eye scanning the room until it locked on Lira.

"Sundered Star…" it crooned. "Come home."

"Not today," Lira muttered. She lobbed her last vial—a burst of acrid smoke—and bolted for the far tunnel.

The Voidspann surged forward, but its wings snagged on the dragon's skeleton. Bones shattered as it thrashed, buying them precious seconds. Kael sprinted after Lira, Tyrus at his heels.

The tunnel sloped upward, the air growing colder. Kael's lungs burned, but he pushed harder, following the flicker of Lira's glowstone. Finally, moonlight spilled ahead—an exit.

They burst onto a cliffside overlooking the Wastes. The canyon lay to the east, its jagged edges glowing faintly under the bloody eclipse. Behind them, the Voidspann's roar shook the ground.

"Jump," Tyrus said.

Kael stared at him. "Are you mad?"

The thief pointed to a ledge ten feet below, partially hidden by a rocky outcrop. "Better than crispy death."

Lira didn't hesitate. She leapt, rolling as she hit the ledge. Tyrus followed, landing like a cat.

"Your turn, hero," he called.

Kael jumped.

The impact rattled his teeth, but he stayed upright. Above, the Voidspann erupted from the tunnel, its wings shedding embers as it circled, searching.

"It can't see us here," Lira whispered.

"But it can smell fear," Tyrus said. "So try not to wet yourself, Sunshine."

Kael ignored him, watching the creature. "Why won't it give up?"

"Because she's special." Tyrus nodded at Lira. "And you've got that pretty hammer. Me? I'm just here for the view."

Lira slumped against the cliff, her face pale. The black veins now reached her elbow. "It's… the meteorite," she gasped. "Tyrus stole it. From the Voidspawn's nest."

The thief froze. "How did you—?"

"I can feel it. Give it to me."

Reluctantly, Tyrus pulled a cloth-wrapped bundle from his cloak. Inside was a shard of black stone, its surface swirling with faint galaxies.

Lira recoiled. "Why… why does it look like my nightmares?"

"Because it's a piece of Nyrisia's prison," Kael said, the words spilling out before he could stop them.

They both stared at him.

"What?" Lira demanded.

"I… saw it. When I touched Soulbrand earlier. A vision of a woman chained to a throne. The hammer—it knows her."

Tyrus's dagger pressed against Kael's throat. "And you waited until now to mention this?"

"Stop!" Lira knocked the blade aside. "We're not killing each other. Not yet."

The dagger's edge had drawn blood. Kael didn't flinch. "The Voidspawn called me 'Herald.' You think that's a coincidence?"

"I think," Tyrus said softly, "you're both ticking toward a messy end. But since I'm invested now…" He sheathed the dagger. "The meteorite's a key. The cult I… heard about… wanted it to open some kind of gate. Guess that's our general's goal too."

Lira touched the shard. Her fingertips bled instantly, crimson droplets soaking into the stone. "It's hungry," she whispered.

A shadow blotted out the moon.

The Voidspann dove, its talons outstretched. Kael shoved Lira aside, swinging Soulbrand in a wild arc. The hammer connected, unleashing a burst of golden light—

And the world vanished.

Vision:

Kael stands in a starless void. Before him, a knight in black armor kneels, Soulbrand glowing in his hands. The star-haired woman—Nyrisia—looms above, her chains cracking. "You swore to me, Vyrion," she snarls. "You swore to burn the doubters!"

The knight removes his helm. His face is Kael's.

"I serve humanity, not your rage," he says, and slams the hammer into her chest.

Kael gasped, back in his body. The Voidspann reeled, screeching, its chest scorched by the same golden light.

Lira grabbed his arm. "What did you do?"

"I… don't know."

Tyrus stared at the meteorite shard, now glowing in Lira's hand. "But I'll bet that does."

The shard pulsed, and Lira's eyes rolled back. She collapsed, convulsing, the black veins spreading to her shoulder.

"Lira!" Kael caught her, but her skin was ice.

The Voidspann hissed in triumph. "The Star… awakens…"

Tyrus stepped between them and the creature, daggers raised. "Get her to the Ghost Road. There's a healer in Umbralis—maybe."

"And you?"

The thief's grin was grim. "I'll buy you time. Go!"

Kael hesitated, then hoisted Lira over his shoulder. He ran, Soulbrand's light guiding him, as Tyrus's laughter echoed behind him—a defiant sound, edged with something like sorrow.

The last thing he heard was the Voidspawn's roar… and a single, resonating clang of steel.