The pressure in Garrett's chest built for two more days.
He worked the mines. Avoided Brennan. Watched Rust watch him. Let the godite ore sing to whatever lived behind his sternum, feeling it grow stronger with each shift, each exposure, each fragment of crystallized power that passed through his hands.
On the third night, the dam broke.
He didn't fall asleep so much as fall through—one moment lying on his pallet, the next plunging into absolute darkness. Not the darkness of the mine or the barracks. Something total. Void without dimension.
And in the void, the warmth in his chest finally spoke.
INTEGRATION THRESHOLD REACHED.
The words didn't come as sound. They arrived fully formed, carrying weight beyond language.
VESSEL: KAEL ASHFORD — BLOODLINE ANALYSIS COMPLETE.
SOUL: GARRETT COLE — ORIGIN CLASSIFICATION: OTHERWORLD.
COMPATIBILITY RATING: 97.3%
DORMANT PROTOCOL ACTIVATED.
Light bloomed—cold, silver, like concentrated moonlight. It resolved into symbols and flowing scripts, arranging themselves into patterns that Garrett's engineer mind parsed as interface.
"What are you?" he asked the void.
INHERITANCE SYSTEM — SPIRIT BORN LEGACY ARCHITECTURE
PRIMARY FUNCTION: CANDIDATE IDENTIFICATION AND DEVELOPMENT
OBJECTIVE: RESTORATION OF THE SPIRIT THRONE
"Spirit Born." The words felt ancient in his mouth. "I've never heard of them."
THE SPIRIT BORN PRECEDED ALL CURRENT POWERS. THEY RULED AURETHIA FOR ELEVEN THOUSAND YEARS BEFORE THE SUNDERING.
THEIR BLOODLINES WERE SCATTERED. DILUTED. HIDDEN.
KAEL ASHFORD CARRIED DORMANT SPIRIT BORN LINEAGE THROUGH MATERNAL ANCESTRY. THE THORNBLOOD ADOPTION MASKED IT. HE NEVER KNEW.
YOU ARE THE CATALYST. YOUR OTHERWORLD SOUL ACTIVATED WHAT MILLENNIA COULD NOT.
Garrett absorbed this. The body wasn't just a Thornveld spy's corpse—it was a vessel carrying blood older than civilization. And his presence had been the key.
"The fire entity. It said things were waking in this blood."
THE ASHBORN REMNANT SPEAKS TRUTH. IT HELD A CLAIM ON THIS VESSEL—A CONTRACT PREDATING YOUR ARRIVAL. BUT SPIRIT BORN INHERITANCE SUPERSEDES EXTERNAL CLAIMS.
THE ENTITY CANNOT TAKE WHAT BELONGS TO OLDER POWERS.
"So I'm... what? Protected?"
CONTESTED. THE ENTITY'S CLAIM IS NOT VOID, MERELY SUBORDINATE. IT WILL ATTEMPT ALTERNATIVE APPROACHES: NEGOTIATION, CORRUPTION, ALLIANCE.
HOW YOU RESPOND DETERMINES INTEGRATION OUTCOMES.
The interface shifted, revealing new text:
SPIRIT KING CANDIDACY — STATUS: PROVISIONAL
The Throne of the Spirit King has remained vacant for 3,847 years, since the fall of Aelindra the Last. Candidates must complete the Three Trials to claim succession rights.
THE THREE TRIALS:
DOMINION — Build, command, expand. Territory, followers, influence. Current Status: 0
ACCUMULATION — Acquire power, resources, subjects. By any means. Current Status: 0
ASCENSION — Progress through the Realms of magical attainment. Current Status: Kindling Stage 0 (Spark Dormant)
Trial completion unlocks Throne candidacy. Failure results in soul dissolution and bloodline termination.
"Soul dissolution," Garrett repeated. "And if I don't participate?"
NON-PARTICIPATION IS FAILURE. THE INHERITANCE ACTIVATED UPON YOUR INTEGRATION. IT CANNOT BE DEACTIVATED.
YOU CLIMB, OR YOU DISSOLVE. THERE IS NO THIRD OPTION.
No choice, then. Just parameters. Garrett found that clarifying rather than distressing—it simplified decision-making considerably.
"What do I gain from climbing?"
INHERITANCE SYSTEM PROVIDES:
— ANALYSIS: Detailed breakdown of magical systems, bloodlines, entities, and power structures.
— GUIDANCE: Optimal pathways for advancement. Efficiency metrics. Risk calculations.
— INTEGRATION: Spirit Born abilities unlock progressively with trial completion.
— INTERFACE: Real-time status monitoring.
THE SPIRIT BORN RULED THROUGH UNDERSTANDING. THEIR TECHNIQUES PREDATE CHURCH DOGMA, THORNVELD BLOOD RITES, PALE SOVEREIGNTY DEATH MAGIC.
WHAT OTHERS ACHIEVE THROUGH FAITH OR BIRTH, YOU WILL ACHIEVE THROUGH SYSTEM OPTIMIZATION.
Through system optimization. The phrase resonated with something deep in Garrett's core—not the inherited blood, but his own nature. His whole life had been about optimizing systems. Finding inefficiencies. Exploiting them.
"Show me my current status."
The interface reconfigured:
GARRETT COLE / KAEL ASHFORD
Race: Human (Soul) / Spirit Born-Thornblood Hybrid (Vessel)
Realm: Kindling — Stage 0 (Spark Dormant)
Spirit Born Integration: 0.03%
Bloodline Abilities: Locked
DOMINION: None — No territory claimed — No followers bound — No influence established
ACCUMULATION: None — No resources acquired — No assets secured — No subjects claimed
ASCENSION: Dormant — Magical potential unawakened — Kindling not initiated
ACTIVE TRIALS: → First Flame: Awaken Spark (achieve Kindling Stage 1) → First Claim: Establish territory or following (minimum 3 subjects) → First Harvest: Acquire resources (any means valid)
System Note:Efficiency in trial completion yields increased integration rates. Suboptimal methods are not penalized but produce diminished returns.
"The godite ore in the deep veins," Garrett said. "It's been resonating with... this. With the inheritance."
CORRECT. GODITE CONTAINS CONCENTRATED MAGICAL POTENTIAL. CONTROLLED EXPOSURE WILL CATALYZE YOUR AWAKENING.
UNCONTROLLED EXPOSURE: 34% FATALITY RISK.
SYSTEM-GUIDED EXPOSURE: 7% FATALITY RISK.
RECOMMENDATION: ACCEPT GUIDANCE FOR FIRST FLAME TRIAL.
"Accepted."
GUIDANCE PROTOCOL INITIATED.
ADDITIONAL NOTICE:
Subject BRENNAN presents 89% probability of violence within 72 hours. Analysis indicates he is gathering supporters among former Ascendancy soldiers in the camp.
OPTIONS:
— Preemptive elimination: Removes threat. Contributes to First Harvest trial (resources acquired through any means include rival removal). Integration value: Minor.
— Strategic manipulation: Redirect Brennan's aggression toward alternate target. Creates chaos for cover operations. Integration value: Moderate.
— Defensive preparation: Accept confrontation. Victory yields reputation and potential followers. Integration value: Variable based on outcome.
RECOMMENDATION: Option B or C based on risk tolerance. Option A is suboptimal—Brennan's death without witnesses yields minimal strategic value.
The system offered murder as mathematics. Brennan's life reduced to integration value, strategic variables, risk percentages.
Garrett noted his lack of discomfort with this framing. Noted it, filed it, moved on.
"The fire entity. You said it would try alternative approaches. Can it be... acquired?"
THE ASHBORN REMNANT IS A FRAGMENT OF ANCIENT POWER—OLDER THAN THE ASCENDANCY, YOUNGER THAN THE SPIRIT BORN. IT CANNOT BE DESTROYED BY CONVENTIONAL MEANS BUT CAN BE:
— Bound: Subjugated as a Dominion asset. Requires overwhelming force or contractual leverage.
— Negotiated: Alliance terms established. Requires mutual benefit framework.
— Absorbed: Integrated into Spirit Born inheritance. Requires Forging Realm minimum.
CURRENT RECOMMENDATION: Establish communication. Determine entity's core motivations. Defer binding or absorption until sufficient power is achieved.
"And the church? The Ascendancy?"
THE ASCENDANCY OF THE ETERNAL FLAME CONTROLS 40% OF AURETHIAN TERRITORY. THEIR MAGICAL METHODOLOGY IS DELIBERATELY INEFFICIENT—A CONTROL MECHANISM DISGUISED AS DOCTRINE.
SPIRIT BORN TECHNIQUES PREDATE AND EXCEED CHURCH METHODS.
THE THRONE YOU SEEK WILL REQUIRE DISMANTLING OR SUBSUMING THE ASCENDANCY. THIS IS NOT OPTIONAL.
Not optional. The system didn't deal in suggestions—it dealt in requirements. Climb or dissolve. Expand or die. Take the throne or cease to exist.
Garrett smiled in the darkness.
"I understand."
EXCELLENT.
FIRST FLAME TRIAL BEGINS AT DAWN. REPORT TO DEEP EXTRACTION ZONE 7. THE ORE CONCENTRATION THERE IS OPTIMAL FOR CONTROLLED AWAKENING.
THE INTERFACE WILL REMAIN ACCESSIBLE VIA MENTAL FOCUS. CONCENTRATE ON THE WARMTH AND WILL CONTACT.
GOOD FORTUNE, CANDIDATE.
THE THRONE HAS WAITED LONG ENOUGH.
Garrett opened his eyes to pre-dawn gray, the interface fading but the connection remaining—a constant presence now, humming beneath his thoughts.
He rose from his pallet. Brennan's bunk was empty. Rust was watching from the shadows, silent as always, but Garrett saw the slight tilt of his head. Curiosity or suspicion, impossible to tell.
Let him watch. Let them all watch.
Garrett dressed for the mines, mind already calculating. First Flame—awaken his power. First Claim—gather followers. First Harvest—acquire resources.
And somewhere in the fire's dream, a door covered in ancient symbols, waiting to be opened.
The wheel was turning. All he had to do was feed it.
End of Chapter Three