Caleb stood in the heart of the ruins, his mind still reeling from the encounter with Serah. The flames of the ritual had burned through him, not in destruction, but in awakening. The fire hadn't broken him—it had changed him. His Aether, raw and untamed, thrummed beneath his skin, and the glyph on his wrist pulsed in response, more alive than ever before. He could feel the Spiral's presence—its influence tightening around him, but there was something else, too. A surge of power, an energy that called to him, urging him to step forward and claim what was his.
His Aether hummed beneath his skin, raw and untamed. The glyph on his wrist pulsed, its glow faint, but constant. He could feel the connection now—the bond between him and the Spiral was undeniable. They had marked him, branded him, and in return, they were offering him a power he didn't fully understand.
But he didn't have time to think about that right now. He had to keep moving. The Spiral was not done with him. And neither was Kael.
Caleb turned away from the ruins, making his way through the twisted landscape. He had always been able to rely on his instincts—on the sharpness of his mind. But now, with the Spiral's influence growing inside him, he could feel something shifting in his thoughts.
He couldn't trust himself completely. Not yet. But he was determined to find out what the Spiral wanted before it was too late.
As Caleb ventured deeper into the wilds, he could feel the pull of the Aether growing stronger. The air crackled with power, and he knew he was getting closer to something. Something important.
It wasn't long before he stumbled upon an ancient stone circle—its weathered stones covered in moss and vines. The air here felt different, alive. He could hear the hum of Aether, vibrating through the earth beneath his feet.
This place… it felt familiar. Right.
Caleb stepped forward, instinctively reaching out with his hand. The moment his fingers brushed against the stone, a surge of energy shot through him. His eyes widened as the power surged upward, engulfing him in a whirlwind of light and heat.
In an instant, the world around him changed.
Visions.
The first image was a blinding flash of white—then the flickering of flames, a massive inferno. Through the smoke, Caleb saw figures—masked, shadowed, their hands raised toward the sky. They chanted, their voices like a chorus echoing through the ages. The Spiral.
And then, he saw himself.
Standing before the flames, his hands raised in an identical posture, his face shadowed by the same mask that the Spiral wore. His voice, too, joined the chant, and the power around him swirled, bending to his will.
The Aether had not just chosen him. It had made him.
The vision shattered like glass, leaving Caleb breathless on the ground, gasping for air. The flames—the fire—still burned in his mind. The glyph on his wrist throbbed with power.
No.
He couldn't let it be true. He couldn't become like them.
Not the Spiral.
Not the Echo.
But the connection to the Spiral was undeniable. The glyph burned brighter now, responding to the power around him, urging him forward. Caleb stumbled to his feet, his heart pounding. The vision had shown him something terrible—something that could be his future if he allowed the Spiral to control him.
But what if he could control the power instead? What if he could use it to break free from their grip?
Caleb gritted his teeth, pushing the fear aside. He wasn't going to let the Spiral define him. Not now. Not ever.
As he stood in the center of the stone circle, Caleb closed his eyes, focusing on the power inside him. He could feel it—the raw, untapped potential that surged beneath his skin. It was chaotic, wild, but it was his.
The glyph pulsed once more, its glow intensifying.
"Come, Caleb," a voice whispered in his mind. "The flame is yours. But only if you claim it."
Caleb's eyes snapped open. His vision was clear now, the decision made. He had to take control of this power. He had to master the fire—or risk being consumed by it.
The Aether surged within him, and this time, Caleb didn't resist. He reached out, guiding the raw energy through his body, directing it with the force of his will.
The fire flared around him, wild and uncontained, but Caleb bent it to his command. The flames twisted in the air, forming shapes, patterns—glyphs—symbols he had never seen before, but somehow knew instinctively.
And then, in the center of the fire, he saw it.
A symbol.
It was the same glyph that had appeared on his wrist. But now it was different. Larger. Alive.
Caleb reached out with his mind, trying to understand its meaning. As his fingers touched the flame, the symbol shifted, revealing new layers—new paths.
"You are the flame, Caleb," the voice whispered again. "But you must decide if you will burn or be burned."
The fire around him flickered and died, leaving Caleb standing in the center of the circle, the Aether crackling through the air, alive and responsive.
He was changed. Something inside him had shifted, something that no longer felt like the person he had been.
But the Spiral wasn't done.
Caleb knew that now. They were watching him. Testing him.
And if he didn't take control of this power, he might just be lost forever.