The Ancient Awakens
Ridge staggered back, every muscle trembling under the weight of the Heartfire, every nerve alight with the strain of resisting the presence. Yet before him, the new entity advanced. Its shape was impossible to define—part shadow, part molten star, part storm of unbound energy—but its presence was undeniable. It radiated something older than the mountains themselves, older than the ley lines, older than any mortal or immortal being had the right to endure.
Aria’s voice echoed faintly through the threads, almost trembling. “Ridge… I can feel it too… something… older… stronger… more… than anything we’ve faced…”
He clenched his fists, veins pulsing with molten Heartfire. “Then we face it together,” he whispered. “Whatever it is… whatever it wants… we endure. We survive.
