The world no longer feared fire. Now, it sought it.Lumen's gift to the Kindled had been memory.Now, he gave them methods — A map carved in will, not ink. A path lit not by sun or star, but by inner flame.He called them the Ember Paths — nine sacred roads of cultivation that reached beyond mortality, beyond thought, even beyond divinity.And the final path… was a return.They were not steps on a ladder, but mirrors. Each path led outward — and inward. Each came with a cost. But Lumen did not warn them away.
> "Flame does not ask permission," he told them.
>"It simply burns."
—-
1. The Chrono Ember – Time
Master the echoes of the past, fold the present, glimpse futures yet unborn.
Stop aging
Interact with potential timelines
Evade fate — briefly
Risk: Collapse of personal identity across timelines
—-
2. The Veil Ember – Space
Fold the world like cloth. Step between places. Collapse distance and form.
Teleportation, dimensional slicing
Reality folding, spatial concealment
Domain manipulation
Risk: Getting lost between layers of existence
—-
3. The Verdant Ember – Nature
Unite with the song of earth, root, and beast. Become storm, stone, or tree.
Beast transformation
Elemental symbiosis
Natural regeneration
Risk: Losing individuality to the will of nature
—-
4. The Mirror Ember – Humanity
Explore the soul's depths. Rewrite the self. Weaponize memory and emotion.
Empathic resonance
Emotional manipulation
Mirror-soul avatars
Risk: Fragmentation of psyche
— -
5. The Celestial Ember – Heaven
Harness divine laws. Use the enemy's rules as weapons.
Law invocation
Divine flame wielding
Cosmic correction ritualsRisk:
Becoming subject to divine judgment
—-
6. The Hollow Ember – Death
Embrace the void. Borrow from endings. Become ghost, gate, or grave.
Necrotic rebirth
Death-walking
Communion with ancestors
Risk: Emotional detachment, soul decay
—-
7. The Crimson Ember – Rebellion
Defy all boundaries. Shatter law, logic, and legacy through sheer will.
Break heavenly restrictions
Evolve through battle
Consume other paths to ascend.
Risk:Becoming consumed by rage and chaos
—-
8. The Abyss Ember – The Evil One
Born from the flicker before creation. Unmake all things.
Void manifestation
Annihilation of matter and concept
Presence-erasure
Risk: Total loss of humanity and reality connection
—-
And then…
9. The Pale Ember – Omnipotence
The final path. Not walked, but become.
Lumen did not teach it.
He whispered it.
A secret for those who had tasted every flame, died every death, and denied every god — even themselves.
> "Before the god, there was the flicker.
The origin.
The breath with no thought."
Those who walked the Pale Ember ceased to be individuals.
They became force.
Not rulers of reality — but its rhythm.