Broken Ember Vein – Core Flame Nexus
Lin Xian stood still. His eyes locked on the figure in the flames.
Silver robes. Void-cracked skin. Silver flame eyes.
It was him.
A version of him that had burned… everything.
The alternate Lin Xian—the one who had failed—hovered above the flame cocoon holding Qing'er. His aura was unstable, a fusion of Void Flame and something corrupted.
> "You're the reason everything collapsed," the alternate Lin Xian said.
"You bonded with her too soon. Just like I did."
Lin Xian narrowed his eyes. "Who the hell are you?"
The other smiled grimly. "I'm your future. One possible future."
Flames cracked in the air around him, peeling apart pieces of reality. Behind him, the cocoon flickered, and Qing'er's unconscious body twisted slightly in the silver light.
---
Flame Memory Flash
In a single pulse of light, memories surged into Lin Xian's mind.
He saw a world where he and Qing'er had fused fully with the Unity Flame. They became gods—burning, radiant gods.
But they lost themselves.
They burned villages to "cleanse the timeline." They destroyed sects to "maintain balance."
They stood above all things… and felt nothing.
Qing'er had looked at him one day and asked, "What are we?"
He didn't know.
So she burned the world to find the answer.
And in the end, he killed her to stop her.
That's when the Flame Collector arrived—too late to stop them, too early to fix anything.
Instead, he offered him one thing: a second chance. A way to warn himself before this timeline made the same mistake.
---
Back to the Present
Lin Xian staggered back, holding his head. The memories felt like they had been etched into his bones.
"You're not me," he said coldly. "I won't end like that."
> "No?" Future Lin Xian floated lower.
"Do you even know what the Unity Flame is?"
"You think it's a gift. It's a chain."
"It connects every version of you. Every Qing'er. Every path. It doesn't burn through time—it feeds on it."
Zhao Feng whispered behind him, "Okay I'm officially voting to run. Like, very far."
Rin didn't move. She was staring at the cocoon with clenched fists.
> "We don't have time to argue," she said. "He's not just showing up. He's anchoring this reality to his timeline."
"If he completes the sync, this entire timeline becomes a copy of his."
Lin Xian's gaze sharpened.
"You're trying to overwrite this world."
> "No," his future self said. "The Flame is."
And then he attacked.
---
Flame Clash
Lin Xian barely reacted in time. A spear of silver Void Flame pierced the air, targeting his chest.
He dodged sideways, spun, and launched a spiral of condensed black-red flame in response.
The air cracked.
Time folded around the two versions of Lin Xian as they clashed—past, future, present all colliding at once.
Qing'er's cocoon pulsed violently with every strike.
Zhao Feng grabbed Rin and dove behind a floating boulder. "Okay! Reminder—Lin Xian sucks at being normal!"
---
Mind Duel – Inner Flame Realm
The moment their flames touched, Lin Xian was yanked into the mental world again.
This time, the realm was ruined.
Burning cities. Screaming echoes. Dead stars in the sky.
Future Lin Xian stood on a silver throne. Alone.
> "This is what we become," he said.
"We lose Qing'er. We lose Zhao Feng. We burn the path, thinking we're fixing it."
Lin Xian looked around. "Then why help me?"
> "Because even now, I'm trying to fix it."
"You must sever the flame bond."
"Or she'll become more flame than human."
---
Reality Breaks
They snapped out of the realm.
The sky above the Broken Ember Vein split open.
And the Flame Collector descended.
But not the one from Lin Xian's timeline—the one from the broken future.
Clad in layered silver flame, his face hidden behind a cracked mask, he held a staff made of shattered relics.
> "So this is the deviation," he said in a voice that shook flame itself.
"Two Lin Xians. One path."
Rin screamed, grabbing her head. Her silver eyes lit up with flame script.
Zhao Feng held her tight. "LIN XIAN! Something's wrong with her!"
Qing'er's cocoon exploded with light.
---
Reunion – Or Rebirth?
From the broken cocoon, Qing'er floated upward.
Her eyes were silver now. Her voice overlapped with flame energy.
> "Lin… Xian?"
"Or… are you my other self?"
She looked at both versions of him.
Lin Xian stepped forward, hand out. "It's me. Your Lin Xian."
She blinked.
Then smiled.
And said, "I remember… burning you."
---
Cliffhanger Ending
The Flame Collector raised his staff.
> "The Unity Flame chooses its hosts."
"And it always chooses war."
Qing'er raised her hand.
Flames spun in her palm—white, silver, void.
Future Lin Xian screamed, "NO! SHE'S AWAKENING TOO EARLY!"
Lin Xian took a single step forward—
And the world exploded in flame and time.