The village lay quiet beneath the pale moonlight, wrapped in sleep and shadow. Inside his small room, Lee moved swiftly and silently, packing the few belongings that would accompany him beyond these walls.
A dagger with a carved hilt, a bundle of herbs, his worn notebook filled with scraps of arcane knowledge — each item folded carefully into a rugged leather satchel.
No farewells. No hesitation.
The boy who once sought acceptance and power now turned his back on the life he'd known.
Outside, the air was cool, crisp with the scent of pine and earth.
He stepped into the forest's edge like a wraith, unseen and unheard.
Some of the Earth Kingdom soldiers knew his face—whispered stories about the boy who wielded shadows and fear.
They would recognize him again.
That no longer mattered.
Lee found a hidden clearing beside a waterfall, where the cold spray kissed his skin and the night sang its ancient song.
There, he sank to the earth and closed his eyes.
He reached deep into the well of power Hei Bai had given him, feeling the pulse of shadow and flame coursing beneath his skin.
Slowly, his body began to shift.
But not into the monstrous beast others might expect.
Instead, his bones realigned with graceful precision.
Muscles tightened and toned beneath smooth skin.
His black hair fell in soft waves, tousled but purposeful.
His eyes—those unmistakable eyes—were his only outward sign of the transformation: jet-black sclera ringed by golden fire, glowing softly like embers in a dying hearth.
Gone was the boy known as Lee Wunshin.
No more the scared child or the frightened mask.
This new form was both elegant and lethal, a figure carved from shadow and flame — powerful, aloof, magnetic.
He was handsome, with a presence that demanded attention yet warned of danger.
The mask he once wore had faded, replaced by a new identity.
In the quiet of the night, with the water whispering beside him, Lee whispered his final farewell to the name that had held him back for so long.
"No more Lee," he said softly.
"From this moment on, I am Ashen Hellflame."
The name echoed in the forest air — a promise, a declaration, a death and rebirth.
Lee was gone.
Ashen Hellflame was born.
And beneath the moonlight, the boy vanished into legend.