Black Flames

The black flames surged higher.

The vampire girl—no, that terrifying creature stood at the center of the jungle as her body burned in a torrent of dark fire, flames so scorching that the air screamed and trees vaporized without a trace.

Within seconds, the entire forest was bathed in the glow of annihilation.

The heat was unbearable. Mist boiled into steam. Leaves wilted in midair. Soil cracked and turned into glowing embers. Even powerful elites—monsters who had survived countless life-and-death battles retreated miles away from the blast zone, their instincts screaming danger.

"W-What kind of sacrificial fire is that?!"

Even Varian Sebastian, the arrogant Enforcer of Maxx Shrine, stood far back with his Abyssal-Class Griffin grounded, cloaked in silence. His lips twitched faintly, eyes burning with frustration.

"That crazy beast... I was this close to acquiring a Humanoid Beast Soul..."

He didn't let his panic show—his face remained cold, unreadable but the faint tremble in his fingers betrayed the fear crawling up his spine.

One of his teammates, a tall elite with storm tattoos along his neck, finally asked in a hushed tone, "Varian… What do we do now?"

Varian's jaw clenched.

He took a breath… then exhaled calmly, his voice flat and composed.

"We wait. Observe from a distance. If there's anything left to harvest—we take it."

He didn't add the second part out loud. If we get any closer now… we might all die.

Not far away, the other groups from Zenlife Shelter and Silver Wing stood scattered, gazes locked on the inferno.

Lyra Ashveil's eyes never left the sea of black flames. Her hand hovered near her sword hilt, knuckles white, brows furrowed.

Kaizen stood quietly beside her, arms folded, lips tight.

Daisy, meanwhile, glanced around nervously, eyes scanning the surrounding elites.

"…Guys," she said at last. "Where's Austin?"

Everyone blinked.

Kaizen's eyes narrowed slightly.

"...You're right," Denny muttered after a pause, his voice hesitant. "I haven't seen him since we ran back…"

Someone in the crowd chimed in, half-joking but unsure, "Don't tell me he got lost in the forest while we were escaping?"

The joke fell flat.

Even so, none of the elites seemed too concerned. Not even Lyra.

Their eyes kept returning to the center of destruction, that forbidden battlefield cloaked in mist and searing heat. The black flames devoured the jungle with no signs of stopping.

No one dared step forward.

No one except one.

Unnoticed by the others, a faint smile tugged at Kaizen Virelith's lips. Just for a second. A knowing, calculating smile that vanished as quickly as it came.

"So you're making your move, huh…" he thought.

His eyes stayed on the mist. His voice, inside his mind, carried a mixture of amusement and awe.

"Austin… are you really trying to obtain a Humanoid Beast Soul… in front of all these monsters?"

"Bold. No insane."

Kaizen's thoughts wandered back—just a few days ago.

A figure cloaked in black had silently followed Austin through the jungle, curiosity piqued by the strange newcomer who barely spoke and never begged for help. Kaizen had hidden his identity and trailed him in secret, expecting nothing…

But what he saw shocked him.

Austin had killed two Stellar-Class Alien Beasts, wounded but still powerful—using cunning traps, suicidal moves, and brutal efficiency. No powers. No team. Just pure risk.

From that moment on, Kaizen knew…

"He's not ordinary."

"And now Austin had disappeared, just as a Humanoid Vampire prepared to self-destruct. Coincidence? Not a chance."

Meanwhile… Within the mist…

The forest burned, yet inside the eye of the storm, it was eerily quiet.

Here, at the heart of the inferno, Austin Veyne stood rooted in place frozen.

Not by choice.

But he literally couldn't move.

Invisible pressure clung to his limbs like molten chains, weighing him down. His muscles screamed. His breath came short and rapid.

And in front of him…

The vampire girl—no longer burning—stood perfectly untouched, her pale skin flawless, her robe unscathed.

Not a single mark remained.

The flames danced around her, yet never touched her flesh. The ground beneath her feet was untouched, a small island of calm in a sea of chaos.

She stared directly at him.

Her red and white eyes flickered faintly with amusement.

Austin's fingers twitched, eyes narrowing. "…Was everything… an illusion?"

His voice was hoarse.

The girl tilted her head, a faint smirk playing at her lips. She stepped forward slowly, movements graceful as moonlight.

Then, without warning she leaned in close.

Her breath ghosted against his ear. "Void elemental…?"

Austin's heart nearly stopped.

His pupils contracted. He could feel the blood draining from his face.

"She sensed it?!"

Still—despite the storm inside—his voice stayed calm, as if detached from his racing heart.

"…I have a Void Genesis Core," he replied slowly. "But how did you know?"

The vampire girl smiled. Her voice was a soft melody dangerous, yet strangely enchanting.

"I wield Dark Element. Naturally, I can sense neighboring elements… but 'Void'?" Her eyes twinkled. "That's something I've never felt before."

She winked at him "You're quite… special."

Austin's thoughts spun in chaos.

But even amidst that spiral of emotion—a familiar voice screamed into his mind.

"YOU CRAZY BASTARD!!!"

It was Olivia's voice.

The spirit inside his Genesis Core was in full panic mode.

"Are you out of your damn mind!? That's a humanoid-class vampire soul! Do you want to die?! You think she's flirting or something?! RUN!!"

Austin let out a dry breath. "I can't move…"

"Wh-What?!"

"She's locking my body with invisible pressure. I'm completely restrained…"

His tone was helpless, but not panicked. Somehow, even now, his expression remained calm.

"She's too strong… way beyond the others. But she hasn't killed me… yet. Why?"

The vampire took another step closer, her voice now soft. "Do you fear me?"

Austin met her eyes without blinking. "Should I?"

Her smirk widened. "Most would."

"I'm not most."

She stared at him for a moment longer. Then, slowly, her expression shifted.

Something in her gaze… softened.

It wasn't affection.

It wasn't pity.

It was recognition.

"So it's true… The Void still lives…"

She raised one hand—elegant and pale, as if carved from porcelain and gently placed two fingers on Austin's chest, over his heart.

And then… Thump.

Austin's Genesis Core pulsed.

Not in fear. Not in resistance. But in… resonance.

From the depths of his body, his **Void Core** responded to her touch—not with hostility, but with a soundless ripple.

As if it knew her.

As if the void inside him… had once stared into her darkness before.

His breath caught in his throat.

"Who… are you?" he whispered.

The vampire woman smiled again.

And in the next instant she vanished.

A petal of black flame drifted in the air, where she once stood.

Austin collapsed to his knees.

The suffocating pressure vanished. The black mist dispersed, carried away like smoke in the wind.

But before he could even process what just happened...

A crisp notification lit up his Genesis Watch, glowing faintly against the chaos-tinted jungle air.

[You have acquired: Unknown-Class Crimson Devil Vampire Alien!]

[Origin Soul obtained.]

"…What?" Austin's pupils shrank.

He stared at the screen in stunned silence, mind blanking for a second.

"Acquired...? But… I didn't kill her…"

His hands trembled slightly as he scrolled through the interface. The name didn't lie. The glowing crimson entry blinked in his soul inventory—a class higher than anything he'd ever seen.

Unknown-Class.

Not Stellar. Not Abyssal.

Just Unknown.

"No way…" He swallowed hard. "Don't tell me… I've acquired a Humanoid Origin Soul?"

That vampire girl—her?

Before he could say more, Olivia's voice echoed sharply inside his mind, clearly shaken.

"Wait, wait, wait—you got that monster's soul?! You didn't kill her, Austin. She… she gave it to you?! Voluntarily?"

"No. No, no, this has to be a trap—nobody does that!"

Austin didn't reply.

His heart was racing—faster than any fight he'd ever been in. Faster than when he killed the Stellar-Class Serpent. Faster than when he looked death in the eyes last week.

And yet… he wasn't afraid.

He was confused.

"Why would she… No I couldn't stay here."

The battle had ended, but the silence that followed would soon be filled with suspicion. Too many eyes were still on the charred forest. Too many enemies that might notice he'd returned from a direction no one else had.

Without hesitation, Austin turned and vanished into the deeper regions of the jungle.

He walked for miles—through ash-covered roots, shattered trunks, and smoldering air—until he finally reached the edge of a crystal-blue waterfall, its serene sound like a whisper in a world that had screamed too much.

He crouched, washed his face with both hands, letting the icy cold water slap some sense into him.

His reflection rippled beneath the surface.

Eyes slightly hollow. Blood on his cheek. Hair in disarray. And yet, behind those tired eyes… a flicker of something awakening.

"…Let's test it," he murmured.

"Summon."

Nothing happened.

"…What?"

He frowned and tried again, louder this time.

"Origin Soul—Summon!"

The wind hushed.

Then, without warning, the air in front of him twisted—like fabric caught in a slow whirlpool.

Black mist poured forth, swirling, condensing… until it began to take shape.

Two arms. A slender figure. Bare feet hovering slightly above the ground.

And then she stepped forward.

Barely eighteen in appearance, with the same haunting beauty as the vampire from before—but younger. Her eyes were still red, but softer, warmer. Her skin pale like moonlight, but her expression held a playful arrogance instead of indifference.

She looked… human.

Austin's mind short-circuited. Olivia fell completely silent.

The girl blinked at him.

Then tilted her head. "What? Never seen a pretty girl before?"

"…You?"

Austin finally breathed, staring at her blankly.

"Yeah, me. Got a problem with that?" She crossed her arms, her lips twitching with attitude.

Austin gulped.

"I swear if I say the wrong thing here I might end up inside a coffin forever…"

So instead, he asked calmly, "How… did your form change?"

The girl walked over, hovering just slightly above the ground, and sat down on a nearby rock with one leg crossed.

"It's simple," she said, twirling a strand of her silvery-black hair. "My combat body, the one you saw earlier—is my battle soul manifestation. This… is my soul avatar. The form I take when you summon me through your core."

She winked again.

"It's easier on the eyes, right?"

Austin stayed silent for a moment before whispering the second question that had been nagging him.

"Why… did you give yourself to me?"

This time, the smile faded just slightly.

Her eyes didn't leave his.

The waterfall behind them murmured softly, but the air between them turned heavier.

"Because you're the first one in centuries that made me feel something."

Austin blinked.

She continued, softer now.

"In that moment… when everyone attacked me—when the world closed in on me I should've felt anger. Or fear but I didn't... All I felt… was curiosity."

She stared at him, her voice barely a whisper now.

"You… Austin Veyne… you carry something I've only ever heard of in myths."

"You have a Void Core. Something even the Gods once feared."

Olivia's voice whispered again, quieter this time.

"…She knows too much."

Austin didn't look away.

"What do you know about the Void?" he asked.

The girl leaned in close again, her lips brushing the edge of his ear, her breath warm.

"Enough to tell you that you're not from here. Not really."

Austin's blood froze.

"And enough to say this. You'll need me again soon."

She straightened herself, brushing her black dress casually. "Oh, and by the way don't try to summon me casually.

Austin exhaled slowly. His thoughts raced—but somehow, beneath all that chaos, he felt calmer.

She began fading back into mist.

"Wait—what's your name?" he asked quickly.

She paused mid-fade, smiled softly… and whispered,

"Frost."

Then she was gone.

Just like that.

Leaving only the sound of the waterfall—and the hum of the Void Core pulsing quietly within his chest.

Austin stood there, staring at the water as the echoes of her name rippled through his mind.

"Frost."