Live, even if the world forgets you."*
"Live, even if heaven itself tries to erase your name."
He woke up in a grave of stars.
Floating fragments of ancient ruins drifted across a colorless sky, bathed in the faintest ember-glow of dying moons. Beneath him was no ground, only dust—cold, gray, and heavy. His fingers trembled as he touched his chest. It was there. Still burning.
A small ember—no larger than a heartbeat—flickered behind his ribs. Not fire. Not Qi. Not soul. Something older, his 'Soulbrand'.
And yet, he remembered nothing—no mother, no father, no past, not even his own name.
Then, the whisper came. Eirian. "The sound echoed like a lost prayer. A soft, feminine voice—fragile, desperate. As if someone, somewhere, still remembered him. And that fragile memory... gave him form".
Eirian, Your name is Eirian Aurelia.
He opened his eyes fully. That name — it didn't feel like something he was given. It felt like something ripped from the world just before it collapsed.
"Eirian sat up, all around him, statues of faceless gods crumbled. Ash and glass swirled in the air. Symbols of long-forgotten realms shimmered and vanished. This was no mortal world."
This was the "Dust Realm"
The place where failed souls are sent to fade.
And yet... his Soulbrand was active. That wasn't possible.
"You should not exist."
"And yet... you burn."
A figure emerged from the void—a tall man in robes stitched with starlight. His face was hidden behind a glass black mask, cracked and smeared with shadow. But his voice was indifferent.
"Eirian," he spoke, tasting the name like poison. "Who remembered you?"
Eirian stood. His bare feet sank into the dust.
"I don't know," he said honestly.
"Then you are dangerous". The figure raised a hand. A spear of fractured karma spear glowed in his palm.
But something stirred within Eirian. A flicker. A scream. A memory.
A woman's body covered in blood, ablaze. A child crying. A single name etched in fire.
"Live. Even if I burn for you."
The ember in his chest exploded.
Eirian roared as flame burst from his back, forming the ghost pattern of a broken phoenix — a creature not of rebirth, but invincibility. His Emberflesh Realm body lifted off the ground as memory and fire fused into something raw and divine.
The starlit attacker hesitated. "Impossible. Your Soulbrand is..."
Eirian's voice echoed with something older than truth.
"It's not mine.
It was given.
And now it burns."
The flame struck like the wrath of a dying god. When the dust settled, only ash remained where the figure once stood.
"Eirian dropped to his knees. The flame receded.
He was alone again. But not powerless."
"In his memories, one day a giant hand tore through the heavens. With unimaginable demonic power, it split the sky in half and shattered the world he had once known. When he opened his eyes again, he found himself in the lower realm — the Dust Realm."
Far above, in the "Astral Vein Realm", seers woke screaming from visions.
A figure shrouded in black mist stood atop the highest peak of the Soul Vein. A whisper slithered through the wind, cold and indifferent
"A forgotten name has returned. The Dust Realm has birthed a flame it cannot contain."
"Find the soul called Eirian."
"Before the Realms remember him... and burn for it."
Mortal Ascension (Foundation Stages)
1. Emberflesh Realm – Body reforged in flame.
2. Soulspark Realm – Soul ignites, emotions shape reality.
3. Infernal Lord Realm – Command fire like a warlord.
Dear Readers,
Thank you from the bottom of my heart for joining me on this incredible journey as a new author. Your support, enthusiasm, and curiosity mean the world to me—it's what turns solitary writing into a shared adventure.