Sect of Hollow Flame

The next morning came with a storm. Not of clouds, but of presence.

Ren Kairo opened his eyes to find the world unnaturally silent. Not peaceful. Not calm. Just… hollow.

Feixue was already awake, sitting cross-legged across the cave, runes circling her as she tried stabilizing her soul. Her spirit was still shaky from touching that memory scroll. Not surprising. Not everyone could handle witnessing a truth that predated reality.

Kairo barely could himself.

 [Codex Notification: Soul Thread Resonance Detected.]

[Nearby Entity: Sect of Hollow Flame – Outer Ward Scout.]

Status: Searching for "Lost Phoenix Child."

Danger Rating: Medium. Ego Level: High. Combat Power: Disposable.]

He almost laughed at the last line. Almost. Because he remembered the Sect of Hollow Flame. A subsidiary sect of the Molten Sky Pavilion, known for taking in bloodline cultivators with flame-based techniques and grinding them into weapons. Charismatic doctrine. Aesthetic robes. Absolute garbage underneath.

And the worst part?

They used his clan's ashes—literally—as fuel for their techniques.

Kairo stood.

Feixue opened one eye. "We're being watched?"

"More like scouted," he said. "By a sect that used to parade my family's remains as holy relics."

Feixue grimaced. "So… should I run?"

"No. You're going to be the reason they hesitate."

"Oh, I love being bait."

Ten minutes later, Kairo stepped out of the hidden cave entrance, hood pulled low, presence completely masked. The forest was still damp from dawn dew, mist curling around old stone statues and crooked trees like half-forgotten sentries. And standing in the clearing was a boy in crimson-orange robes, fiddling with a crystal communication talisman.

Thin. Smug. Clean hands.

Kairo instantly hated him.

The boy noticed him and turned with an overly dramatic flick of his sleeve.

"Halt, traveler! This area is under the purview of the Sect of Hollow Flame. Unauthorized—"

"Shut it" said Kairo.

The scout blinked.

"Excuse m—"

"Shut it, you damn bastard" Kairo repeated, this time with a step forward.

Not loud. Not angry. Just… heavier than it should have been.

The air thickened, the scout's spirit sense hiccupped.

"You—who are you?" the boy demanded, reaching for a secondary talisman.

[Codex: Analyzing Cultivation Style…]

[Detected: Fourth-tier pseudo-fire meridian activation. Spirit Flame Art, modified. Incomplete.]

[Weakness: Internal Qi loop improperly harmonized. Target can be silenced in three moves.]

Kairo didn't even bother moving fast.

One step. A flick of his wrist.

The air ignited—not with heat, but voidflame. A pale tendril of black fire wound around the scout's ankle and pulled. The boy screamed once before it reached his mouth.

Silence.

His robe caught fire—not burning, not charring, but erasing itself thread by thread.

"Flame should consume," Kairo said softly. "Not imitate."

The scout collapsed, eyes wide with terror. Not just from the pain—but from the recognition.

"You… you're…"

Kairo leaned in.

"Say it," he whispered. "Say the name your sect tried to burn from the records."

The scout stuttered.

"R-Ren…"

"Louder."

"REN KAIRO!"

[Codex: Cultivation Qi extracted. False flame core destroyed. Mental imprint uploaded.]

[Nearby enemies will now detect you within 300 m.]

Kairo straightened.

Let them come. He turned to Feixue, who had emerged from the mist. "Time to bait the sect. Properly."

Feixue raised an eyebrow. "You're going to walk into their base, aren't you?"

"Not walk," he said. "Ascend."

The Sect of Hollow Flame's outer ward sat atop a cliff shaped like a curled finger. Guard posts. Flame wards. A large open courtyard where disciples practiced their techniques in synchronized formations.

Exactly as he remembered.

Kairo stood at the base of the path leading up, cloak fluttering, eyes half-lidded.

 [Codex Suggestion: Activate Intimidation Vector: Voidflame Ascension.]

Warning: May trigger sect-wide retaliation.

Optional Title Projection: "Flame Returned from the Ashes."]

"Sure," Kairo said. "Let's make an entrance."

He stepped forward and rose.

Not by flying. By walking up on a road of fire—voidflame runes erupting beneath his feet with each step.

No sound. No thunder. Just black flame coiling around stone and space.

Disciples looked up.

Elders turned in alarm.

One elder barked an order.

A sky formation activated—runes trying to suppress intruders.

The moment it touched him, it dissolved.

Not deflected. Not resisted.

Devoured.

 [Sect Formation: Hollow Flame Gate Seal – Dispelled.]

Reaction: Panic.]

And then the screams began.

"Who—"

"Elder, it's him! The Ash Heir—he's—"

"Voidflame! He carries the Voidflame!"

A bell rang. Elders poured out. Inner disciples armed themselves.

And still, Kairo walked.

Feixue emerged behind him, head bowed, flames at her fingertips—not to fight, but to witness.

To testify.

He stopped in the courtyard. The Grand Elder appeared, descending from the main hall like a general entering the battlefield. Elder Sun Zhaori. Former friend of Kairo's father. Later, the one who auctioned off his bones.

"Well, well," Sun said, eyes narrowing. "The prodigal ash returns."

Kairo tilted his head. "You wear the robes of my ancestors."

"We honored them," Sun replied.

"You sold them."

"You have no idea what it takes to keep a sect alive."

Kairo raised a hand.

Voidflame sparked.

"I do now." And then all hell broke loose.

Ten moves. That's all it took.

Ten moves to dismantle three outer court formations, suppress two inner disciples, and force Elder Sun to his knees.

Not with power alone.

With truth.

Kairo used the Codex mid-combat—called out the flaws in their techniques, the stolen roots of their cultivation paths. Revealed their flame cores were based on false interpretations of the original Ash Flame Scripture.

Every strike tore down a lie.

Every step left behind black fire that refused to die.

Sun tried to retaliate with his Bloodfire Sky Palm.

Kairo caught it and returned it—with interest.

The final blow didn't land on Sun's body—but his identity.

[Codex: Forcibly Extracted Flame Signature: Hollow Flame Sect – Core Elder Variant.]

[Upload Complete: False Flame Scripture now recorded.]

Voidflame Response: Devouring Trait Active.]

Kairo turned his back.

"You're no longer worthy of flame," he said coldly. "Or memory."

Sun Zhaori slumped, his flame dimmed, eyes vacant.

Not dead.

Worse.

Forgotten.

Feixue walked beside Kairo as the sect burned in controlled silence.

"They'll retaliate," she said.

"I hope they do."

"Where to next?"

Kairo didn't answer right away.

[Codex Questline Activated: Throne Trial – Bone.]

Location: Grave of the Devoured Sky.

Entry Key Required: One soul willingly offered.]

He looked up at the horizon.

"To the dead," he said. "Let's go wake the bones."