The forest was quiet again.
The fight that tore through miles of land had ended. Evan stood over Kael's unconscious body, the chains of authority fading from his arm, their glow sinking back beneath his skin.
Vela hung in Kael's body, weakened, slumped to her knees, waiting for the strike she knew was coming.
She closed her eyes.
Her true body was revived.
Her purpose was over.
Her existence meant nothing.
She drew one last breath, wishing she had been born as more than a discarded fragment.
The blade cut.
Silence followed.
Something heavy hit the ground.
Vela opened one eye, confused.
A tree behind her slid apart and collapsed from a clean arc-shaped cut.
Her neck was still attached.
Her body was intact.
She hadn't even been scratched.
Fear chilled her. She scrambled back slightly, chains dragging across the dirt.
"What… what are you doing?" Her voice trembled. "If you want to kill me, then do it. Don't humiliate me again. I'll burn my soul if I have to. I won't die crawling."
Evan tilted his head. "Humiliation? You closed your eyes and accepted death without swinging back. A warrior doesn't fall lower than that."
His words hit exactly where her pride was already cracked.
She couldn't deny it.
She had acted like prey.
'I'm a disgrace to my own name… to Death itself.'
She gathered the last bit of resolve to burn her soul—
"Oi." Evan's voice cut through her thoughts. "Trying to kill yourself after I did these efforts, I should've finished you outright if that was my motive from the start. I need you alive. Whether you walk or I drag you depends on how you answer me."
Her breath hitched. She studied his expression carefully.
"…So you want something," she said quietly. "I should've known, someone like you this strong, can't fight for just a simple bounty.
Fine. Say it. If it's within my power, I'll even offer my soul in exchange for Kael's life. He hasn't done anything."
He didn't reply. He watched her like a hunter waiting for a twitch.
She narrowed her eyes. "At least… remove the chains. I can't leave the body like this."
He didn't budge.
"Why would I trust you?" he asked.
"If I had strength left, I would've killed you before the chains tightened," she said. "I swear on my bloodline and my Title. I won't strike you again." She said as Evan stared for a few seconds, and sighed, taking back the chains.
The chains dissolved and slid back into Evan's arm. She stared, unnerved by how easily he commanded them.
He snapped his fingers, bringing her attention back.
"Alright. Say what you want," she said. "Servitude for a century? Knowledge of flames? Upper Expanse secrets? Treasures? I'll pay with whatever I can. Just spare him."
Evan stepped closer, voice steady.
"You'd agree to anything?"
"Yes."
"Even eternal loyalty? Killing anyone I point at? Even someone precious to you?"
Her throat tightened, but she didn't look away.
"…Yes. If that's your demand."
He watched her for a few seconds that felt like hours.
"Good," he said at last. "Then hand over... the Proof you're hiding."
The forest froze.
Vela stared at him without blinking.
Five long minutes passed.
He clicked his tongue. "Are you deaf? Give it."
"…What proof?" she asked, but her voice broke. Inside, panic twisted.
'How does he know? She wouldn't have told him. She couldn't. Only someone with authority could sense it… did that Sylen guy was behind this Mask Adventure whole this time.'
"I don't have time to play dumb," Evan said. Dark arrows materialised above Kael, rotating like drills. "Hand it over, or he dies."
"Wait—I'm telling you the truth! I don't know what you're talking about! Ask for anything else!"
More arrows appeared, filling the air.
He raised a finger.
"Three."
Vela's breath quickened.
"Two."
The arrows rotated faster.
"Wait, stop—"
"One."
He flicked his hand—
"WAIT!" she screamed. "I'll give it! Just spare him!"
The arrows vanished.
She sagged forward, defeated.
Her mission. Her secret. Everything she guarded for decades… now in his hands.
She lifted her palm. Mana rippled violently. Kael's body twitched as something deep inside him was forced out. A small, ancient medal drifted into her hand.
She looked at Kael. Then at Evan.
With trembling fingers, she sent it to him.
He caught it instantly, and it dissolved into his palm like smoke.
Her heart sank.
"You… you're a candidate too?" she asked.
Evan scoffed. "Otherwise, how would I know? Use your brain."
She swallowed hard. "Now that you have it… can I take him and leave?"
"Leave?" Evan raised an eyebrow. "Who said I only wanted one thing? I'm not finished."
Her lips tightened.
'Of course. Of course, it wouldn't end here.'
"Fine," she muttered. "Tell me the rest."
He smirked.
"It's simple. Three things.
First, Kael's blade, which you're holding onto.
Second, the flame fragment he holds—"
Vela stepped in sharply, cutting him off.
"Wait," Vela snapped. "You can take the weapon. But the flame fragment stays with him. Without it, he's nothing. If you rip it away, you might as well kill him yourself."
Her voice was firm, almost pleading.
"It's what made him who he is. It's all he has left to grow. If you take it, he'll collapse. He won't survive anything that comes next."
Evan stepped forward slowly, dragging his blade along the ground.
His tone was flat.
"Whether he grows or dies has nothing to do with me. I told you what I want. If you'd rather watch him fall apart, I can end this right now."
She gritted her teeth. "Fine… but don't blame me when that flame tears you apart. A flame bonded to another soul isn't something you can pick up. It'll recoil. You won't heal properly. You might lose control."
"Noted," Evan said without emotion. "Give it anyway."
Vela looked at Kael, guilt tightening her expression. She traced a series of signs with trembling fingers.
Kael's body arched, coughing blood as the bond severed. A pale shard of flame was ripped from his core and drifted between them.
Evan didn't even blink.
He raised a hand and cast a silent healing wave. Kael's breathing steadied.
Vela exhaled shakily. "Now we see if you're all talk. Try taming it. Without me… you'll only burn." Her voice died down in the last.
Her confidence evaporated the moment she saw how he approached it.
The purified flame fragment hovered in the air.
Evan summoned his own corrupted Ashen Duskflame.
But this time it wasn't wild.
It wrapped around the purified flame like a slow-moving storm.
It swallowed it cleanly, consuming it layer by layer while keeping every motion under his control.
Vela's eyes widened.
The corruption she remembered as unmanageable… obeyed him.
'How? When did Velma give this to him? Why would she entrust such a thing? And how can his vessel hold it…?'
The purified flame cracked.
The corrupted flame devoured it.
And the last fragment of Fire Phoenix essence sank into his core.
Then—
A cold mechanical chime echoed through the world.
[Detected! Host ability
[Ashen DuskFlame has undergone a metamorphosis through the true Essence of Death Phoenix devoured through the last fragment.]
[Your Ability Element: Ashen DuskFlame (D) → Death DuskFlame (E-)]
[Death DuskFlame — Ascendant Flame
Proficient: E- (10.0%)
Type: Elemental Triform Flame Variant
System Description:
Death DuskFlame — Ascendant Flame is the evolved and stabilised form of the former Ashen Duskflame. After absorbing the last vestige of the Death Phoenix, the flame reached a balanced tri-aspect state. Its fire appears as muted, grey, ashen-silver light, entwined with drifting ash shadows. Life and death weave through every spark, while the corruption that once dominated now coils beneath the surface as a hidden sub-layer.
The corruption no longer erupts violently. Instead, it travels through subtle pathways and accumulates quietly with repeated exposure. This internal pressure is difficult to detect until it has built up.
Traits:
Dusk Burn Resonance:
• Leaves a lingering burn after contact.
• Each application plants a faint thread of concealed corruption and minor soul damage that grows more disruptive the more times it is applied.
• Successful hits restore a small amount of stamina and energy to the user.
Phoenix Dusk Rebirth
• When the user receives fatal damage, their form reconstitutes within a cocoon of Death DuskFlame.
• The user returns at partial strength and releases a brief shockwave that weakens nearby foes.
• Requires the user's soul essence to remain intact.
• Cooldown: 28 days.
DuskFlame Shaping
• Allows the creation of weapons, shields, bindings, traps, or ranged channels formed purely from Death DuskFlame.
• Can override fire, shadow, necrotic, or life-based spells of equal or lower tier.
• Construct forms continuously drain stamina while maintained.
Withering Dusk Field
• A passive field manifests when the flame is actively channelled.
• Suppresses enemy recovery and slightly diminishes their defensive strength within a short area.
• Minds with weak resolve may hesitate briefly on first exposure.
• No impact on entities with extremely high mental or spiritual resistance.
Corruption Scorch
• Successive blows strip protective layers from the target.
• Each hit applies a stack that reduces physical and mystical defences, up to four stacks, each lasting ten seconds.
• The corruption and Soul damage hidden within the flame deepens with each stack, reaching into underlying structures and becoming more harmful to the soul if the exposure continues.]
Evan read the notifications without blinking, as if the evolution of a mythical flame was routine.
Vela stared in disbelief.
'This aura… It's the same flame we used in life. But darker… superior.'
No wonder Velma chose him.
She swallowed her pride and hurled Kael's sword toward Evan.
"Here. The first thing. Take it."
Evan caught the blade and inspected its edge with cold interest.
"Now the third thing," she said impatiently. "Say it so I can take him somewhere safe. Someone might sense this—"
Evan lifted one finger.
The forest pressure thickened instantly, as if reality braced itself for whatever he was about to demand.
"Don't rush," he said quietly. "I haven't finished."
Vela stiffened.
"What do you want?"
Evan's eyes glowed with a faint dusk-colored fire.
"I ask you to give me…"
He paused.
The wind stopped.
The trees creaked.
Vela felt her heart drop as she heard his last demand.
"…"