Memory That Bites Back
Moonwater City wasn't what I expected.
I thought: temples, solemn monks, maybe a tea garden or two.
What I got was chaos.
Crowded markets, spirit beast parades, drunk swordmasters singing in fountains, and a child running around with what I hoped was a fake severed arm.
"This," Zhao Feng said, stretching with a grin, "is my kind of holy city."
"It smells like fermented tofu and spiritual shame," Lan Ruo muttered.
"It's authentic," Qing'er said, her fox TroubleMaker perched on her shoulder like a furry hat.
Me? I was mostly trying not to set anything on fire.
The Void Flame had been restless ever since we got close.
> There's something here, it whispered.
I believed it.
---
We checked into a sect-friendly inn run by an old couple who spoke in unison. Not creepy at all.
I took the highest floor room. Needed air. Distance.
But the city wouldn't let me rest.
Because that night, a knock came.
Zhao Feng burst in, panting.
"I need your help."
"Bleeding? Dying?"
"No."
"Kidnapped?"
"No!"
"Then no."
He groaned. "I agreed to go on a dual cultivation mixer."
I blinked. "You did what?"
"They called it a 'Spiritual Resonance Alignment Tea Ceremony.' I thought it was free food."
"And?"
"And now three women are outside debating who gets to 'harmonize' with me first."
I stared.
"Why is this my problem?"
"Because I gave them your name."
I closed my eyes. "You what?"
He held up his hands. "Look, I panicked! You're the Flame Emperor or whatever. You can probably handle three lusty cultivators without dying."
"Physically, yes. Mentally? Debatable."
---
I met the women briefly.
All three wore different sect robes. One had a whip. One had fangs. One had an actual tail.
I bowed politely and ran away.
---
The next morning, we headed to the Temple of Flame Burial, the oldest structure in Moonwater. Built before most sects even existed. The place where high-ranked cultivators sealed away relics too dangerous to destroy.
Inside its halls were:
Cursed weapons
Soul shards
Forbidden scrolls
And—if the scroll was right—the next Flame Memory Fragment
---
The temple guardian was a blind monk named Elder Hui. He wore no shoes and radiated cultivation at Soul Merging Realm, meaning if we sneezed wrong, we'd probably implode.
"You seek the Vault," he said, sipping from a tea bowl.
I nodded.
"You carry the Flame," he said. "The true one."
Again, I nodded.
He sighed.
"Then you'll bleed today."
Great start.
---
He led us past incense halls and spirit lanterns to a sealed door. Carved into it was the Flame Emperor's symbol: two wings of fire devouring a sun.
The door opened at my touch.
Inside... was darkness.
The others stayed behind.
"I'll watch the monk," Zhao Feng whispered. "He looks like the type to chant riddles mid-battle."
---
I stepped into the Vault.
At first, it was quiet.
Then—heat.
Then—laughter.
> "You really came back?"
I turned.
A man stood at the end of the chamber, surrounded by burning air.
He looked like me.
But older. Sharper.
Wearing robes identical to those in the ring—the ones the Saintess gave me.
Ashen Fang.
Or... what was left of him.
> "Let's make something clear," he said, smiling. "You're not worthy of my memories. Not yet."
> "But if you want them so bad…"
He raised a hand.
> "Then fight me for it."
---
The memory attacked.
Literally.
His first strike was a flame whip that tore through space. I dodged by rolling behind a sarcophagus, which promptly exploded.
Second strike: a wave of Void Fire in the shape of a dragon.
I countered with the Flame Wall Technique, layered with normal Qi.
It melted instantly.
Great.
> "Weak," he sneered. "You burn like a matchstick."
"I'm not here to impress my past," I growled.
I drew the Blade of Ash.
It pulsed.
Ashen Fang raised an eyebrow.
> "You brought my sword to fight me? Cute."
He rushed me.
I blocked the first strike, redirected the second, and—
He vanished.
Appeared behind me.
Sliced.
Blood sprayed.
---
My shoulder burned.
Vision blurred.
He grabbed my collar and hurled me into a pillar.
> "You think dual cultivation and sarcasm will save you?" he said, stepping closer. "You think love is your anchor?"
He knelt beside me.
> "Let me show you what really makes you powerful."
He pressed his palm to my forehead.
And then—
I saw everything.
---
Flames devouring cities.
Sects falling.
Lan Ruo screaming.
Qing'er dying with a smile.
Zhao Feng impaled on his own spear.
Me—Ashen Fang—laughing through it all.
> Power isn't control, the voice whispered.
> Power is freedom.
---
"ENOUGH!"
I activated the scroll.
"Ashes of Desire – Second Stage"
My flame burst outward—gold and black merging.
I stabbed forward, not at his body—but at the memory.
Right through the heart.
---
The world shattered.
I collapsed to my knees, panting.
Ashen Fang was gone.
So was the illusion.
But on the ground lay a charred relic—a pendant shaped like a phoenix with two tails.
The scroll updated:
> Memory Fragment 5 Acquired
Flame Resonance: 61%
Emotion Unlocked: Ambition
Technique Advanced: Void Flame Control (Tier II)
---
I staggered out of the vault.
Lan Ruo caught me before I fell.
"You're burning," she whispered.
I looked at her, dazed.
"You were in there for an hour," she said. "Alone."
Zhao Feng appeared behind her, sipping tea. "The monk said if you didn't make it out, we could keep your sword."
"Touch my sword and I'll dual cultivate with your nightmares."
---
Back at the inn, Lan Ruo sat beside my bed.
"You screamed in your sleep," she said. "Something about losing us all."
"I saw… things."
"Memory fragments?"
"Possibilities."
She hesitated.
Then, quietly—
"If it comes to it… will you choose power over us?"
I didn't answer.
Because I didn't know.
But when she placed her hand gently on mine, I didn't pull away.
---
[SYSTEM UPDATE]
> Flame Memory: 5 / 9
Vo
id Flame Control: Tier II – Emotions Now Fuel Your Flame
Resonance with Companions: Lan Ruo – +12% | Qing'er – +4% | Zhao Feng – Immune to Charm
New Quest: Journey to Embergrave Fortress (Last Known Location of Flame Sect Relic)
Side Quest Activated: Zhao Feng's "Mixer Mishap" – Status: Still Being Hunted by the Tail Girl
---
To be continued…