Chapter 8 : Shock

Lucas looked at his father.

It had been a long time since he last saw him.

Around him, the entire training ground fell silent. Even Aldred, Orion, and Selene—who moments ago had watched Lucas with barely veiled disdain—bowed deeply, their voices shaking as they spoke in unison.

"We greet the Great Duke of Ashes and the Lady of Crimson."

Noah Ignis. Ester Ignis. The rulers of fire themselves.

Noah's expression was unreadable, but the air around him was suffocating. Ester, in contrast, smiled. A loving, gentle smile directed at only one person.

Lucas.

The entire training ground trembled—not from power, but from shock.

The Lady of Crimson… smiled?

Lucas ignored their astonishment and stepped forward, bowing slightly. "I greet Lord Father. I greet Mother."

Noah studied him. Unmoving. Unblinking.

Then, he spoke.

"Lucas…"

His voice rumbled like distant thunder.

Instinctively, Lucas answered. "Yes, Lord Father."

Noah's gaze remained heavy. "Your mother told me you wanted to start training." A deep chuckle rumbled from his throat. "It seems you were quite… willful about it."

Ester said nothing.

"Yes, I wanted to start," Lucas answered, his voice calm, almost indifferent.

The contrast was stark. A five-year-old boy should not be so composed.

But Lucas had never been normal.

His mother was the only one he allowed himself to act willful around. To everyone else? Cold. Detached. Silent.

"But it seems," Noah continued, his voice darkening, "the people here are looking down on you."

He turned his gaze on the assembled knights. "On my son."

Chill.

Aldred, Orion, Selene—everyone—stiffened as if they were prey caught in the gaze of a flaming beast.

A heartbeat passed. Then another.

And the pressure vanished.

Noah's smirk returned. "To not appear like a tyrant, how about a test, Lucas?"

A test.

Goddamn it. What kind of nonsense was this?

But from the look in Noah's eyes, Lucas knew. He had no choice.

"…Yes, Lord Father."

Noah grinned.

"I will apply a little of my pressure on you. Just resist it without passing out." His voice was casual, but his next words were anything but.

"You're five years old, after all."

Lucas felt a cold sweat threaten to form.

Just resist Noah's aura?

A man feared across battlefields. A man known as the Crimson Devil.

Noah turned to Aldred. "And no one will dare to doubt him after that, correct?"

Aldred swallowed thickly. "Yes, Duke. No objections will be raised." His eyes flicked to Orion, daring him to argue.

Orion only clicked his tongue and looked away.

Noah stepped forward.

Ester's golden eyes narrowed. "Noah. Don't overdo it."

Noah smiled. "I'll only use enough to test him."

Only enough.

Lucas exhaled slowly.

He was ready.

Or so he thought.

—

The world shook.

The sky darkened—not from clouds, but from something deeper. Something primal.

The air warped from sheer heat. The temperature soared.

And then—

BOOM!

A tidal wave of pure, unrelenting power exploded from Noah.

The heavens recoiled.

The sun trembled.

The wind vanished.

The fire raged.

And Lucas—

His knees hit the ground.

A vice wrapped around his body. His lungs burned, crushed under an invisible weight. His bones creaked as if about to shatter.

It was absolute.

It was suffocating.

For the first time since his rebirth—Lucas felt powerless.

His muscles trembled violently.

His spine threatened to snap.

Stay down.

That's what his instincts told him.

That's what his body screamed.

But—

How could he accept this?

This wasn't just about pride.

This was rejection.

Rejection of submission.

'I have burned once.'

Lucas gritted his teeth, his fingers clawing at the cracked ground.

'I have been consumed once.'

His arms trembled, veins bulging as he forced them to move.

'I will never let fire burn me again.'

His vision blurred. His body screamed. His very soul raged.

Then—for just a moment—everything stilled.

The world was silent. The heat, the pressure, the weight crushing his lungs—it was all still there, but… distant. Muted. As if the fire itself was waiting.

A single ember drifted before his eyes.

It flickered.

It hesitated.

Then—

Something within him—

Stirred.

The flames around Noah flickered—then hesitated.

No one noticed at first.

But Noah did.

His fire wavered.

It was an impossibility.

And yet—

The embers shifted.

Slowly at first.

Then faster.

Then—they rushed toward Lucas.

Noah's eyes narrowed. His flames—his flames, which had obeyed him for decades—were moving toward his son.

"…What?"

And then—

It happened.

Lucas's body convulsed. His heart thundered—a war drum pounding against his ribs.

Then, in a single breath, something clicked.

It wasn't an explosion. It wasn't a revelation. It was a truth that had always been there, waiting.

Fire did not burn him. It did not consume him. It recognized him.

Because he was not its victim.

Because he was not its wielder.

Because he was it.

His blood was molten gold.

His breath was smoke and embers.

His very soul was an inferno that had burned before death and after it.

And the fire knew.

It had always known. It had always belonged to him. Not as a weapon. Not as a curse.

But as his birthright.

And so, it did what it had never done before.

It bowed.

In that instant, Lucas was not a boy standing in the flames. He was the fire standing in the world.

And when he opened his eyes—they did not glow. They burned.

Red.

No—

Not just red.

Crimson. Scarlet. Gold. Black. White. All types of colors.

Memories of a past life flooded him.

He had worked with fire. Created fire.

Died by fire.

And his soul—had become fire.

He had just never understood it.

But now he does.

He is fire.

And fire recognized him.

Fire—bowed to him.

BOOM!

A monstrous shockwave erupted from Lucas.

The ground turned to cinder.

The sky, already darkened from Noah's aura, split open—fire raining down like the wrath of gods.

The temperature fluctuated wildly.

Then—

CRACK!

Something deep inside him came alive.

Hie eyes were majestic.

And his hair—

It was no longer hair.

It was flames.

The flames of a soul that had burned beyond death.

And then—

DING!

The world froze.

A voice, ancient and powerful, echoed through his mind.

[Conditions Met.]

[Soul of the Host has Awakened.]

[Mana Core of the Host has Awakened.]

[Impossible Achievement!]

A golden screen manifested before Lucas.

And everyone— everyone— felt it.

The very world shifted.

Aldred staggered back. "No… way."

Caius, Selene, Dante—their eyes widened in shock.

Orion? His smirk was gone. His arms, once crossed in arrogance, were trembling.

Ester? She couldn't breathe. She was surprised.

Noah?

For the first time in years—his expression changed.

Not fear.

Not worry.

But awe.

This… was not a normal awakening.

This—

Was the birth of something monstrous.

And then—

The system spoke.

[Congratulations, Host. You have awakened.]

—————————————————-

This chapter…lets say I putted my soul into it.

Add it and support with power stones guys.

Thank you for reading !!!

;).