It was the first time Mai Hashi kuru had stepped beyond the sacred volcano of her clan.
Ash fell gently from the sky like snow. The fire winds howled like spirits.
She had seen many things in her dreams— war, betrayal, Burning gods, even the fall of the Multiverse.
But not this boy.
A child no Older than ten, standing barefoot in the lava fields of the old world.
His skin shimmered with red cracks, glowing faintly. His eyes were melton gold. His aura trembled like a volcano waiting to erupt.
"Who are you?" Mai asked.
The boy blinked, confused.
"My name is… astraeus . Astraeus Hashi kuru," he said slowly.
Mai Froze.
"A Hashi kuru? That name… doesn't belong to your house. You're from suran."
"I don't care about houses," he said."the fire in me is different. It hurts."
That night, Mai Watched him sleep near a pool of lava. He didn't burn.
The Eternal Flame whispered to her:
He is not like the others.
He is the chosen one.
You found him now you must train him.
Astraeus woke up screaming— lava pouring from his eyes.
His body tried to enter eruption mode, but it was unstable, out of control.
Mai held him tight, even as the heat scorched her.
"l'll teach you how to control it," she whispered.
"You carry too much power for someone alone,"
—Training:
The pure flame temple hasn't seen two warriors in years.
Mai, now a master of flame shaping, began training Astraeus.
But something was wrong. His body didn't react like hers.
When he punched, cracks formed in the world.
When he meditated, The sky turned crimson.
He wasn't just a Suran.
He was something else entirely.
—Truth:
Astraeus told her everything.
His father was Rogo suran, The lava king.
But his mother… was a Hashi kuru. One of the last remaining survivors with pure blood who fled long ago.
They hide him.
Because they feared what he can become
"I don't want to become a monster," Astraeus said.
"You won't," Mai said.
" Not if you become a warrior of the true flame."
And the war is only just beginning