Chapter 10: Tyrant of the First Flame

"You thought flame was your gift. I was its cradle. I was its curse."

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Scene 1 — Pacific Ocean, Above the Rupture

News channels across the globe broadcast live footage:

A volcanic vortex in the middle of the sea, glowing with anti-light—flame that devoured even the color around it.

From its heart rose Zhan Luo, tall and regal, skin glowing like molten obsidian, his voice like a dying sun.

> Zhan Luo: "The world has forgotten. But the fire remembers. And so do I."

He extended a hand, and the sea parted, boiling away in a 200 km radius.

Storms ceased.

Satellites went blind.

And every cultivator across the Earth felt a jolt in their soul—as if their fire-essence was being recalled.

> "Come to me, Thief's Legacy," Zhan Luo whispered. "Come and return what is not yours."

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Scene 2 — Sky Temple Emergency Council

Kaien stood at the center of the council, his aura unstable.

The red-gold and black-gold flames around him pulsed with chaotic rhythm—devouring, healing, flickering.

> Councilor Ji: "That presence… it's even stronger than the Temple's Void Sovereign. What is that thing?"

> Kaien: "He calls himself Zhan Luo. The First Flame Tyrant. The original bearer of what became the Sovereign Flame."

> Sun Mei (softly): "Wang Chung… must have stolen his power long ago."

> "Not stolen," Kaien said. "Borrowed. To save us. But now the original owner has returned."

An argument broke out: Should Kaien fight? Flee? Sacrifice his core to seal the flame?

Kaien stepped forward.

> Kaien: "I won't run. But I won't burn the world again to stop him. There must be another way."

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Scene 3 — Memory Archive: Wang Chung's Hidden Chapter

That night, Kaien descended into the most secret chamber of the Sky Temple.

There, behind a wall of sealed runes, lay a crystal fragment: Wang Chung's final imprint.

Kaien placed his hand on it.

And saw everything.

> A battlefield of stars.

Wang Chung, bleeding fire, standing before a dying god.

The Sovereign Flame tearing apart reality just to hold time still for one last moment.

And then… a whisper: "I take this burden not for power… but for the light it can protect."

> Wang Chung (echo): "Kaien. You will be stronger than me. Not because you have my fire—but because you question it."

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Scene 4 — Midair Above the Ocean

Kaien rose into the sky, flames spiraling around him like a sunstorm.

Zhan Luo stood on molten water, his gaze ancient and merciless.

> Zhan Luo: "So… this is the echo of the thief."

> Kaien: "I am Kaien. I don't steal. I carry what others died for."

> Zhan Luo: "Then I'll kill you slowly. So you can feel what it was like to burn before time had memory."

Flames clashed—world-rending, storm-breaking.

Zhan Luo's fire burned in reverse—turning Kaien's Sovereign Flame into ashes.

But Kaien's other fire—the Devouring Flame inherited from Kai'en—absorbed Zhan Luo's attack and transformed it.

> Kaien (gritting his teeth): "You burn the world to claim it. I burn myself to protect it."

Their flames collided again.

And the sky cracked.

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Scene 5 — The Choice

In the middle of the battle, Kaien's body began to fracture.

He had reached the edge of his core.

Inside him, the Lotus Scar pulsed—offering a terrible choice.

> Absorb Zhan Luo's fire and become a new Flame Tyrant.

Or reject it… and die.

He looked at the sky, remembering the children beneath the Heart Tree. The world that didn't know how close it always was to ending.

> Kaien (whispering): "I'm not just Wang Chung's heir. I'm myself."

He opened his arms—and accepted both flames.

Sovereign.

Devourer.

Tyrant.

But transformed them.

Not a god.

Not a king.

But a light that others could follow.

Zhan Luo reeled back, stunned.

> "Impossible. No one can carry that balance."

Kaien's body ignited in a new hue—not gold, not black.

But prismatic flame, shifting with memory, mercy, rage, and resolve.

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Final Scene — Aftermath

Zhan Luo retreated into the sea, vanishing into a rift.

He wasn't dead.

But afraid.

For the first time.

Kaien collapsed, barely alive.

But when he opened his eyes, a child was watching.

> "Are you… the Flame God?" she asked.

Kaien smiled weakly.

> "No. Just someone trying to make sure you never have to be."

Above them, the stars shimmered.

And deep in the Void, Kai'en watched—smiling.

> "Now you're interesting."