No_Name16

In the Year 10002 of the God Awakening Era, humanity spans across a hundred star systems, surviving amidst the ruins of ancient powers and threats from alien civilizations beyond imagination. Deep beneath Xintian Station, Li Junhao—a low-tier miner from the forgotten Gamma Sector—uncovers a mysterious glowing relic buried in stone.

When he touches it, the stars answer.

The Celestial Core fuses with him, awakening long-lost powers of cosmic cultivation once thought to be myth. Suddenly, Junhao becomes the spark in a prophecy that could reignite war across galaxies—or save them from extinction.

Hunted by powerful factions, coveted by ancient beings, and haunted by visions of gods among stars, Junhao must rise… or burn out.

Cosmic cultivation. Alien civilizations. Galactic conspiracies.
The stars have chosen.

He is Flameborn.

Flameborn: Legacy of the Stars

Chapter 23: Silence Between Suns

The stars above Yuren Gate flickered like dying embers.

Li Junhao stood on the edge of the platform, his hair damp with sweat and his heart still thundering from the Core's echo. The weight of Astral Flow pulsed inside him, steady now—contained, but not silent. Beneath his skin, the flame still breathed.

Veyra leaned beside him, eyes closed, letting the quiet wind carry away the battle's scent. "You're stabilizing faster than I expected," she murmured, her voice like dusk. "But your Core is growing too quickly. The Radiant Bloom phase... it's not meant to settle this fast."

Junhao gave a short laugh. "Tell that to the Core. It never asks permission."

They both fell into a silence that stretched like the sky—wide, cold, endless.

Behind them, Xintian Station still buzzed with life. The civilians didn't know how close death had come. The Herald's remains had dissolved into ash, and the Gate's fractured circuitry was already being patched by auto-drones. But something had changed.

Junhao could feel it in the air. The quiet was heavier.

"They always do," Veyra replied. "But next time... we won't be alone."

Junhao turned to her, his eyes narrowing. "What do you mean?"

She pulled a small shard from her coat. It shimmered faintly—like cracked glass holding a memory. "This belonged to a Flamebearer. One who disappeared near Earth's orbit, decades ago. The signal just reactivated."

"Earth?" Junhao's breath hitched. "But we lost that world. It was consumed."

Veyra shook her head. "No. It was hidden. Buried beneath layers of cosmic interference. Someone lit a flame there. A strong one."

Junhao stared at the shard, the whisper of home tugging at a buried ache in his chest. "Do you think it's... one of us?"

"I don't know," she admitted. "But the signal's signature… it feels familiar."

His thoughts scattered like dust. Home. Earth. The origin of it all. His father's teachings, his mother's quiet strength, the stories passed down. Maybe they weren't all gone.

Veyra smiled faintly. "Of course. But be ready. If the Ashborn catch that signal too…"

"They'll burn it," Junhao finished.

"No," she corrected softly. "They'll twist it. And that's worse."

He clenched his fists. His cultivation surged slightly, reacting to his focus. The Radiant Bloom pulsed—light curling in his veins like petals preparing to open.

He turned from the Gate, eyes lifting to the cold void beyond. "Let's leave the station tomorrow. I want to see what waits in the silence."

Veyra nodded. "Then we set course for the ghost orbit of Earth."

As they walked away from the broken Gate, the stars above flickered again—this time not from dying light, but the pulse of something awakening.

Far beyond, in the deep black between systems, something stirred.