Silence.
Not peaceful. Not gentle.
A suffocating, absolute silence— the kind that followed catastrophe. The kind that swallowed worlds.
At the bottom of the abyss, amidst crushed stone and rivers of molten earth, something twitched beneath a
mountain of ash.
A burned hand. A cracked horn of jade flame. A heartbeat barely louder than a dying ember.
Auren did not rise. He remembered rising.
He remembered every moment of the final battle:
The betrayal. The blades. The fall. The monster's tendrils. And the final forbidden bloodburn exploding
through him like a dying star.
But now— He felt weightless. Suspended.
Alive. Barely.
The Void Between Living and Dead
Auren floated in a place without light. Without gravity. Without direction.
A void. Cold. Vast. Infinite.
His consciousness flickered—like a candle struggling against final darkness.
Then a sound. A whisper. Not from outside. From inside.
"You disappoint me, child."
Auren's eyes snapped open.
Before him stood a figure of pure flame. Not blue. Not jade. Not crimson.
An elder fire. White at its edges. Black at its core. Ancient. A sovereign of flame.
The figure's voice echoed through the void.
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"You carry my mark… yet you cannot protect even yourself. Pathetic."
Auren clenched his fists. "Who… are you?"
The figure tilted its head.
"Names are for the weak. But if you must call me something… Flame Monarch will suffice."
Auren's heart pounded.
"I didn't ask for your power."
"No," the Monarch said. "But power asked for you."
The void shook.
Images flickered: His sister. Her fading heartbeat. Her fragile smile.
Pain lanced through him.
The Monarch stepped forward.
"Rise, child. If you die here, your sister dies. If you live… the world may yet fear what you become."
Flame surged. Wrapped around him. Dragged him back into his body.
The Monarch whispered:
"Burn again. Burn brighter. Burn the world if it stands in your way."
The Body Rekindles
Auren's eyes opened.
He gasped—air slicing into lungs filled with dust.
His body spasmed. Bones cracked. Skin tore. Blood ignited.
Blue flame. Violet flame. Jade flame.
All erupted at once.
The abyss lit up in a column of burning light.
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BOOOOOOM.
A shockwave tore upward through the chasm— splintering stone, shattering roots, rocketing fire into the
sky.
Cadets above staggered as a pillar of multicolored flame erupted from the pit.
Mark fell backward. Lura screamed.
Alys…
Her eyes widened.
For the first time, she whispered a truth: "He's not dead…"
Monster of the Abyss
A figure rose through the smoke—slowly, painfully.
Auren.
But not the same Auren. Not the broken cadet. Not the desperate survivor.
His body was cracked with glowing fault lines— veins lit with jade and violet, flame leaking from each
fracture.
A single horn of jade fire curled from his right temple.
His eyes burned like twin stars.
Not human. Not beast.
Something between. Something new. Something wrong.
Auren touched the edge of the pit. His fingers left molten handprints.
The forest trembled.
Alys Reacts
Alys stepped forward, expression unreadable.
"You stubborn flame…" she whispered.
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Mark trembled. "That… thing… is not Auren anymore."
Lura backed away. "He shouldn't be alive—no one could survive that!"
Alys silenced them with a single glance.
Her crimson gem pulsed. Her veins glowed.
She smiled. Soft. Terrifying.
"He survived my plan. Good. He'll be useful later."
The Cadets Break
The surviving cadets felt Auren's aura.
It crushed them. Suffocated them. Pinned them.
Grown warriors fell to their knees. Some fainted. Others crawled away.
Auren barely noticed them.
He only saw Alys.
His voice was rough, broken.
"You… knew. You planned all of it…"
Alys smiled gently. Almost lovingly.
"Of course."
Auren's claws ignited. His heart roared with betrayal, rage, grief.
The Monarch's voice whispered from within:
Burn her.
Auren's flame shot upward.
The Monster Returns
The guardian's remains twitched.
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Ash reformed.
Lightning surged.
A roar exploded from beneath the earth.
Every soul froze.
Auren turned slowly.
The monster was reforming. In its final, true form.
Huge. Even larger than before.
Veins crackled with storms. Its thunder-eye glowed like a dying star.
Alys's lips curved.
"Good… This time, let's see which one of you breaks first."
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