Chapter 119: Descent into the Dominion Spire – Shadows of Rebellion

The storm outside the Dominion Spire howled like a wounded god, but within its spiraling core, silence reigned—unnatural and absolute.

Chen led the group deeper into the vault-laden spire, flanked closely by Ye Yue and Lanmei, with Mei, Sarina, and a squad of handpicked allies guarding their rear. The newly acquired Celestial Feather, now embedded in Chen's Soulflame Core, pulsed with a gentle glow, granting him a subtle awareness of the divine ley-lines woven through the structure. Every step forward made the lines brighter—leading him toward something ancient, something guarded.

"This place," Lanmei whispered, fingers brushing a cracked relief on the wall, "it wasn't just abandoned. It was sealed."

Ye Yue's eyes narrowed. "The architecture… it's a blend of Dominion and something older. Possibly primordial. Someone didn't just want to lock this place away—they wanted it forgotten."

Sarina pulled a slender scroll from her satchel—the hidden map recovered from the Vault's depths. "There's another chamber further down. Labeled with a symbol even I can't translate."

They reached a stone door covered in radiant glyphs. As Chen pressed his hand to it, the feather's power surged through him, resonating with the wards—not overpowering them, but unlocking them like a key.

The door opened, and the air that rushed out carried the scent of stardust and memory.

Inside, suspended in crystal stasis, floated a divine heart—not a metaphorical one, but an actual, pulsing construct of condensed essence. Tethers of broken chains floated around it, each connected to sigils bearing the insignias of multiple divine courts.

"A shared weapon?" Mei said, stepping closer. "Or… a shared secret."

Chen's breath hitched. The heart pulsed in rhythm with his own.

Suddenly, the feather on his chest blazed with golden flame. Visions burst into his mind—a memory of Lysaria soaring through the cosmos, binding divine essence into this heart to preserve something from annihilation.

"It's not just a relic," Chen murmured. "It's a seed. Of what she was. Of what she still is."

Lanmei looked at him, realization dawning. "And it's reacting to you."

Before more could be said, the ground trembled—not from them.

A divine shockwave rippled through the air. Ye Yue's eyes snapped to the ceiling. "That came from the Flame Court."

Sarina's fingers tensed around her blade. "They've moved something. Something enormous."

"Then we move faster," Chen said, gripping the divine heart's crystal casing. "We take this. We plan our counter. And if they're bringing monsters to the field…"

He turned, his Soulflame eyes burning brighter than ever.

"Then we become gods of war."

Within the Scorching Thrones of the Flame Court

The flames had grown restless.

The obsidian pillars that lined the grand hall of the Flame Court pulsed with molten heat, glowing brighter with each breath of divine tension in the air. Cracks of radiant magma spidered across the throne dais, where the Flame Matriarch sat in still, burning silence.

She had seen enough.

Chen Ming's bold moves—his penetration of forbidden Vaults, the rise of his Soulflame Unison, and now his infiltration of the Dominion Spire—had tilted the fragile divine balance. And that could not go unpunished.

"Bring it forth," she commanded, voice echoing like an eruption across the chamber.

A host of armored priestesses knelt, casting ancient seals into the air. The floor split open with a roar of fire and divine resistance. Rising from the core of the world came a sealed casket—ten thousand chains wrapped around it, each inscribed with divine tongues of war, sacrifice, and destruction.

A name carved into the black stone, glowing ember-red:

"The Ember Titan."

"It was sealed after the First Rebellion," one of her generals whispered, trembling. "Even we do not know what remains of its will."

"I do," the Matriarch replied, eyes smoldering like twin suns. "And I no longer care."

With a wave of her hand, the final seal was broken. The Flame Court shuddered.

A pillar of ash and flame burst skyward as a colossal figure rose—half-god, half-cursed construct, its body forged from broken stars and screaming fire. The Ember Titan opened eyes that had not seen in eons, and from its chest, a molten heart began to beat.

BOOM. BOOM. BOOM.

"Find him," the Matriarch whispered to the Titan. "Find Chen Ming. Burn him and everything that bows to him."

The divine weapon roared.

The hunt had begun.