Vortex Origins
Chapter 103: Ashes of ironhold

Chapter 103: Ashes of ironhold

Stone cracked under calloused hands. The people of Ironhold moved in silence, lifting what was left of their homes. Some clawed through rubble in desperate hope. Others pulled out lifeless limbs and covered them with what cloth remained. Ashes still floated in the wind.

Some knelt, staring at nothing. Others wept beside what they found.

Smoke rose from wrapped bodies laid in rows. No prayers. Just fire.

Ash stood on the shattered wall, watching it all from above. Ironhold had become a graveyard. Buildings lay broken in the distance, splintered like rotted bones. He searched the horizon, his gaze dragging over what was lost.

Guz.

His family.

Ash exhaled, slow.

They weren’t in danger when he checked. If he’d known, he would have save them but he needed to save his strength for his brothers.

He lowered his head.

"You didn’t make it out after all. I hope you rest easy."

The wind didn’t answer.

Ash turned, eyes scanning the scarred land beyond the gates. The wastelands were littered with creature corpses. Their twisted bodies steamed in the fading heat, some still twitching in death.

Then something moved.

Far off—barely a figure against the horizon. A man. No... not a man.

Ash blinked.

It stood like a man, but something was wrong. Its skin too smooth. Its presence too sharp. Where its eyes should have been, there was only a horn—thick and curved, stretching across its face like bone armor. A grin cut across its lips, wide and wrong, revealing crooked yellow teeth.

It was staring at the settlement.

Ash tilted his head, heart ticking harder. The thing didn’t move. It didn’t blink.

Then, without warning, it stepped sideways and vanished into the air—like mist torn by the wind.

Ash stayed frozen, eyes locked on where it had stood. Nothing there now. Just dust.

He breathed through his teeth and looked down, unsure if what he saw was real.

Maybe it wasn’t.

But the cold settling in his gut said otherwise.

A voice rose over the sound of scraping rubble.

"Son of Flame! Son of Flame!"

Ash turned at the shout, but the men weren’t looking at him. Their eyes were locked on Kael, who stood a few paces away, talking with Max.

Eir approached, his robe scratched and smeared with ash.

"My men are gathering supplies now. Name anything. I owe you both everything."

Kael crossed his arms. His expression stayed flat.

"There’s nothing here I need."

He turned to Max, who stood silent, gaze locked in thought. Then Max spoke.

"I’ll take the right hand of the Wretched Dancer... and the fire core from the Obsidian Wretched."

Eir hesitated.

"That fire core... it’d sell for a fortune. But after what you’ve done? It’s yours."

"Son of Flame! Please—Son of Flame!"

The voice cracked now, urgent and afraid.

Kael looked over.

"What?"

One of the settlers stepped forward, shaking so hard his voice barely held.

"It’s the sandworm... it’s alive."

Max didn’t even flinch.

"Yeah. You should’ve known. Split a worm in two, you don’t get one corpse. You get two monsters."

Kael clenched his fists and started to walk.

"Wait."

Eir stepped toward them.

"Thank you. Both of you. If you hadn’t been here... Ironhold would be nothing but smoke and bone."

Kael nodded then followed the men.

Max paused, then muttered,

"Don’t thank me. People still died."

"Some lived because of you."

Max didn’t answer. He just looked past him, eyes hollow.

After a moment, he said,

"What happened to the other teams?"

"They’re gone," Eir said.

"Team Galeforce left right after the battle. Didn’t want to stick around if another wave hit. RISE left immediately with Kevin—he’s badly wounded soo..."

Max nodded.

"Yeah. Losing a Stage Six would wreck them. What about their fallen?"

Eir fell silent.

The wind dragged ash across the cracked stone between them. In the distance, someone wept over a wrapped body.

"We offered to burn the fallen."

He said finally.

"Like we do here. But the others... they took their dead. Said they’d bury them properly."

His voice tightened.

"Mia... her loss hit Alex hard. Worse still—there’s nothing left of her to bury."

Max didn’t respond at first. His gaze dropped to the blackened dirt. Then he looked up.

"Tell me something, Elder Eir. How did Ironhold come into contact with a piece of the asteroid?"

Eir raised a brow.

"Asteroid? What asteroid?"

Max’s voice stayed calm, but the edge behind it sharpened.

"Days ago, a massive one tore through the sky over Varagos. It shattered. Fragments fell across the land. That wave we just fought off—it happened because of that. The creatures were after it."

Eir frowned, glancing off toward the ruins.

"I heard about that but no one ever brought anything in. No reports. No sightings. We don’t have that here."

Max shook his head.

"There was a shard. Lodged inside one of your buildings. I saw it myself. The creatures... they weren’t just attacking Ironhold. They were searching for that fragment. I thought you’d know."

Eir stared at him, quiet now. His hands clenched at his sides.

Ash stood nearby, still on the ruined wall, watching both of them—his eyes drawn once more to the horizon, where something old and cruel had grinned at him through the dust.

The wind carried no answers. Only the scent of smoke... and the silence of the dead.

Then Eir finally turned his gaze.

"What building are you speaking of?"

Max pointed toward the half-collapsed ruin where the salamander had broken through—its stone still scorched, the roof long gone.

"There. The one it tore apart to reach the shard."

Eir squinted through the smoke and dust.

"...That belonged to Lane."

A pulse of heat rolled off Ash. His jaw clenched. The name LANE made his mind switch in anger.

He stepped off the broken wall and hit the ground hard. His boots sent loose stone scattering as he stormed past. His fists curled. His breath came fast.

Eir hesitated, voice uncertain now.

"Lane’s one of ours. Loyal. He’d never—"

Ash didn’t wait to hear it. The name alone had cut through his chest like rusted glass.

He crossed the yard in long, furious strides. Ahead, Lane stood with a group of workers, directing efforts to clear debris. He didn’t see the storm until it was almost on him.

"LANE!"

His voice cracked through the ruined square.

The workers froze. Lane turned.

Ash didn’t stop.

"You knew. You knew what was in that building!"

Confusion flashed across Lane’s face.

"What are you—?"

"Because of you,"

Ash growled, stepping in close.

"I almost lost my brothers."

His voice was low now, but it carried—sharp enough to make Lane flinch.

Max caught up, panting.

"Ash, stop. Don’t—"

But Ash’s eyes stayed locked on Lane. There was no hesitation in them.

Only fire.