The ancient hallway pulsed with an unsettling warmth, as if the stone walls themselves were alive—breathing, waiting.
Mizu wiped sweat from his brow. "It's getting hotter," he muttered.
Sayos, beside him, chuckled despite the oppressive heat. "No kidding. I feel like I'm walking into the mouth of a volcano."
Lucy growled lowly, her ears twitching. Her eyes darted toward the arch ahead. It was massive—carved with strange runes and symbols of fire, their meanings long lost to time. Rika, unfazed by the temperature, walked with determination. Her red gemstone flickered faintly with every step.
"I don't like this," she muttered. "This place… it's not just hot. It's alive."
Mizu looked at her. "Alive?"
She nodded slowly. "I've felt fire before. But this… this isn't just flame. It's watching us."
Sayos stopped walking. "Wait—did you hear that?"
Silence.
Then, a low hiss echoed through the chamber. The torches lining the walls suddenly ignited with a burst of flame, their light revealing an enormous statue at the end of the hall—ten feet tall, shaped like a knight made of obsidian and molten lava.
Rika cursed under her breath. "Of course. A fire guardian."
As they stepped closer, the statue's eyes lit up in a deep, burning red. The stone cracked—and then moved.
The guardian stepped down from its pedestal with a thunderous crack, each step shaking the temple floor.
"You have come to claim the third key," the guardian boomed, its voice like grinding stone. "Only one with the true flame within shall pass."
Before Mizu could react, a wall of fire shot up behind them—blocking any chance of retreat.
Sayos stepped forward instinctively. "Guess we're fighting, huh?"
"No," the guardian said. "This trial is not for you."
The flames parted slightly—just enough for Mizu to step forward.
Rika grabbed his arm. "Wait. This could be a trap."
Mizu gently pulled his arm away. "If this is my trial, then I have to face it."
He took a breath and stepped onto the glowing platform in front of the guardian. The fire around him pulsed in rhythm with his heartbeat. The blue crystal around his neck began to shimmer—unusual in a place dominated by flame.
The guardian raised a massive blade of molten stone.
"Show me the flame that burns within."
Suddenly, the entire chamber changed.
Mizu blinked—and found himself alone in a burning village.
No… not just any village.
His village.
The sky was red. Smoke filled the air. Screams echoed around him. Houses were engulfed in flames. The ground was littered with bodies. His heart stopped when he saw the old well in the center—the same place where his father once stood.
"No," he whispered. "Not this again…"
A figure emerged from the smoke.
Tall. Clad in black armor. A twisted, purple crystal embedded in his chest. His voice was cold.
"Why do you fight, child of water?" the figure asked. "You could have power… you could have revenge."
Mizu's fists clenched. "You… you were there. You destroyed them."
The figure tilted its head. "Did I? Or was it your weakness that killed them?"
The words stabbed deeper than any blade. Fire erupted around the stranger, and without warning, he charged.
Mizu dodged just in time, but the force of the blow knocked him back. His crystal pulsed with light, but his body trembled.
He wasn't just fighting an enemy.
He was fighting a memory. A trauma.
"You can't protect anyone," the figure hissed. "Not your mother. Not your father. Not Rika. Not even yourself."
"Shut up!" Mizu shouted, sending a wave of blue energy toward the enemy.
But the figure absorbed it, laughing. "Water cannot stop fire… not when the fire is inside you."
That's when Mizu realized—
The flames were not attacking him.
They were reacting to him.
His anger. His pain. His guilt.
All of it was fueling the fire.
He fell to one knee, breathing hard. "This isn't real," he whispered. "This is a test…"
He closed his eyes.
And suddenly—
A voice.
Faint. Familiar.
Mizu… you are not your past.
He looked up. The figure was gone. The flames dimmed.
In its place stood his father.
Smiling.
"You carry my flame now," his father said. "But it is yours to shape."
Tears welled in Mizu's eyes. "Dad…"
The vision faded.
And the temple reappeared.
The guardian was standing still, silent.
Then, slowly—it knelt.
"You have faced the fire within," it said. "You may proceed."
A compartment opened in the base of the pedestal.
Inside, a small, glowing fragment—the third elemental key.
Mizu stepped forward and took it. As his hand touched the crystal, the flames in the room dimmed, then vanished entirely.
The others rushed to his side.
Rika gave him a once-over. "You look like hell."
Mizu smiled weakly. "Thanks."
Sayos grinned. "Third key down. How many left?"
"Just one," Mizu said.
But before anyone could celebrate—
A loud BOOM shook the temple.
Lucy growled. The stone ceiling cracked slightly, and a shadow passed across the torchlight.
Rika's expression turned cold. "Something's coming…"
Sayos pulled out his weapon. "Or someone."
A dark laugh echoed through the corridor.
The kind that made the air feel colder… even in a place of fire.
To be continued.