The Stormvault faded behind him as Matt stepped into flame.
One flash of the starmap, and reality twisted. He emerged in a suffocating blaze—air thick with sulfur, ash clinging to his skin like powdered death. Firestorms danced across the sky, and the ground cracked beneath his feet with every step.
Welcome to Flare Abyss—Namgari's prison, throne, and grave.
Black stone bridges jutted from cliffs of obsidian. Rivers of lava crawled through broken veins in the land. Above, a red sun flickered like it might collapse at any moment.
And everywhere... shadows moved.
Flamebound Undead—once-human warriors fused with molten metal, burning eternally, eyes glowing like furnace coals. They marched in twisted ranks, dragged chains, and wailed with broken voices.
Matt stayed low.
The Shadowsidian Blade pulsed with every heartbeat. The Void within him stirred.
"He's close."
The closer he got to the central caldera, the more Matt saw them—visions.
Flickers of his old life. His mother burning. His father choking on blood. Amiya screaming. Pailance walking away.
But the visions fought back.
They took form.
From a wall of fire stepped a burning knight—his past self, twisted by anger. Red eyes. Cruel smile.
"You were supposed to become me," it hissed.
Matt readied his blade.
The doppelganger charged.
Flames clashed with Void. Each swing of Matt's blade shattered illusions, but every hit he took pulled whispers from his mind:
"They left you."
"You're nothing without your rage."
"Mercy will kill you."
Matt struck a final blow.
The image dissolved into cinders.
His knees buckled.
Void Surge Level: 61%. Corruption Fracture imminent.
His hands trembled.
Then came the voice. Closer now. Real.
"FRAIL FLAME. YOU STUMBLE INTO MY DOMAIN… AND DARE TO WEAR THE CROWN OF REBELLION?"
A pillar of fire rose from the center of the caldera. Lava parted. A figure emerged, wreathed in dragon-bone armor. His greatsword burned with sunfire. Horns curled from a face cracked by heat and hatred.
Namgari — King of Fire.
He stood atop a hill of charred corpses, sword pointed at Matt.
"You bled once. You broke once. What makes you think the fire won't consume you again?"
Matt stepped forward.
"I'm not here to die."
Namgari's body ignited.
"GOOD."
The duel was apocalyptic.
Namgari moved like wildfire—blazing arcs of his sword melted the earth. Matt dodged, parried, and struck back with Void Rifts and Stormpulse bursts, but nothing pierced Namgari's armor.
Every hit drained Matt's mind. The Corruption ticked higher.
Void Corruption: 73%
His vision blurred.
The Void screamed in his head.
"Let us burn him."
Matt hesitated.
Namgari struck.
Matt went down.
Smoke filled his lungs. His blade slid from his fingers.
The flames whispered:
"Let go."
He looked up.
And saw Amiya's face—just for a second—in the skyfire.
Then he screamed.
And stood.
Void Fusion Triggered: Ember Rift Form
His body ignited—not in fire, but in anti-flame. Black and red flames consumed the air around him. The Shadowsidian Blade reformed in his hand—glowing now with a tricolor core: Void, Thunder, and Ember.
Namgari charged.
Matt met him.
They struck.
One blow.
Namgari's greatsword shattered.
The fire king dropped to his knees, flames flickering weakly.
"You bear it," he whispered. "The rebellion's echo."
Matt stood above him, breathing hard.
Namgari looked up, smiling. "Then I burn for you."
He placed a hand on his own chest.
And ignited.
Matt staggered back.
From Namgari's ashes rose a fire glyph—then fused with Matt's arm. A new mark. A new pulse.
Flare Sigil Acquired.
Ember Rift Technique Unlocked.
A new path opened.
The final Nayron King waited.
In a ruined jungle, deep beneath the bones of a fallen god.
Ondharo... awaits. Not as enemy. But as the key.
And in the distance, five stars aligned.
The Imperial Paladins were watching.
War was near.