Tian Rui's world blurred. The shadows around him twisted like serpents, creeping ever closer. His body felt heavy, as though the weight of the fire was pulling him down into the abyss. He could barely hear the sound of his heartbeat over the roaring of the flame inside him.
The leader of the shadow-walkers stepped closer, his smile wicked, eyes gleaming with malicious intent. "You're not the first to wield such power. You won't be the last. But you will be the first to fall."
Tian Rui's hands clenched into fists. He had come so far, survived so many battles. And yet, now, the one enemy he could never defeat was the fire within himself.
"You won't win," Tian Rui growled, though the tremble in his voice betrayed the doubt gnawing at his mind.
"Oh, but I already have," the leader replied, his voice a hiss. "You are already mine. The flame inside you? It's the key to my victory."
Tian Rui felt a sharp pang in his chest. His mind spun, trying to comprehend what the shadow-walker meant. He wasn't just talking about using the flame. No, this was something far worse—something darker.
Suddenly, the fire within him surged, more forceful than ever before. He gasped, unable to hold it back. His vision blurred, the heat building until it felt as though his entire body was on fire.
"Rui!" Lyen shouted, her voice full of desperation. "You have to fight it! Don't let it control you!"
But her words barely reached him. The flame, dark and twisted, was too strong now, its power coursing through his veins, consuming everything in its path.
A scream tore through his throat as the flame exploded outward. The world around him shattered, everything reduced to ash in an instant. The shadow-walkers disintegrated, but so did everything else—the trees, the ground, the very air.
Lyen's scream echoed, but Tian Rui could not reach her. His world was fire. His world was consumed.
---
When the flames finally subsided, silence fell. Tian Rui opened his eyes, heart hammering in his chest. His body trembled from the aftermath, but the fire was still there, waiting.
Lyen was on the ground before him, her face pale, but alive. The air around them was thick with smoke and the remnants of burned earth. His vision wavered as he realized the destruction he had caused.
"You... you almost killed us," Lyen breathed, her voice filled with both fear and anger.
Tian Rui looked at his hands, his palms still glowing with residual flame. He could feel it—the hunger, the power. It was like a drug he could never stop craving.
"I didn't mean to," he whispered, his voice breaking. "I can't control it anymore. I thought I could, but it's... it's too much."
Lyen slowly rose to her feet, her eyes locking with his. There was no judgment in them—only sorrow. "You have to let go, Rui. You can't keep fighting this alone. You don't have to bear the weight of the flame by yourself."
Her words were like a lifeline, but Tian Rui didn't know if he was ready to reach for it. The flame was part of him now, entwined with his very soul. To let it go meant to lose himself. To lose everything.
"I don't know how," he admitted, his voice raw. "It's not just a part of me. It is me."
Lyen's expression softened, and she knelt in front of him. Her hand gently touched his, a warmth that had nothing to do with the fire between them. "Then let me help you."
---
Tian Rui didn't know how long they sat there, in the charred ruins of the forest, but eventually, the oppressive weight of the flame began to lessen. Not because he had mastered it—but because he had finally accepted that he didn't have to carry it alone.
The leader of the shadow-walkers had been right about one thing: the flame was a curse. But Tian Rui now knew that the only way to survive it was to keep moving forward—together.
They had been running from darkness for so long, but Tian Rui realized that the only way to conquer it was to stop hiding.
The flame was his burden. But it was also his strength.
---
They left the ruins of the temple behind them, making their way toward the next challenge, the next battle. But for the first time in a long while, Tian Rui wasn't alone in his struggle. Lyen and Veylan were with him—companions, allies, friends.
And maybe, just maybe, he could learn to control the flame inside him.