The gates didn't open immediately.
Kael felt it the moment he stepped closer to the towering walls—something pressing against him, unseen but undeniable. The sigils carved into the stone began to glow faintly, reacting.
"To enter," the leader said, "you submit to the barrier."
Kael frowned. "Submit how?"
"Stand still."
"That sounds like a bad idea."
"It's the only one you have."
Lira stepped closer. "It won't kill you," she said quietly. "If it wanted to, it already would have."
That wasn't comforting.
Still—Kael stepped forward.
The moment he crossed the invisible threshold—
Pain exploded through his chest.
The Ember Core flared violently, reacting to the barrier's energy. Heat surged outward, cracking the ground beneath his feet.
"Hold it!" someone shouted.
"I'm trying!" Kael gritted.
They are challenging me, the voice hissed.
"No—they're testing me," Kael snapped back.
The pressure increased.
For a moment, Kael's vision blurred—and the fire surged, threatening to consume everything again.
Then—
A hand.
Lira's.
The heat steadied.
Not gone.
But controlled.
The glow in the sigils shifted… then dimmed.
The gates creaked open.
Silence followed.
"He passed," one of the guards murmured.
The leader studied Kael carefully.
"…Barely."
End of Chapter 11