When I stepped through the silver-eyed man's portal, I expected heat.
Instead, the air was cold.
Not winter-cold.
Dead flame cold.
The world around me was cracked obsidian, carved with spiraling flame runes—unfinished, twitching like they wanted to burn but forgot how.
Above me, the sky swirled with bleeding light. Stars blinked in and out.
> [SYSTEM NOTICE: You have entered the BROKEN EMBER VEIN.]
Warning: Chrono-Flame Distortion Active
Time, Emotion, and Flame may not behave normally.
---
A whisper danced on the wind.
> "This is where the Unity Flame was tested."
> "And where it broke."
---
The silver-eyed man walked beside me, his form shifting like heat haze.
> "Each step here takes you closer to a version of yourself you could've become."
I glanced at him.
"Does that mean I'm about to fight some emo, flame-obsessed edgelord?"
He raised a silver eyebrow.
> "...Yes."
---
First Trial – The Mirror of Might
We arrived at a black platform floating above a river of silent fire.
There, standing tall, was me.
But older.
Colder.
Clad in a void-black robe, eyes glowing white-silver.
He looked at me like I was something weak.
> "You gave up your core flame... for her?" Mirror-Me sneered.
> "You should've devoured her. Absorbed the Unity Flame yourself."
I raised my hands, Void Flame surging.
"You're not me."
> "Not anymore."
---
We fought.
His flame was brutal—perfect combinations of Void and Unity.
He didn't hesitate.
Didn't flinch.
Didn't care.
He slammed me with a spiral flame strike that cracked the platform.
> "Feeling soft makes you weak."
> "You chose love over power."
I blocked, barely.
Then I smiled.
"No."
"I chose her."
I drove my fist into his core—
And whispered, "And that makes me stronger than you ever were."
---
He exploded into silver dust.
The platform dissolved.
---
Second Trial – Qing'er Ascended
I walked through a hallway of floating windows—each one showing Qing'er.
In one, she was still the girl I knew.
In another, she floated above a burning planet—eyes blank, wings of white and silver flame spread wide.
In another...
She sat on a throne.
Eyes glowing.
Crown burning.
And people kneeling in fear.
The silver-eyed man paused beside me.
> "This is one outcome."
> "If the fusion completes… without you."
> "She becomes the Flameborn Empress."
> "Powerful. Eternal. But alone."
My heart twisted.
I reached out to touch the vision—
And heard her voice.
> "Kael… please don't let me burn alone."
---
Final Trial – Ashen Fang's Echo
I arrived at a black temple.
Inside, on a molten throne, sat Ashen Fang.
Not the soul fragment.
Not a memory.
A full-bodied flame echo.
He opened his eyes slowly.
> "So. The failure returns."
> "Still chasing a flame that shouldn't exist."
I stood tall.
"You were wrong. About everything."
He rose.
> "Then prove it."
He raised a blade of white fire.
---
We clashed.
Void and Unity surged around me—unsteady but fierce.
He fought like someone who had nothing left to lose.
He struck my shoulder, searing pain through me.
> "You will never protect her," he growled.
> "Because she was never meant to be protected."
I bled, staggered—
Then smiled.
"Good thing I never follow scripts."
I drove my palm into his chest—
And let the Unity Flame burst.
---
Ashen Fang's echo screamed—and burned into ashes.
---
The temple shattered.
The sky turned silver.
> [Trial Complete: Soul Flame Stabilization – 74%]
New Trait Unlocked: "Flame Anchor" – You can now lock Unity Flame resonance to a target across timelines.
---
At the Core – The Cocoon
I stood before a floating cocoon of silver-white flame.
Inside: Qing'er.
Peaceful.
Changing.
But around her hovered a shadow.
Not Ashen Fang.
Not the Flame Collector.
Someone else.
Someone… familiar.
They turned.
And my heart froze.
"…Rin?" I whispered.
My sister.
Long dead.
Gone since my original world.
And yet—here she was.
Eyes glowing silver.
Smile cold.
> "Hello, brother."
> "You shouldn't have come here."
---
To be continued...
---
✍️ Author's Note – by [Your Pen Name]
🔥 Chapter 33 was
a ride:
The Broken Ember Vein is where the Unity Flame first failed
The MC faced a twisted version of himself, Qing'er's dangerous future, and Ashen Fang's echo
He unlocked a new trait: Flame Anchor, letting him find Qing'er across timelines
And then… Rin, his supposedly dead sister, appears guarding the cocoon