The Broken Ember Vein burned in chaos.
The world was ash and silver flame. Floating shards of reality rotated like moons around the central flame field.
And at the center floated Qing'er.
Or what used to be her.
---
The New Flame Host
Her robes had fused into flowing white silk, threaded with silver fire. Her hair floated weightless, strands dancing like living flame.
Her eyes glowed.
But not with warmth.
With confusion. With distance. With too many memories.
Lin Xian stared up at her, heart pounding. "Qing'er…"
She tilted her head.
"…Which one are you?"
---
Future Lin Xian rose to hover opposite her. "Don't let her speak. That's not your Qing'er. That's the Flame's will—projected through her."
> "Lin Xian," Qing'er said softly.
"I remember killing you… once. Twice. A thousand times. But I also remember holding your hand and laughing until I cried."
She floated down, touched the edge of his flame aura.
> "I don't know which memory is real anymore."
"Maybe none of them are."
"Maybe all of them are me."
Zhao Feng stepped out from behind a floating boulder, dragging Rin. "Uhh, little busy dying here! The sky just cracked again!"
Above, the Flame Collector loomed.
He raised his staff. A spiral of white and void began twisting around it—condensing into a Flame Judgment.
> "You've reached the convergence," he said calmly.
"Choose. Flame or self."
---
A Choice on Fire
Lin Xian looked between them.
Qing'er, his bondmate, now rewritten by a thousand versions of herself.
The Flame Collector, ready to erase her.
Future Lin Xian, consumed by what could be.
Rin, crying with silver flame leaking from her eyes.
And Zhao Feng, trying to fix a cracked spirit compass with chewing gum and blind hope.
> "What do you choose, Lin Xian?" the Flame Collector asked.
"Do you claim her as she is—or burn the flame out of her?"
He stepped forward. The ground cracked beneath him.
> "I choose..." Lin Xian whispered.
"…to rewrite the flame."
He slammed his palms together, channeling every ounce of energy.
Void Flame. Unity Flame. Even his mortal qi.
And then—a third spark appeared.
Not from the system.
Not from Qing'er.
From him.
A black-silver-white lotus bloomed behind him.
---
New Flame Technique – Lotus of the True Bond
> [System Notice]
Unauthorized Flame Signature Detected
Identity: Unknown
Classification: [Origin Flame Variant – "True Bond Flame"]
Risk Level: ∞
Stability: 0%
Syncing...
Error...
Bond override in progress...
Qing'er screamed.
The flames around her cracked like glass.
Memories spilled from her aura — versions of her laughing, dying, falling, fusing, destroying — all flowing toward Lin Xian's flame lotus.
And slowly…
She looked at him.
And smiled.
> "That one," she whispered.
"That's the me I want to be."
---
Interrupted Awakening
BOOM!
The Flame Collector hurled his judgment flame.
Future Lin Xian countered it with void energy.
They collided in a titanic blast that swallowed half the sky.
But in the chaos—a hand emerged from the rift.
Thin. Pale. Clawed.
A new figure stepped out, cloaked in black wind.
> "You're not the only version of her that survived," it hissed.
"The Qing'er of Bloodsteel Remnants… wants her body back."
---
Cliffhanger Ending
Lin Xian turned to Qing'er, who staggered as a second soul began pulling at her body from the inside.
She clutched her chest, eyes wide.
> "Lin Xian… something's wrong. There's another me inside me…"
Rin screamed. The Flame Collector vanished.
And Zhao Feng—
Was gone.
Only his compass remained, spinning in place.
> [System Warning]
Soul Displacement Detected
Host: Zhao Feng
Status: Absorbed into Fragmented Timeline
Retrieval Possible: 0.5%
Lin Xian looked into the flame storm—
And saw a broken version of Zhao Feng, smiling through blood.
To be continued in Chapter 38 – "Two Qing'ers, One Flame"