The Heart of Ash

Athos gripped the Tear of Eryndor, the crystal pulsing hot in his hand, as if alive. The fog around the Heart of Ash crater slowly dissipated, revealing a ravaged landscape of ash and bone fragments glinting under the blood-red sky’s faint light. Lysara and Veyra stood alert, daggers ready, eyes fixed on the horizon where Kaelith and Zeryn had vanished into portals of shadowy and arcane light. The mysterious voice still echoed in Athos’s mind: “Seven heroes, seven kingdoms. The world’s fate rests on you.” But something didn’t add up. Why were only Kaelith and Zeryn brought to him? Why not the others?Athos opened his system interface, the Global Tracking tab still showing seven signals scattered across the continents. He frowned, fingers dancing in the air as he accessed a new function: Summon Log. Lines of corrupted data scrolled across the translucent screen. “Interesting,” he muttered, his cynical grin returning. “The summons were fragmented. Kaelith and Zeryn were pulled here by a glitch in the magic that brought me. The other five went straight to their kingdoms, like each continent has its own main server.”Lysara tilted her head, confused. “A glitch? So the prophecy… it didn’t plan this?”Athos laughed, the sound sharp in the oppressive silence. “Prophecy or not, someone’s messing with this world’s code. And I’m the best at finding bugs.” He squeezed the Tear of Eryndor, feeling a surge of energy that seemed to amplify his interface. This relic’s more than lore. It’s a key… or a hack bigger than mine.Veyra stepped forward, her eyes gleaming with urgency. “Master Athos, the Tear of Eryndor is no mere crystal. It’s the heart of elven magic, forged by Eryndor’s kings to stabilize this world after the First Great War. But it was corrupted by the Desolate Continent’s chaos. Whoever controls it can shape the Seven Kingdoms’ fate… or destroy them.”Athos raised an eyebrow. “So it’s an admin key disguised as a magic trinket. Why did Kaelith and Zeryn want it so bad?” He opened the system again, hacking into the Tear’s connection to the world. A new tab appeared: Summon Core. Data flowed, revealing the relic had detected Kaelith and Zeryn as potential threats to the Desolate Continent’s balance, teleporting them to confront Athos as a test. “The crystal picked them to challenge me. It’s trying to balance the game, like an anti-cheat.”Before Lysara could ask more, the ground shook again. The Tear pulsed harder, and the mysterious voice returned, its tone deep enough to vibrate the air: “The Tear tested you, Hero of the Desolate Continent. Your strength is undeniable, but the Seven Kingdoms’ balance demands harmony. The other heroes were sent to their kingdoms to restore their power cores. You must decide: unify or dominate.”Athos laughed loudly, the sound echoing in the crater. “Harmony? I’m a hacker, not a diplomat.” He tweaked his attributes: Mana: 10000. Intelligence: 20000. Cosmic Strength: 15000. A new skill emerged, Dominion Matrix, letting him manipulate the Tear’s energy directly. Blue rays shot from the crystal, linking to his interface, as if he’d hacked the world’s core. “If this crystal’s the key, I’m the server admin now.”Lysara and Veyra exchanged worried glances. “Master,” Veyra said hesitantly, “the Tear is dangerous. If you wield it carelessly, you may awaken forces even the elven kings dared not face.”Athos ignored the warning, his eyes gleaming with a gamer’s thrill at a new exploit. “Let’s see how far this bug takes me.” He activated Dominion Matrix, and the entire crater trembled, ruins realigning like puzzle pieces. A holographic map appeared in his interface, showing the Seven Kingdoms and the other heroes’ signals, each in their territory:Athos - Hero of the Desolate Continent: Master of the Hacked System, with infinite attribute manipulation and skill creation.Kaelith - Hero of Valthar, the Shadow Kingdom: Shadow combat specialist, with Abyssal Blade that cuts souls.Zeryn - Hero of Celestara, the Celestial Kingdom: Intellectual mage, with Arcane Control that alters magic laws.Elara - Hero of Eldoria, the Forest Kingdom: Nature guardian, with Nature Communion, summoning vines and beasts for mass battles.Thorne - Hero of Ironforge, the Mountain Kingdom: Forge warrior, with Titan Forge, manipulating metals for indestructible weapons and shields.Mira - Hero of Aquilon, the Sea Kingdom: Water lady, with Wave Fury, controlling storms and floods to drown armies.Draven - Hero of Necrosia, the Dead Kingdom: Dark necromancer, with Necromancy Shadow, summoning undead and draining life.The voice whispered one last time: “The Tear of Eryndor has opened the path. Choose your fate, Hero.” Athos gripped the crystal, its heat blending with the crater’s chill. “Choose? I don’t follow rules—I rewrite them.” With a mental command, he saved his progress in the system, the map of the Seven Kingdoms etched in his mind. The game was just beginning.