Seravelle

The city of Seravelle stood like a haunting reflection of a forgotten empire—beautiful, ruined, and burning with hidden truths.

Ren Zian stepped into the crimson-lit plaza, boots crunching on broken marble. The air shimmered with heat, but it wasn't the sun. It was fire—controlled, magical, and alive. Columns cracked with glowing glyphs, and hovering above them was a strange sigil: a flame locked in a mirror.

"Another trial… another trap disguised as a city," he muttered.

From the shadows, a cloaked figure stepped out. His hair glistened like molten gold, eyes like twin furnaces. He wore royal robes over a mage's body—lean, toned, dangerous.

"Welcome, traveler," he said, smirking. "I am Caerith, Flamebearer of Seravelle, sworn protector of Princess Vaelara. If you seek her power, you'll have to go through me."

Ren's eyes narrowed. Another so-called protector who reeked of twisted pride. He could already sense the corrupted energy—Caerith wasn't here to guard the princess. He was here to possess her.

"Then I won't hold back."

Without warning, Caerith hurled a spear of mirrored fire toward him. Ren twisted, barely evading. The fire struck a statue behind him and the stone instantly reflected the blaze back—multiple copies of the same flame ricocheting toward him.

"Shit—!"

Ren called forth his [Abyss Mantle], a cloak of shadow that devoured the first wave of reflected fire. But the flames weren't normal—they splintered into mirror copies every time they touched a surface.

"His fire magic copies itself. If I block it too early, it just multiplies…"

He leapt from pillar to pillar, drawing Caerith toward the eastern corridor—narrower, fewer surfaces.

The villain grinned. "Smart. But you're not the only one evolving."

Suddenly, Caerith slammed his palms together, and the ground inverted. Ren's vision blurred—sky became earth, the horizon twisted.

[Reality Veil: Mirror Inversion]

"Let's see how well you fight when your instincts betray you!"

Ren's body spiraled midair. He summoned his [Void Chain]—the power he gained from Miraye—and whipped it toward the villain. It wrapped around Caerith's leg, dragging him forward.

But instead of crashing, Caerith vanished into flame and reappeared behind Ren.

"Too slow."

A burst of mirrored fire exploded at Ren's back, sending him crashing into a scorched obelisk. Blood slid down his lips.

Yet in the heat of chaos, Ren's eyes sharpened. The pain grounded him.

He remembered Vaelara. The princess trapped in this twisted city. Not just a pawn—but a woman of divine flame, whose energy felt like an ember waiting to be freed.

He pushed himself up.

"I didn't come here to admire your magic tricks," Ren growled. "I came here to burn them down."

He slammed both fists into the ground.

[Chaos Domain: Unbound Reversal]

The world twisted. For a second, the inversion cracked—and Ren dashed forward with impossible speed, chaining together abilities: Miraye's whip, Lyra's floral barrier to redirect fire, and Sariel's spectral dash.

He appeared right behind Caerith—

—and struck his spine with a burning punch coated in the crimson aura of the Chaos Bidding System.

The villain coughed blood, but turned with a wild grin. "Even if you kill me… she will never trust you."

Ren's voice dropped cold.

"I don't need her trust to defeat you. But I'll earn it afterward."

With a roar, he lifted the villain overhead and slammed him into the mirrored plaza, shattering the sigil in the sky.

The fire faltered. The mirrored illusions broke.

And from the palace steps, she finally appeared.