Heartstone - Chapter 54: Chapter 54

Before dawn, the mist curled low over the mountain.
Avera, clothed in her dark traveling cloak, stood at the mouth of a sealed cave beneath the sanctuary. Only Marah, Dalen, and the new watcher, Atera form one of the tribes with her.
Atera raised her hand, whispering in a tongue forgotten by most. The stone trembled—and the wall cracked open, revealing a staircase carved deep into the mountain's bones.
“This path has not been opened in a thousand years,” the watcher murmured. “Only one of the bloodline may enter.”
Avera turned to Dalen.
“I’ll be back before the sun leaves the sky.”
He nodded, placing a hand briefly on her shoulder. “If it speaks to you, listen. But if it tries to consume you—run.”
Then she stepped inside.
Below, the air grew heavy with heat. The deeper she walked, the louder the pulse of the mountain became—like a heartbeat made of fire.
At last, she entered a vast chamber glowing with orange light. Floating in the center, above a pool of liquid stone, was a single, fist-sized crystal—the Flame Core. It pulsed in rhythm with her own breath.
A whisper called her name—not from the chamber, but inside her mind.
> “Daughter of Light… awaken what was locked.”
As she stepped forward, the ground lit up with glowing runes. The moment her hand touched the core, a surge of light blasted through the chamber.
Visions filled her eyes—her mother, holding her as a baby, surrounded by fire. Her father, hiding the drive. And a glimpse of Ryker, standing above a burning mountain.
She gasped and collapsed.
When she woke, her eyes flickered—briefly glowing gold.
Above ground, the skies darkened suddenly though the sun had risen. Marah looked up.
“The mountain breathes again…”
Dalen turned to her, a feeling of dread rising in his chest.
“What have we awakened?”