The sun had yet to rise, and the Ashen Hollow was cloaked in pre-dawn silver mist. Belarion stood atop the Citadel Spire, wind tugging at his crimson robe, gazing northward. Beyond mountains scorched by mana storms lay the Ashspire Cult—a sect known for its brutal rites, fire-cursed weapons, and dominion over flame spirits.
He activated the system.
[Challenge Request: Ashspire Cult] [Type: Founders' Duel. Terms: Total Authority Transfer, Winner Claims Loser's Sect Foundation Rights and Influence. Time Limit: Seven Days.]
[Challenge Sent. Awaiting Acknowledgment.]
Kaelira stood beside him, her expression grim. "They'll come at you with everything. The Ashspire Patriarch is a Flame-Devourer—he burns the blood of his enemies to fuel his spells."
"I intend to give him a feast, then," Belarion said.
Day 1: The Envoy Arrives
By mid-morning, the first envoy from Ashspire Cult arrived. He rode a flaming beast—a Hellmane Tiger—and carried a scroll carved from volcanic bone.
"The Ashspire Patriarch acknowledges your challenge," the envoy announced, "and accepts. You will face three trials across the span of seven days. If you survive, the Patriarch himself will greet you in final combat."
Belarion didn't even glance at the envoy. "Then go back and tell your Patriarch that his days are numbered."
The envoy chuckled. "I hope your bones are flame-resistant."
Day 2: Trial of Dominion – The Arena of Charred Wills
A great ring of flame was conjured on neutral grounds between the sects, surrounded by spectators, mercenaries, and spirit merchants. The Trial of Dominion tested command over others—five initiates from each side would enter and be stripped of outside support. The victor was the one who stood last.
Belarion nominated no disciples.
Instead, he walked into the ring himself.
The crowd howled in disbelief. The Ashspire spectators laughed.
"Facing five alone?" someone sneered. "Arrogant worm!"
The bell rang.
Ashspire's five fighters circled him—each wielding a different fire variant: black flame, soulfire, corrosive blaze, volcanic wrath, and smokeflame.
Belarion whispered, "System. Unlock: Voidfire Protocol."
[Voidfire Protocol Activated. Warning: Consumes high-grade energy reserves.]
The air bent around him. Flame turned dark and silent, like fire swallowed by the stars. One by one, the Ashspire fighters faltered. Their techniques failed to land. Their bodies disintegrated mid-charge.
In under three minutes, Belarion stood alone.
[Trial of Dominion: Victory Achieved.]
Kaelira watched from the sidelines, arms crossed. "You didn't even break a sweat."
"I thought about it," he replied, smirking.
Day 4: Trial of Soul – The Fire Mirror
Belarion stepped into a chamber filled with obsidian shards. Each one showed a reflection—not of flesh, but of spirit. Doubts. Regrets. Guilt. These were enemies forged not of steel, but memory.
From the mirror emerged an image of his old self—before the reincarnation. The boy who had failed to protect, who had run from war, who had once kneeled to tyrants.
"You are nothing without the System," the specter sneered. "You're still weak. Still afraid."
"No," Belarion said calmly. "I'm just not who you remember. I burned that boy."
He raised his hand.
Voidfire licked the mirrored shard, devouring it in silence.
[Trial of Soul: Passed.]
Day 6: Trial of Judgment – The Test of Flame Rights
This time, the battlefield was spiritual—a plane formed by the Will of Fire Spirits who judged cultivators' worthiness. Only those who truly understood fire—not just as a weapon, but a symbol of rebirth, destruction, and light—could earn their favor.
Others failed, some even died.
Belarion knelt before the Flame Monarch of the Trial Plane.
"What does fire mean to you?" the monarch asked, molten eyes peering into his soul.
Belarion answered without hesitation. "Fire is not my power. It is my mirror. I rise and fall like flame—consuming, giving warmth, destroying what needs to be undone. I am not the master of fire. I am what fire becomes when it is left unchained."
The monarch stared a moment longer.
Then bowed.
[Trial of Judgment: Passed. Fire Spirits recognize Sect Lord Belarion as Wielder of True Flame.]
Day 7: The Final Duel
They met in the Infernal Coliseum, a natural crater lit by streams of lava and spirit fire. Thousands of cultivators and onlookers ringed the ledges. The sky cracked with thunder as two figures faced off.
On one side: Patriarch Marvek of Ashspire. Wreathed in fire, clad in scaled armor, wielding a war halberd forged from the spine of a Fire Titan.
On the other: Belarion Vane, cloaked in silence and law, with the Starlight Dominion flickering behind him like a constellation's wrath.
"I will give you one chance," Marvek growled. "Bend the knee and serve me. You are strong, but still young."
"I don't kneel," Belarion replied. "I burn."
Marvek struck first, unleashing a sea of flame laced with divine beast essence.
Belarion countered with a single word: "Collapse."
[Starlight Dominion: Graviton Lance – Activated.]
A spear of condensed astral energy impaled the flame tide, ripping it apart.
The crowd gasped. Even Marvek stumbled.
They fought for minutes that felt like hours. Flame against void, might against inevitability. In the end, Marvek fell to his knees, coughing blood.
"You… are no mere upstart."
"No," Belarion said. "I'm the future."
He turned and walked away.
[Challenge Complete: Ashspire Cult Authority Transferred. Influence Rating +450. Sect Grade: Upgraded to Tier 2. Recognized by the World Flame Accord.]
To be continued in Chapter 8: Whispers Beneath the World Flame.