when fire walks among men
The skies above the Crimson Sky Sect cracked with distant thunder, yet no storm followed.
Li Tian stood on the highest terrace of the outer court, the hilt of Ashdrinker heavy at his side, his breath misting in the morning chill. Despite the sun breaking the mountains in golden light, he felt the weight of something vast pressing in from the horizon.
[System Update: Subject 05 – "The Third Flame"]
Status: Hunted by Eastern Sky Division
Current Location: Unconfirmed
Estimated Power Level: Intermediate Core Formation
Convergence Risk: Rising
[Side Quest Triggered: "Flames from the South"]
Objective: Locate the Third Flame before Outer Forces do.
Reward: Trait Synchronization Chance +5%, Fate Resistance +2%
He stared at the map Yun Mei had provided, marked with red ink across the southern hills outside the sect's boundaries.
The Flame Path Forest.
A forbidden zone filled with spiritual residue from a fallen sect—a place so saturated with elemental energy that few dared enter. That was where the Third Flame had last been spotted.
Li Tian tightened his grip.
"Third Flame… I need to know what you are."
Yun Mei met him by the supply pavilion, already armed and cloaked.
"I'm coming," she said, before he could argue. "If outer forces are moving, it means the seal's been broken."
"What seal?"
She hesitated. "The one that hid us."
"Us?"
"You think you're the only one the heavens rebirthed?" she asked, stepping past him. "This world was stitched together by lies. Now the thread is coming undone."
The journey south took half a day on foot. The closer they came to Flame Path Forest, the more the land changed. Trees twisted unnaturally, scorched black at their roots but glowing with crimson leaves. The air shimmered with heat, though no fire was visible.
Li Tian paused at the forest's edge, where the grass abruptly ended.
The silence was absolute.
No birds. No wind.
[System Alert: Entering Residual Fire Domain]
Danger Rating: High
Warning: Spatial fluctuations detected.
Host Susceptibility: 71%
Recommendation: Anchor with Echo Weapon or suffer instability.
He unsheathed Ashdrinker.
A low hum vibrated through the blade, and the ground beneath him rippled like disturbed water.
Yun Mei stepped beside him, her hand on the hilt of her frost fan.
"This forest remembers," she said.
"Good," Li Tian replied. "So do I."
They moved cautiously through the twisting paths, stepping over charred stone ruins swallowed by flame-touched vines.
After twenty minutes, the first signs of outer interference appeared.
A corpse.
Fresh.
Face-down. The robes marked with the sigil of the Eastern Sky Division—the empire's covert cultivator unit.
Yun Mei knelt beside it. "Soul was extracted," she said. "Sloppy."
Li Tian knelt and reached toward the corpse's chest, summoning a faint pulse of Qi.
[Blood Echo Detected]
Extracting residual memory…
His mind was suddenly filled with disjointed flashes:
A flash of violet eyes.
A scream.
A figure walking through fire untouched.
And then—a hand reaching into his chest.
The memory cut off.
[Third Flame Contact Confirmed]
Location: Deeper within Flame Path Forest.
Warning: Threat Level Rising.
"He's killing them," Li Tian said.
"Or defending himself," Yun Mei replied.
Either way, it meant they were close.
They reached the clearing two hours later.
At the center stood a lake of fire—literal fire—burning where water should be.
And in its center, a boy stood barefoot on the surface.
Black hair swaying.
Violet eyes glowing faintly.
He turned as they approached.
"The thunder child comes," he said softly.
Li Tian didn't answer at first.
He stepped forward, stopping at the lake's edge.
"You're one of us."
"Yes," the Third Flame replied. "But not of the same fire."
Yun Mei drew her weapon, cautious. "You've killed Empire agents."
"They tried to seal me again. You'd fight too, if they'd locked you in death before."
Li Tian's heart twisted.
"Again?"
The Third Flame tilted his head. "You don't remember everything yet. But you will."
[System Alert: Cross Resonance Detected – Subject 05: Echo Pulse Compatible.]
Optional Trigger: System Memory Sync – Risk Level: High
Proceed? Y/N
"Why are they hunting us?" Li Tian asked.
The Third Flame stepped off the fire-lake and walked across the ash, unburned.
"Because we're not supposed to exist. We are the error in the world's code. The system wasn't made to be broken. But you…" he stopped, gazing directly into Li Tian's eyes.
"You're already breaking it."
Suddenly, his expression shifted.
His eyes narrowed. "They're here."
[Warning: Combat Presence Detected]
Entities: 3
Origin: Eastern Sky Division – Shadow Blood Unit
Estimated Cultivation: High Core Formation to Nascent Soul
From the trees, three figures stepped out.
Each cloaked in blood-dyed robes, wearing silver masks marked with the empire's sigil—a crescent sword swallowing a star.
The central figure raised a staff etched with runes that pulsed in time with Li Tian's heartbeat.
"Third Flame. Thunder Entity. Frost Heir. You are under imperial decree. Submit."
No one moved.
Li Tian summoned his blade.
"So much for subtle."
The fight began instantly.
The Shadow Blood unit moved like smoke, each attack silent but lethal. The staff-wielder released a chain of sealing glyphs that surged toward the Third Flame.
But he raised one hand—and burned them from existence.
Not with flame.
With concept.
The very idea of fire surged, and their attacks dissolved.
Yun Mei spun into the fray, freezing the ground as she danced through her enemies, while Li Tian charged forward, blade flashing.
[Ashdrinker Engaged – Ember Memory Storing: 1/10]
[New Skill Unlocked – "Flame Chain Sever"]
Active: Breaks spiritual links and qi formations within 5 meters. Cooldown: 4 hours.
He struck at one of the shadow assassins, slicing through his arm and severing the man's connection to his core.
The man dropped like a stone, screaming.
Another launched a blade of condensed spirit, targeting Yun Mei—but she twisted mid-air, freezing the weapon before it struck.
[System Observation: Outer Forces Adapting]
Secondary Objective Unlocked: Eliminate Witnesses
Justification: Rebirth Entities must remain secret for system stability.
Li Tian growled.
He didn't want this.
But survival had a cost.
He struck again—this time cleaving into the second assassin's leg before thrusting Ashdrinker through his chest.
Ashdrinker pulsed once.
[Ember Memory: 2/10]
[Passive Boost Activated: Heat Immunity +10%, Blade Speed +8%]
The Third Flame faced the commander alone.
"You sealed me once," he said calmly. "Let's see if your god still hears you."
He opened his palm.
A burning lotus bloomed in midair, expanding with each heartbeat.
The masked commander raised his staff—but the fire had no interest in technique.
It consumed intent.
And when the lotus bloomed fully, it erased him.
Nothing remained.
No bone.
No scream.
Just absence.
When the last of them fell, Li Tian stood panting, blade glowing red-hot. His clothes were burned. His skin bruised.
But he was alive.
So was Yun Mei.
So was the Third Flame.
The boy knelt by the fire-lake and touched its surface.
Flames danced beneath his fingers.
"I wasn't the first," he said. "I was… the result. A second experiment after the failure of Rebirth Subject One."
Li Tian's breath caught.
"There was a Subject One?"
"Yes," the Third Flame replied. "But he wasn't chosen. He chose himself. He hijacked the system—and tried to rewrite the rules."
"What happened to him?"
"He vanished."
The Third Flame rose.
"But he left a trail."
He turned to Li Tian.
"And now you walk it."
[System Sync Complete: Memory Thread Linked – "The Unrecorded Rebirth"]
New Quest Unlocked – "Chasing Subject One"
Objective: Locate the hidden ruins where Subject One tampered with system code.
Reward: System Root Access Fragment (1/7)
Danger: Unknown.
Fate Level: Unstable.
Li Tian looked down at the lake of fire one last time.
It didn't burn.
Not anymore.
The flames bent for the Third Flame like grass to wind.
Whatever he was…
Whatever they all were…
This was no longer just a quest for power.
It was a war.
And it had already begun.