Chapter: 0.171 : silver flame

The room remained thick with mana, heavy like fog, yet alive and whispering. Rena sat, still bare upon the velvet carpet at the center of Naoko's vast and intimidating office. Her eyes were half-lidded, her breath shallow, and her entire body was humming with a quiet power she had never known before. Her white hair with crimson tips framed her face in wild, damp strands. Her red eyes shimmered like polished rubies, reflecting the intensity of the moment.

Naoko, seated regally behind her massive obsidian desk, finally moved.

"That will do," she said, her voice cutting through the quiet like a blade through silk. "We will begin the explanation. Pay attention."

Rena blinked and nodded, slowly raising her eyes to meet the cold silver ones that regarded her with an unreadable stillness.

Naoko's voice was steady, the tone of one who taught not by care, but by necessity. "The flame now burning inside you is not ordinary. It is called Flame of Daisroth, drawn from the Heart of the ancient dragon Siferia, a creature I slew five years ago when I destroyed the Demon Realm."

Rena flinched. She had heard the story — a whisper turned to legend. Naoko Rotschy had wiped out an entire world in retaliation for the death of her daughter, Astell. realm of darkness obliterated in a single vengeful campaign. And now, the heart of that catastrophe lived inside her.

Naoko continued, calm as ever.

"The Daisroth Flame is white, like the final form of the Phoenix Flame. However, the resemblance ends there. Their structure and essence are incompatible. Your Phoenix Blessing recognized the danger and resisted. That's why it tried to reject the heart."

Rena nodded slowly. "I felt that. It was like my own mana screamed against it."

"Correct. That's why I had you infuse it with your mana. To force it to imprint onto you, to overwrite the demonic corruption. Only then could the Phoenix Flame begin to harmonize with it. You now possess a fusion of both — a living contradiction."

Naoko raised one hand and began listing the traits with the authority of a scholar.

"1. Emotional Stillness: This flame requires a tranquil mind. The more detached and stable your emotions, the stronger and more refined the flame. Rage, fear, or lust will weaken its essence.

2. Body of the Dragon: Your physical form has changed. Your central mana core is now bound to the heart of Daisroth. You are, biologically, partially draconic.

3. Fusion Flame: Phoenix and Daisroth now coexist. The result is a silver flame with an apex color of black — an embodiment of ultimate heat and entropy.

4. Manifestation: You may shape this flame into wings of raw mana, into armor, clothing, or weaponry. It is not symbolic — it is functional and deadly.

5. Physical Enhancement: Your strength, flexibility, speed, and durability have tripled. You can ignite your arms up to the elbow or legs to the knees for both defense and offense. A flaming punch or kick can shatter steel.

6. Efficiency: The flame consumes very little mana so long as your mind remains calm. Disruption increases cost exponentially.

7. Permanent Transformation: Your current appearance — white hair, crimson tips, red eyes — is permanent. This is your true form now. Your red hair and golden eyes will never return.

8. Conditional Access: The silver flame will only operate fully when your emotions are in harmony. If your mental state falters, you'll default to the Phoenix flame only.

9. Visual Deception: Even if your mind is clouded, the flame's silver hue won't change — but its destructive potential will drop. It becomes cosmetic, lacking the Daisroth core.

10. Immortality Mechanism: Should your body be obliterated, the flame can reconstruct you — but only if 25% of your mana remains. Rebirth will take 24 hours. Painful. Slow. Excruciating.

11. Genetic Eternity: Your body will no longer age. Your cells will regenerate forever. You are biologically immortal."

Naoko leaned back in her chair. "Do you understand?"

Rena had been frozen in awe and disbelief the entire time. Her mind spun with questions, yet her voice remained calm.

"I… I became a dragon?" she whispered, her voice almost reverent.

"You became a vessel," Naoko replied. "Don't romanticize it. You are still flesh. Still capable of pain. And still far too soft. That must change."

"But why me?" Rena asked, her voice now touched with confusion. "Why would you give this to me? Why not keep it sealed?"

Naoko's lips twitched faintly. Not a smile. Something colder.

"Because Jin is reckless. And you are his wife. You must be his equal, or he will drag you to ruin. If you are weak, you die. If you die, he breaks. If he breaks, I burn this world."

"I'm doing this for my son, do you understand." 

Rena swallowed. The answer wasn't affection. It was prevention. Calculation.

She looked down at her hands — elegant, powerful, still faintly glowing. Her nails shimmered like polished obsidian. Her pulse thrummed like magma beneath her skin. She was no longer a girl of fire. She was something… terrifying.

"I feel it," she said finally. "Inside me. Like a storm wrapped in silk."

"Then tame it," Naoko said, rising slowly from her chair. Her black gown rustled like ash on marble. "And if you ever lose control, don't expect anyone to save you. Least of all, me."

Rena didn't flinch.

She simply closed her eyes again and resumed her posture. Her breath slowed. The mana in the room welcomed her — as if the air had finally decided she belonged.

And as Naoko returned to her desk, her silver eyes lingering just a moment longer, a thought passed silently between them:

The girl was gone.

The dragon had begun to open her eyes.

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Heat: So what do you think of Rena's transformation properties? Are they awesome?