I. The Throne Beneath
The Crucible chamber was silent.
The air, once thick with molten heat, now felt cold—unnaturally so. Frost crept along the obsidian floor, curling around the soles of Shigen's feet. He stood still, white-haired and radiant, his breath steady despite the infernal pressure.
Across from him, the newly emerged demoness—Yurei, Empress of the Ninth Circle—remained bowed, her silver hair cascading like a frozen waterfall.
"My King," she said again, her voice echoing like wind through a glacier. "Why are you still in this weakened state? It has only been one hundred million years. You should have awakened long ago."
Shigen blinked. "You've got the wrong guy."
Yurei looked up, her eyes glowing with ancient frost. "No. I have waited in chains for your return. I would not mistake the soul of the one who forged the Ninth Circle with his own hands."
The Seven Deadly Sins stood frozen, their expressions unreadable.
Keziah, high above on her throne, narrowed her eyes. Her fingers twitched, her aura flaring in silent warning. She didn't understand what she was feeling—this wasn't fear. It was something worse.
Dread.
She had killed the Devil. She had taken the throne of Hell by force, by blood, by fire. There was no one left to challenge her.
And yet, this woman—this Yurei—had emerged from a prison even she hadn't known existed. And she was calling Shigen her king.
Keziah's voice rang out, calm but sharp. "You speak nonsense, frost witch. That boy is human. A Hunter. A tool."
Yurei turned her head slightly, not even bothering to face Keziah fully. "You feel it, don't you? The weight of his soul. The pressure of his presence. Even now, you stand five hundred feet away and yet your instincts scream."
Keziah's jaw tightened.
Yurei smiled. "You fear him. Even dormant."
Shigen stepped forward. "I don't know what you're talking about. I'm not a king. I'm not a demon. I'm just—"
"You are Shai'zen," Yurei said, her voice reverent. "The First Flame. The one who burned the heavens and froze the abyss. You are the origin of all fire and the end of all things."
Shigen's eyes narrowed. "I'm not him."
"You are," she said gently. "You just don't remember."
---
II. The Fire Above
Back in the mortal realm, the hotel suite was tense.
Charlotte NC, the Mythic-rank Fire Cultivator and President of the Hunter Association, sat cross-legged on the bed, her golden eyes closed in thought. Around her stood six of the most powerful captains in the world—each one a force of nature in their own right.
Shinomiya stood at the center, her arms folded, her expression unreadable.
Charlotte opened her eyes. "We're going to Hell."
The room fell silent.
Then murmurs.
"Are you serious?" one captain asked. "We don't even know where he is."
"We do," Charlotte said. "The moment he crossed the threshold, the seals in the lower realms began to fracture. The energy signature is unmistakable."
Another captain frowned. "Even if we find him, what then? We're talking about breaching Hell's sovereignty. That's a declaration of war."
Charlotte stood. "Then let it be war."
Shinomiya's eyes widened.
Charlotte turned to her. "You were right to want to go. I was wrong to stop you. But we can't do this recklessly. We need a plan."
Shinomiya nodded slowly. "Then what's the plan?"
Charlotte smiled.
---
III. The Council of Fire
The captains gathered around a projection table. A map of the underworld flickered to life—layered in concentric circles, each one representing a deeper level of Hell.
Charlotte pointed to the Seventh Circle. "This is where the Crucible is. If he's still alive, he's there."
Shoto leaned in. "Still alive? You think he's dead?"
Charlotte shook her head. "No. I think he's changed."
Azael, seated on the windowsill, spoke up. "He's not dead. I'd know."
Charlotte nodded. "Good. Then we move."
She turned to the captains. "We'll form a strike team. Small. Fast. Focused. We breach the gate, retrieve Shigen, and get out before the Sins can react."
One captain raised a hand. "And if they do?"
Charlotte's eyes glowed. "Then we remind them why we're called Hunters."
---
IV. The Throne Beneath (Continued)
Shigen sat on the edge of the Crucible platform, staring at his reflection in the molten pool below.
White hair.
Crimson eyes.
Power that didn't stop growing.
He didn't feel tired.
He didn't feel pain.
He felt… full.
Yurei stood beside him, silent.
Finally, he spoke. "If I'm this… Shai'zen… why don't I remember?"
"Because you chose to forget," she said. "You sealed yourself away. You grew tired of war. Of death. Of being feared."
She looked at him. "But the world needs you again."
Shigen shook his head. "I'm not a god. I'm not a king. I'm just a guy who wants to protect the people I care about."
Yurei smiled. "And that is why you were always worthy."
---
V. The Devil's Doubt
Keziah paced her throne room, her mind racing.
She had ruled Hell for centuries.
She had crushed rebellion, devoured rivals, rewritten the laws of the underworld.
But now…
Now she felt like a usurper.
She summoned Pride.
He appeared in a flash of shadow and gold.
"You've seen it," she said. "You've felt it."
Pride nodded. "He's not normal."
Keziah's eyes narrowed. "If he awakens fully…"
"He won't need us," Pride finished. "He'll erase us."
Keziah turned to the mirror chamber.
She stared at the reflection of Shigen, now glowing with a soft white flame.
"We need to act," she said. "Before he remembers."
---
VI. The Descent Begins
Back in the mortal realm, the captains stood in a circle, their hands extended.
Charlotte stood at the center, her aura blazing.
"By fire and oath," she said, "we breach the veil."
A glyph ignited beneath them—ancient, forbidden, pulsing with raw power.
The air cracked.
Reality bent.
And with a flash of crimson light—
They vanished.
---
VII. The Awakening
In the Crucible, Shigen stood.
Yurei stepped back, her eyes wide.
Because something had changed.
His aura was no longer just fire.
It was primordial.
It pulsed with rhythm.
With memory.
With will.
Shigen looked at his hands.
They glowed.
Not with flame.
But with origin.
He remembered flashes.
A throne of bone.
A war against the heavens.
A promise made to a dying world.
He staggered back, clutching his head.
Yurei caught him.
"It's starting," she whispered. "Your soul is waking."
---
VIII. The Collision Course
Charlotte and the captains landed in the Fifth Circle—a wasteland of ash and screaming winds. Demons scattered at their arrival, sensing the weight of their power.
Shinomiya stepped forward, her eyes scanning the horizon.
"We're close," she said.
Azael nodded. "I can feel him. He's burning brighter than ever."
Charlotte raised her hand. "Then let's move. Quietly. Quickly."
But it was already too late.
The sky cracked.
And from above, a voice echoed.
"You dare trespass?"
The Seven Deadly Sins descended, their auras flaring.
Pride landed first, his eyes glowing. "You should have stayed in your world."
Charlotte stepped forward, her own aura igniting. "We're not here for war."
Wrath snarled. "Then leave."
Shinomiya stepped beside her. "Not without him."
Pride raised a hand.
"Then you'll have to take him."
---
IX. The Fire Within
Back in the Crucible, Shigen stood alone.
Yurei had vanished—faded into frost, her presence lingering like a promise.
He looked up.
He could feel them.
Shinomiya.
Azael.
Shoto.
Even Ken.
They were here.
In Hell.
For him.
His heart clenched.
And then—
He smiled.
Because for the first time, he wasn't running from who he was.
He was running toward it.
The flames around him surged.
His aura exploded.
And the Crucible cracked.
---
XI. The Clash Begins
The Fifth Circle trembled.
Ash swirled in the air as the Seven Deadly Sins descended like gods of ruin. Their auras warped the landscape—Pride's gravity bent light, Wrath's heat scorched the ground, Envy's presence corroded steel.
Charlotte NC stood tall, her golden flames rising like a phoenix. The other captains flanked her, each one igniting their own power.
Shinomiya's frost bloomed across the battlefield, her eyes locked on the horizon where she could feel him—Shigen, burning like a star.
Azael's wings unfurled, her demonic aura shimmering with blood-red light. "We're not leaving without him."
Pride stepped forward. "Then you'll die here."
Charlotte raised a hand. "Try us."
The battlefield exploded.
---
XII. The War of Circles
The clash was instant.
Charlotte met Pride head-on, their flames colliding in a storm of light and shadow. Wrath charged into two captains, his fists breaking the sound barrier with every swing.
Shinomiya froze Envy mid-air, her ice locking onto the demon's aura and suppressing it with surgical precision.
Azael danced through the chaos, her claws slicing through Sloth's defenses, her eyes scanning for an opening.
Shoto, eyes blazing, faced off against Greed, his earth-based cultivation clashing against the demon's hoarding magic.
The Fifth Circle became a war zone.
But none of them noticed—
The sky was changing.
---
XIII. The Awakening
Back in the Crucible, Shigen stood alone.
The molten pool beneath him had gone still.
The chains had melted.
The walls had cracked.
And his aura…
It was no longer just fire.
It was origin.
It pulsed with rhythm, with memory, with power that didn't belong to this world.
He remembered flashes—
A throne of bone.
A war against the heavens.
A promise made to a dying world.
He staggered, clutching his head.
Then he stood.
And the Crucible shattered.
---
XIV. The Return of the King
The explosion echoed through Hell.
Every demon paused.
Every captain turned.
Even the Seven Deadly Sins froze.
From the depths of the Seventh Circle, a column of white flame erupted—piercing the sky, splitting the clouds, shaking the foundations of the underworld.
And from it—
Shigen emerged.
His hair was white.
His eyes glowed with twin suns.
His aura bent reality.
He didn't walk.
He floated.
The flames around him didn't burn.
They judged.
Yurei followed behind, her frost trailing like a royal procession.
She bowed again.
"Your throne awaits."
---
XV. The Devil's Fear
Keziah watched from her throne, her hands trembling.
She had ruled Hell.
She had devoured gods.
She had rewritten the laws of the underworld.
But now—
She felt like a child.
Because the man before her wasn't just powerful.
He was inevitable.
She stepped forward, her voice calm. "You're not him. You're a Hunter. A tool."
Shigen looked at her.
And smiled.
It wasn't cruel.
It wasn't kind.
It was final.
"I'm not your tool," he said. "I'm your replacement."
Keziah's aura flared.
But her body didn't move.
Because her soul knew—
If she attacked, she would die.
---
XVI. The Reunion
The captains, mid-battle, felt the shift.
The sky cracked again.
And then—
Shigen descended.
He landed between the two forces, his aura silencing the war.
Charlotte stepped back, eyes wide. "Shigen?"
He nodded.
Shinomiya ran to him, her frost melting as she reached him.
He caught her.
Held her.
"I'm okay," he said softly.
She didn't speak.
Just cried.
Azael landed beside them, her eyes shimmering. "You're glowing."
Shigen smiled. "I think I'm remembering."
Shoto walked up, bruised and bleeding. "You better be worth it."
Shigen chuckled. "I'll try."
---
XVII. The Choice
Keziah stepped forward again.
Her voice was low. "You can't take him. He belongs to Hell."
Charlotte raised her hand. "He belongs to himself."
Yurei stepped beside Shigen. "He belongs to the throne."
Shigen looked at them all.
Then at the flames around him.
Then at the captains.
"I'm not ready," he said. "But I will be."
He turned to Yurei. "When I am, we'll talk."
She bowed. "As you command."
He turned to Keziah. "Your time is ending."
She didn't respond.
She couldn't.
---
XVIII. The Exit
Charlotte opened the portal.
The captains stepped through.
Shigen paused.
He looked back at Hell.
At the throne.
At the fire.
Then he stepped through.
And the portal closed.
---
[End of Chapter Thirteen]