"A solitary flame can still blaze brightly through the long night."
This was a phrase Hương used to console herself during late-night study sessions, before this entire world collapsed.
Before she became the Solitary Mage—and later the great Multi-Element Mage—Hương was a chemistry student in Hanoi, an introverted girl who loved the color red and was fascinated by the complex reactions and transformations of chemical elements. Her small rented room was always filled with thick textbooks, intricate chemical diagrams, and tiny test tubes. She would spend hours in the school's laboratory, mesmerized by every drop of liquid changing color, every exothermic or endothermic reaction. Hương's quiet life, full of formulas and chemical equations, was forever changed when the Rift suddenly opened.
Without a warning, the sky over Hanoi tore apart, and hideous, shapeless creatures named Unknown swarmed in, sweeping across the city, bringing chaos and destruction. Screams, the sounds of collapse, and the stench of blood mixed, turning the thousand-year-old capital into a bloody battlefield. In the midst of that horrifying scene...
The moment she witnessed her classmates—the very people who had studied late with her, laughed, and shared dreams—being swallowed in a sea of blood by the claws of the Unknown... Hương's heart shattered. Her profound fear dissolved into pure fury—and a blazing, fiery energy she had never felt before surged from her body. It wasn't a chemical reaction she knew, but a primordial power, burning from the depths of her soul. Without guidance, without a moment's hesitation, she pointed her hand toward the terrifying Unknowns... and for the first time in her life, Hương incinerated a horde of Unknowns with her very own rage. That was the moment she realized she was no longer the Hương of yesterday. She had become an Awakened one.
The Exodus and a Glimmer of Hope
When Hanoi was no longer safe, with fierce Unknowns everywhere and streets now piles of rubble and burnt-out abandoned cars, supplies and food ran critically low. Groups of survivors fled the city in a continuous stream, heading for the outskirts with a faint hope of escaping the Unknowns and finding a new source of hope. Although the Unknowns were still present there, they were not as concentrated or as aggressive as in Hanoi, offering a small sigh of relief for the survivors.
Leaving the urban dangers behind, Hương and a group of other survivors, faces now strangers but with a shared fate, heard a rumor of a safe haven at a beach in Thanh Hoa. It was the last glimmer of hope in the enveloping darkness. They joined a convoy of old trucks and travelers on foot, their heavy steps trudging along a road full of dust and danger. Along the way, they faced no small number of ambushes from Unknowns or reckless roadside bandits. But fortunately, the group had a few "players"—other Awakened, strong and brave—so they were mostly safe from attacks. Hương also continuously trained her fire control, turning flames into a defensive wall, a spear of attack, and a shield for the vulnerable.
The entire group rested in Ninh Binh, trying to enjoy a rare moment of peace before continuing to Thanh Hoa, to the shelter at Hai Hoa beach—a place said to be "safe," their last refuge. Hương looked out at the sea, the waves gently lapping, and a flicker of hope ignited in her jaded heart.
A Sea of Blood and the Rise of the Multi-Element Mage
However, just two weeks later, when they thought a new life had begun, a massive, ferocious wave of Unknowns suddenly crashed into the shelter, slaughtering and destroying nearly everything. The peaceful beach from before was now a living hell.
Hương and the other Awakened fought tirelessly for 3 days and 2 nights. Hương charged into battle like a blazing inferno, incinerating every Unknown, her fingers scorched from constantly casting spells. With every passing minute, someone fell—a newly made friend, a child clinging to their mother, a brave warrior who collapsed. In the end, no one survived except her. Her hands were charred from overusing her magic, her cloak was in tatters, and her mana was almost completely drained. She collapsed amidst a forest of corpses, surrounded by thousands of bodies piled on top of each other—human and monster, a sight of ultimate horror. The thick, bloody smell haunted her every sense.
Hương lay broken, her eyes vacant, her hand touching the scorched lucky charm on her neck—a gift from her mother before she went missing. It was a small, square amulet. She whispered, her hand on the charm, her voice hoarse and weak:
"Mom... I'm so tired... I think I just need to close my eyes for a little while..." Saying this, her eyes began to close.
Just as she was about to give up, in the very moment that eternal darkness was about to swallow her, Nghĩa's group appeared like a beacon of light in the dark night.
Nam jumped to the front line, raising his gigantic shield to protect her from the attacks of the approaching Unknowns. Hoa used her healing skill and set up a timely recovery barrier; streams of emerald light gradually soaked into Hương's body, soothing her burning wounds. Nghĩa charged onto the battlefield with his extraordinary skills, clearing out the last of the Unknowns that had been surrounding her.
Then, as Hương slowly regained consciousness, her body transformed her pure fury into power. A powerful purple light radiated from her, then shot up into the sky. It was at that moment that she learned a new skill: [Annihilating Lightning]. She used all her remaining strength to activate both [Reduce to Ashes] and [Annihilating Lightning].
Suddenly, the sky turned dark, thick grey clouds rolled in, and on the sand, the wind blew hard, and fire vortices gradually began to form. After a peal of thunder that shook the whole space, a rain of lightning and violent fire whirlwinds tore the battlefield apart. The scene was nothing short of Mother Nature's fury being unleashed... After that, she collapsed, falling unconscious as her mana was completely drained.
A New Beginning
When she opened her eyes, Hoa—with her warm smile and eyes full of empathy—invited her to join the group.
Hương was used to fighting alone, protecting the survivors with all her strength. But when she saw that everyone she had known at the shelter had been massacred with no one left—the mixed feelings of sorrow and loss gradually turned into overflowing fury, and a new flame ignited within her. It was not a flame of destruction, but a flame of will, of a fierce determination to seek revenge and protect those who remained. She gripped Hoa's hand tightly, her eyes burning with an eternal fire. She knew this was her chance to no longer be a solitary flame. She would fight alongside her new teammates.
From the wave of Unknowns that destroyed Hai Hoa, where all hope seemed to have died, a Multi-Element Mage rose from the ashes. No longer a solitary flame, she now carried within her the combined power of many elements. Hương had overcome her own limits, accepted her new power, to continue on her thorny path.
The story of an arduous yet adventurous journey begins. Would Hương's flame, now no longer solitary, be strong enough to blaze brightly through the long night and push back the darkness?