The wind on the mountain shifted again.
Not with thunder, not with fire. This time, it carried perfume — a strange, delicate scent that didn't belong to the forest. The birds stopped chirping. The trees held their breath. Even the clouds above the canopy slowed, as though curious.
Sunmok sniffed once. Then again.
"…Peaches?"
He stood slowly, white fire faint on his fingertips. "That's either a trap… or a girl." His tail swayed lazily. "Either way, I'm checking."
He leapt into the air, landing silently on the branch of a twisted tree overlooking the northern slope of his territory.
And there she was.
A figure in flowing pink robes, gliding over the rocks like a feather. Not walking — floating. Her face was partially veiled, but her eyes were visible: sharp, calm, unreadable. Her long black hair danced with the wind like ink in water.
Sunmok's eyes widened. "Pretty…" he muttered.
He almost lost balance on the branch.
She kept moving forward, step by step, heading directly toward the stone where he had meditated hours ago. His tail twitched with instinct — was she here to fight? Spy? Flirt?
Probably all three.
He dropped from the branch, landing between her and the stone with a thud. Dust scattered.
The girl stopped. "You're quicker than the elders said."
Sunmok blinked. "You talk like you know me."
"I don't," she said, raising a hand. "But I was sent to observe."
He raised an eyebrow. "So you're a spy."
"No," she said, calmly. "A tester."
Sunmok smirked. "Tester, spy, stalker — what's the difference? Either way, you're trespassing."
The girl studied him. "Your white flame... It doesn't burn your body?"
Sunmok twirled his tail and smiled. "It listens when I talk. Like a good pet."
That was a lie. The flame wasn't a pet — it was a beast, wild and ancient. But lately… it had begun to whisper. Sometimes with words. Sometimes with dreams.
The girl raised her hand again. A small orb of golden light floated above her palm. "Then let's test its loyalty."
Sunmok's grin vanished. His body leaned slightly forward. When he spoke, his voice was cold.
"You want to fight on my mountain?"
The orb flared. It expanded mid-air into a spear of blinding energy.
Sunmok's body blurred. The earth cracked where he once stood.
He reappeared behind her in mid-air, tail first, whipping around with a snap.
But her body dissolved into mist — a clone.
"Cute," he muttered.
The real girl appeared several feet away, standing mid-air, balancing on a golden fan. She raised her voice.
"I'm not here to kill you. But if your flame is truly the lost White Flame, then you must survive three attacks."
"Who made that rule?" Sunmok asked.
She smiled beneath her veil. "The one who's watching."
Sunmok's eyes narrowed. Watching… from where?
He grunted. "Fine. Three attacks. Then you leave."
She nodded once.
The first came fast — a wave of sound, like a bell rung too close. His ears popped, and the trees behind him split in half. The pressure pushed him back a few meters before he landed, coughing.
"Damn… sound attack?"
"One."
The second was a hail of golden shards, dozens of them, shaped like flower petals, each one burning with spirit energy. They swirled in a formation — not random, but a deadly dance.
Sunmok didn't dodge. He stood still. The White Flame rose around him in a swirl.
Each shard hit the flame… and vanished.
He blinked. The flame had eaten them.
He looked down at his hands. "...Okay. That was new."
The girl didn't flinch. "Two."
She raised her fan for the third attack — this time her spirit pressure surged. The air twisted. The trees bent away. A large array formed behind her, with ancient golden runes forming a circle the size of the mountain's peak.
Sunmok's fur bristled.
That wasn't just a test.
That was an execution-grade technique.
The flame inside him stirred.
"You really trying to kill me on the third one?"
"No," she said calmly. "I want to see if the flame will protect you… on its own."
The circle lit up — golden lightning exploded downward. A flash. A scream.
Then silence.
When the smoke cleared, Sunmok stood in a crater, his eyes glowing with white fire. The mark behind his head shimmered fully now — the large circle, and six faint smaller circles along its edges.
They pulsed once.
The girl stared. Her fan trembled slightly in her hand.
She bowed her head.
"I… see."
Sunmok stepped forward, bare feet leaving smoldering prints in the stone.
"You call that a test?" he said coldly.
She didn't answer. Her body faded into mist again — another clone.
But her voice remained.
"My name is Jinri of the Jade Veil Sect.
We'll meet again, Flame Bearer."
Her presence vanished entirely.
Sunmok exhaled. He sank to his knees, eyes dimming.
"…Flame Bearer, huh?"
He chuckled.
Then coughed blood.
"Too much power… too soon…"
Above him, clouds began to spiral.
Below him, dragons began to stir.
And far away, the girl named Jinri returned to her sect, whispering:
"The Royal Flame has awakened… in a monkey."