The iron doors split with a shriek.
Light poured into the chamber, cutting through the gloom. Steel boots thundered on stone. Six Ashborne guards surged forward, their blades etched with runes designed to smother flame.
Kael did not flinch.
He stood before Lyra, ember fire coiling around him like serpents of ruin. The chains binding her rattled, her veiled eyes wide.
"Stay back," one guard barked. "By order of the Patriarch, the cursed ember must be extinguished!"
Kael's smile was cold, merciless. "Extinguish fire? Foolish. Fire doesn't die. It devours."
The first blade came down.
Kael moved like lightning. Flame burst from his palm, black-crimson, devouring steel mid-swing. The weapon melted, dripping slag. The guard's scream was cut short as fire leapt to his armor, eating through metal and flesh alike. He crumbled to ash before he could hit the floor.
The chamber erupted into chaos.
Two guards charged, spears thrusting together. Runes flared, dimming Kael's flame.
He welcomed it.
Ember surged inward, veins glowing as he burned himself to burn them. His roar shook the chamber. Fire exploded outward, ripping through their spears, devouring their qi seals. Both men fell shrieking, their bodies blackening into smoking husks.
"Three left," Kael said, voice arrogant and steady despite blood dripping down his chin.
The last three hesitated. Fear cracked their discipline.
"Demon…" one whispered.
"No," Kael corrected softly, stepping forward as the ember flared around him. "I am fire. And fire does not kneel."
The flame lashed outward. One man was split in two, consumed mid-scream. Another dropped his blade and tried to flee—only to be caught by Lyra's eyes as her veil slipped for a heartbeat.
He froze, face twisted in horror, clawing at his own skin. "No… not that death—please, not that!" His mind shattered, body falling lifeless.
The last man stumbled backward, tripping over his own feet. Kael loomed over him, flame curling from his hand.
"Mercy…" the guard sobbed.
Kael tilted his head, smile sharp. "Mercy is for men. I am calamity."
The ember struck. Silence followed.
Ash floated through the chamber, glowing faint in emberlight. The chains rattled as Lyra whispered, voice trembling:
"You terrify them. You terrify even yourself. And yet…" Her eyes glowed faint through the veil. "…you terrify me most of all."
Kael turned, ember burning in his gaze. "Then remember this, Seer. Even fear burns."
They fled the chamber together, Lyra's chains dragging across stone.
Above ground, the mountains stretched black and jagged under the moon. The night air was heavy, carrying the copper tang of blood and smoke. Kael's veins still burned, his body trembling from the ember's hunger.
But the hunt was not over.
From the cliffs, shadows moved—Ashborne assassins, cloaks of midnight, qi signatures suppressed. Their blades glowed faint with sealing runes.
"More wolves," Kael muttered.
The assassins closed in. Six of them, moving like predators, cutting off every escape.
"Cursed whelp," one snarled. "You think to defy clan and Heaven both? Tonight your ashes will scatter in the wind."
Kael's smile widened, arrogant and merciless. "You think fire scatters? It spreads."
They struck as one.
Steel flashed. Qi surged. Sealing runes lit the night.
Kael let the first strike come. His ember coiled, then erupted, devouring the blade mid-swing. Black-crimson flames leapt, catching the man's spirit. He screamed as his very soul burned away, collapsing in ash.
"Five left," Kael said calmly, stepping through the fire.
Two attacked together, spears thrusting. Kael's flames met them, but the runes smothered his fire, dimming it. For a moment, his ember faltered.
The assassins grinned.
Kael chuckled darkly. "Pathetic tricks."
He drew the ember inward, veins blazing black-red, burning himself to break the seal. The pain was agony, memories tearing loose. But the net cracked, shattered, devoured.
Flame roared back, searing both men to cinders.
"Three left."
The last three faltered. One dropped his blade, terror breaking him. Another drew a talisman, unleashing a binding net of glowing qi threads.
The net fell over Kael, runes tightening, ember dimming.
The assassins smirked. "Caught."
Kael smiled wider, blood dripping from his lips. "You caught fire in a net?"
He clenched his fists. Ember surged, veins blazing, fire carving deeper than flesh. The net trembled, cracked—then exploded in ash.
Kael stepped forward, ember burning like wings. "Your net burns well."
The assassins screamed as flame devoured them, one by one.
Silence returned. The mountain wind carried only the scent of ash.
Kael stood amid ruin, body trembling. Pain tore through him. His vision blurred. Something slipped.
A memory. His mother's laugh—soft, warm, gentle—vanished like smoke.
"No…" Kael whispered. "Not that. Not her…"
The Black Phoenix's laughter echoed in his soul. "Every flame devours something, boy. You burn yourself with each breath. Power is not free."
Kael's teeth bared in a bloodied grin. "Then let me burn. But I'll burn standing. Never kneeling."
The ember pulsed in answer, proud and merciless.
Behind him, Lyra stepped close, veil shifting. Her voice was soft, trembling. "You terrify them. You terrify even yourself. And yet… you terrify me most of all."
Kael turned, ember fire burning in his eyes, voice ruthless and arrogant. "Then remember, Seer. Even fear kneels before fire."
The mountains trembled with the ember's roar, and the night carried Kael's defiance to the heavens.