The Flames Diminish, Shadows Awaken
The firelight dimmed, and the temperature dropped sharply.
Xiao Chen and his companions descended the spiral staircase behind the Gate of Soulshade, each step echoing through the darkness. The walls were covered with broken runes and bloodstains, the air thick with the mingled stench of decay and the netherworld—a place that felt like it had slumbered for ten thousand years.
"The Gate of Soulshade… is this truly a place of sealing?" Lei Hao asked in a low voice, the thunder sigil in his hand glowing with a wary light.
"It is both a seal and a prison," Yan Yao replied grimly, attuned to the fluctuations in the soul currents around them. "A deviant soul-being once founded the 'City of Shadowed Echoes' here, claiming to be a descendant of the Flame Mark bloodline. In truth, he was gathering souls and refining spirits, trying to disrupt reincarnation itself."
"Then we're standing in his domain now?" Xiao Chen asked, his voice low as he gazed into the abyss ahead.
Yan Yao nodded. "That's right. Legend has it he's been slumbering here for a millennium, but no one can confirm whether he's truly dead."
After what felt like hours of descent, a dim red glow appeared in the distance. Then, a vast domed chamber opened before them.
They had reached the bottom of the abyss.
City of Shadowed Echoes, Where Soulfire Never Dies
Built atop underground magma flows, the city loomed before them—ancient walls crumbling, twisted structures warped by dark forces, like a physical manifestation of the nightmares of lost souls. Countless wraiths drifted through the air, their hollow eyes silently watching every intruder.
"This is the City of Shadowed Echoes…" Lei Hao swallowed hard. "Doesn't feel like a place the living should be."
"It isn't," Yan Yao explained. "This city exists on the border between the real and the unreal, forged from lingering souls and malice by soulforgers. It is sustained by soulfire."
She pointed to a black stone pillar that pierced the dome above them.
"That's the Soulbone Lighthouse—the heart of this place."
Xiao Chen closed his eyes and concentrated. When he opened them, his voice was cold. "The soulfire contains the remnants of my parents' spirits."
"Are you certain?" Lei Hao asked in shock.
"Yes. After they self-detonated their souls, fragments of their consciousness were forcibly torn away. Someone interrupted their path to reincarnation," Xiao Chen said, his tone sharp as a blade.
Yan Yao's expression darkened. "To do that… it's not just cruel. It's heresy."
"Then how do we free them?" Lei Hao asked.
"We go to the Soulbone Lighthouse," Xiao Chen answered calmly. "Destroy the primary soul seal there."
Concealing their soul energy, the three moved through the city's twisted alleys. Though devoid of the living, the city teemed with "soul sentinels"—half-soul, half-artifact guardians who would swarm and attack at the first sign of intrusion.
They avoided what they could, and struck swiftly when necessary.
Eventually, after passing a long path paved with skeletal remains, they stood beneath the tower.
The Soulbone Lighthouse loomed above them, forged entirely from obsidian, wrapped in chains of wailing spirits. At its peak, a black-gold flame roared, as if ready to consume all will.
The gate was shut tight, carved with the visage of a grinning, blood-eyed ghost.
"This gate is alive," Yan Yao said coldly.
"You've arrived."
The ghost face suddenly spoke, its voice like wind across dry bones.
"Who are you?" Lei Hao barked.
"I was once the master of the Flame Mark Palace… the soul traitor you speak of," rasped the voice. "My name is Yan Chong, last flame soul of the Flame Mark line."
"It's you!" Xiao Chen's eyes flashed coldly. "You betrayed the soul clan and led my parents to their deaths!"
"You're wrong," Yan Chong replied in a low voice. "I never harmed them. While I once sought to reshape the soul order, I never took part in their deaths. The true killer… is someone else within the Soul King's court."
Yan Yao and Lei Hao stiffened in shock.
"Who?" Yan Yao asked.
"The Seventh Soul Envoy under the Soul King—Suyé," Yan Chong said gravely. "He conspired with the Sect of Soul Extinction to overthrow the Soul King. Your parents were used as pawns to ignite soulfire chaos. When they failed… he silenced them."
"Why didn't you say this before?" Xiao Chen demanded.
"I was exiled here, my soul sealed, body decaying. I couldn't even speak," Yan Chong sighed. "Your arrival here—sanctioned by the Tower of Fate—is the only proof you're ready to learn the truth."
He paused, then added, "If you truly wish to free your parents' souls, you must climb the tower and awaken them within the soulfire's core."
"Then let us in," Xiao Chen said firmly.
The ghost face was silent for a long moment. Then, its mouth split open in a grin. "I will open the gate… but you must face the tower's guardians—three Wraith Generals."
Boom!
The ghost face dissolved into smoke. The gate thundered open.
A wave of soul-crushing pressure rushed out, and from the darkness, three massive figures stepped forward.
Three Wraith Generals, Battle Beneath the Tower
The first: Crimsonbrand Soul, wreathed in fire, master of soul-scorching flames.
The second: Shadowrend Soul, twin hook-wielding assassin, master of stealth and shadow.
The third: Prisonwarden Soul, clad in mountain-like armor, whose fists shattered the very sea of souls.
"Split up!" Lei Hao roared, charging straight at Crimsonbrand with a roar of thunder. His thunder sigil flared, unleashing a storm of lightning.
Yan Yao vanished into the shadows, engaging Shadowrend in a deadly game of stealth and speed.
Xiao Chen faced Prisonwarden alone, his energy drawn inward, gaze calm as a still lake.
Boom!
Prisonwarden struck with a crushing blow, the ground quaking. Xiao Chen leapt into the void, hair flowing as he raised one hand.
"Fate Command: Shadow Cycle!"
A silver soulwheel erupted behind him, cleaving downward in a massive arc.
Prisonwarden staggered, helm cracking under the force.
Lei Hao's thunder surged, forming the image of a thunder god that blasted Crimsonbrand into the depths.
Yan Yao danced through shadows, piercing Shadowrend's soul core with deadly precision.
The three Wraith Generals—defeated.
The heart of the tower opened, revealing a staircase of fire spiraling toward the peak.
"Go!" Xiao Chen shouted, leaping into the flames.
The Core of Soulfire, A Glimpse of His Parents' Souls
At the summit, a vast platform bathed in surging flames awaited. At its center floated two faint lights—soul fragments flickering like dying stars.
"Ah Chen…" a gentle voice called. The same voice Xiao Chen had cherished all his life.
"Mother!" he gasped, rushing forward but halting at the edge of the flames.
"Don't come any closer," said a stern male voice. "This is the soulfire's boundary. Touch it, and your soul will burn."
"Father…" Xiao Chen fell to his knees, voice trembling.
"To see you alive is enough," his father said, voice heavy with emotion. "Ah Chen, the true traitor lies in the Soul King's court. His name… is Suyé."
"I won't forget," Xiao Chen said, rising. "But I won't leave you here."
"There's no path left for us," the soul murmured.
"Then I'll carve one."
Xiao Chen drew his sword in one swift motion and struck the soulfire's core.
The fate sigil exploded, space quaking. Amid the turbulence, the two soul lights began to drift free.
"Catch them!" Lei Hao and Yan Yao cast a soul formation, guiding the soul fragments into specially prepared soul jades.
The flames roared, and the tower began to collapse.
"Run!" Xiao Chen grabbed the soul jade and sprinted out with the others.
Behind them, the entire City of Shadowed Echoes crumbled in a blaze of soulfire. Thousands of trapped souls soared into the sky—finally free.
Back on the surface, silence returned to the Scorchedbone Wastes.
Clutching the soul jade tightly, Xiao Chen whispered,
"Father. Mother… I'll make sure the truth comes to light. Our next stop—The Soul King's Court."
The wind rose, lifting their cloaks.
At the edge of night, dawn approached.