Chapter 10: The Wrath of the Forgotten Flame

The cavern shook again, this time with greater force. The deep rumble of the mountain felt like the very bones of the earth were grinding together. Victor's grip tightened on the **Eternal Flame Ember**, and his resolve hardened. Caligo's mockery was like a knife scraping against his nerves, but it also ignited something within him—a burning desire to prove that he was more than just an instrument of fate.

He stood tall, even as the shadows closed in, swirling around him like a storm. The flame at the core of the Ember roared louder, its fire beginning to twist into something darker, something more primal. Victor felt the heat radiate outward, searing the air and burning away the creeping shadows. The creatures that had materialized from the dark hissed and recoiled, but they were relentless, feeding on the very night itself.

Victor's thoughts sharpened. **Caligo** was powerful—too powerful to fight head-on without risking everything he had gained. But the **Eternal Flame Ember** had a potential beyond just destruction; it could manipulate the very fabric of life and death, fire and shadow. If he could harness it, even for a moment, he could turn the tide of this battle.

"Skritch!" Victor shouted over the roar of the flames. "Distract him! Keep his focus on you."

The small dragon, still circling overhead, hesitated for a moment. His wings beat with uncertain rhythm, but then he nodded and dove toward Caligo, letting out a fierce screech that pierced through the noise of the battle. His form blurred as he wove through the air, darting in and out of the reach of the swirling shadows.

Caligo's eyes flicked to the dragon for only a moment, but it was enough. He raised his staff high, and the shadows coiled into tendrils that shot toward Skritch, attempting to ensnare him.

Victor didn't wait. He surged forward, the Ember in his hand bursting with flame. He slashed through the air, sending a wave of fire toward Caligo. The heat was intense enough to burn stone, but Caligo merely raised his staff, the shadows around him forming a shield that absorbed the flames.

"Pathetic," Caligo sneered. "You think you can challenge me with such crude attacks?"

But as the flames died down, Victor's expression didn't falter. In that brief moment, while Caligo was distracted by the incoming firestorm, Victor's mind focused entirely on the Ember, reaching deep within it to feel its heartbeat, its essence.

The **Eternal Flame Ember** pulsed once more, but this time with a new intensity. Victor could feel the power of the Ember coiling around him, surging up through his limbs, into his very core. The flames around him began to morph, twisting into something more controlled, more refined. It was no longer simply fire—it was **the Forgotten Flame**, the primordial fire of creation and destruction.

The shadows hesitated.

Victor raised his hand, the Ember crackling with a vibrant energy. "You underestimate me, Caligo," he said, his voice now resonating with the raw power of the Ember. "I am not here to simply destroy. I am here to burn away everything you've hidden in the darkness."

Caligo's expression shifted from arrogance to something more cautious. The shadows around him writhed, as though sensing the change in Victor's energy. "Impossible," Caligo muttered under his breath. "You cannot control the Forgotten Flame. It is beyond any mortal's reach."

Victor didn't respond. He couldn't afford to waste time on words. The Ember's fire grew hotter, burning with an intensity that began to warp the very space around him. The shadows that surrounded him, those creatures of darkness, screamed as the flames washed over them, dissolving their forms into nothingness.

As Victor stepped forward, the ground beneath him cracked open, molten cracks running through the cavern floor. The mountain itself seemed to shudder, as if it were alive, reacting to the fire he wielded. The Forgotten Flame was not simply a weapon—it was the flame that had given birth to the world, the fire that had once forged the stars. And it was now under his control.

Caligo's eyes widened, and for the first time since their encounter, there was genuine uncertainty in his gaze. He raised his staff, summoning a massive wave of darkness to shield himself, but the shadows couldn't hold against the onslaught of the Forgotten Flame.

"You cannot escape your fate," Victor said, his voice low but steady, as the fire intensified. "This world is mine to shape now."

The Forgotten Flame surged forward, crashing into the wall of shadows that Caligo had summoned. It consumed everything in its path, obliterating the creatures of darkness and pushing Caligo's defense back inch by inch.

Caligo struggled, his staff flickering with bursts of dark energy, but it was clear he was no longer in control. The very air seemed to buckle under the weight of the fire, and the mountain groaned as though in agony.

Victor's focus didn't waver. The Forgotten Flame was his now, and with it, he could bend reality to his will. The energy surged through him like a flood, and he knew that the moment was coming—he would face Caligo and bring this ancient being to his knees.

"You can't defeat me!" Caligo howled, his voice filled with desperation. "I am the keeper of the ancient flame! You are nothing!"

Victor's lips curled into a smile, his eyes glowing with the fire he controlled. "Then let the flame decide."

In that final moment, the **Eternal Flame Ember** unleashed its full power, engulfing Caligo in a vortex of searing light. The shadowy figure screamed, but the sound was drowned out by the deafening roar of the flames. His form was consumed entirely, swallowed by the fire.

And then—silence.

Victor stood amidst the ruins, the flames of the Ember fading into a soft, steady glow. The cavern around him was still, the oppressive weight of darkness lifted.

Skritch circled above, his wings flapping slowly. "You did it," he said, voice full of awe. "You... you actually did it."

Victor didn't respond immediately. His hand still held the Ember, but the flame was now a gentle, constant heat. The battle was over, but the path ahead was far from clear. The Forgotten Flame had given him victory, but at what cost?

As he looked down at the Ember, he realized this was only the beginning. The true power of the **Eternal Flame Ember** had yet to be revealed, and there were far more dangers lurking in the shadows.

Victor exhaled deeply. "It's not over yet."