Shattered Ember Vein Sector – Edge of the Rift Zone
The sky bled fire.
Two Qing'ers stood facing each other—one wrapped in white-silver flame, the other cloaked in violet-black energy. Both held Lin Xian's gaze.
And both claimed to love him.
---
The Other Qing'er
Her hair was midnight blue, flowing like ink. Her violet eyes gleamed with sorrow—and something else. Bitterness.
> "You left me," she said softly.
"In my timeline, you died protecting me. But the Flame didn't die with you."
"It turned me into what I had to be."
White Qing'er raised a shaking hand. "You're a fragment. A shadow. You don't belong here."
> "Neither do you," Violet Qing'er spat. "You're just the one who got lucky."
The ground cracked between them.
---
System Instability Alert
> [System Warning]
Soul Synchronization Error: Dual Qing'er Anomaly
Probability of Flame Collapse: 78%
Recommended Action: Isolate Host Memory Thread or Execute Soul Merge Ritual
Lin Xian gritted his teeth. "There's no way I'm letting either of you die."
> [System Addendum]
Suggested Method: Triple Flame Stabilization via Dual Cultivation
Risk Level: High
Side Effect: Emotional Overlap Among All Flame Entities Involved
Zhao Feng (still a talking flame): "Just once, I want a solution that doesn't involve you two making out under pressure."
---
Rin Begins to Fracture
A scream rang out.
Lin Xian spun around—Rin was floating midair, her body covered in silver flame runes. Her eyes glitched between human and system script.
> "Unity Flame… Protocol 0… stabilizing host… ERROR… ERROR…"
White flame erupted from her chest, slamming into the sky and forming a circular sigil—an unfinished spell of massive scale.
> "She's not just a Unity Host," Violet Qing'er whispered.
"She's the original vessel. She's the prototype."
---
Soulstorm Clash
The two Qing'ers charged at each other.
Their flames collided—violet against silver—and reality shattered in a localized soulstorm. Lin Xian was pulled into the rift between their minds, landing on a floating bridge of memory.
Each side shouted:
> "She'll erase everything we are!"
"You'll drag him into madness!"
In the chaos, Lin Xian stood between them again—hands out.
And then he did something insane.
He opened his flame core.
---
Flame Merge Attempt – Forbidden Ritual
> [System Emergency Notice]
Lin Xian has initiated Flame Merge with Dual Flame Hosts
Outcome Unpredictable
Proceeding…
WARNING: Sentience Threshold Breach Imminent
Both Qing'ers screamed.
The flames shot into him—white and violet—crashing through his meridians, ripping apart his spiritual sea.
Memories, lives, timelines, loves, regrets—all of it—flooded into him.
---
Vision: The Third Path
In the merge, Lin Xian saw a future.
Not one where he chose one Qing'er over the other.
Not one where he let the system decide.
But a future where both parts of her became one—not copies, not fusions… but a new flame entirely.
He whispered:
> "We aren't our timelines."
"We're what we choose to become."
---
Flame Birth – Heart of the True Flame
The rift exploded.
Out of it stepped one girl.
Qing'er—her hair now silver at the roots, violet at the tips. Her flame aura pulsed with three layers: emotion, memory, and desire.
> "I… remember everything," she whispered.
"And I still choose you."
Lin Xian fell to his knees, exhausted. "Good. Because I was starting to lose count of how many versions of you were trying to kill me."
Zhao Feng (still a flame): "You attract dangerous women, bro. It's a skill."
---
Cliffhanger Ending
Suddenly—Rin collapsed midair.
Her body convulsed.
> [System Critical Alert]
Unity Host Zero Sync Failure
Secondary Protocol Activating: Purge
And from the burning sigil above—
A new figure stepped down.
Masked. Clad in black Unity armor.
Eyes silver and expression blank.
> "Designation: Prototype 0.A," it said.
"Mission: Terminate Lin Xian."
Lin Xian stood slowly, already bleeding from the merge.
> "Perfect. Another lunatic in armor."
"Can I have ten
minutes to nap, or…?"
The figure raised a silver blade—
And vanished.
Only to reappear behind him—sword at his throat.
To be continued in Chapter 40 – "Prototype 0.A Awakens"