They stood in a half-circle—eight survivors, eight stories etched into skin and soul.
Their robes varied. Their ages ranged from barely more than children to old warriors, but each one bore the unmistakable signs of the **furnace brand**—scarred wrists, burned chests, and qi signatures twisted by cruelty.
They were known as the **Eight Embers**.
And they were the last remnants of the Furnace Queen's rebellion.
---
The girl who stepped forward had mismatched eyes—one pale violet, the other the color of molten gold. A jagged scar ran down her jaw like a river split by force.
"My name is **Luo Shiran**," she said. "I fought in the Queen's final battle. I watched her fall."
Yan Ruo's brows lifted. "You're… that old?"
Luo Shiran gave a bitter smile. "Time bends for those broken enough. My cultivation was frozen in the Soul Binding Realm for thirty years. I only began to move again when I felt her Codex awaken."
She turned to Lin Yan.
"You are the signal. Her legacy passed not just in flame… but in choice."
---
Each of the Embers introduced themselves:
* **Guo Hai**, a one-armed warrior who could absorb weapons through his body.
* **Meilan**, a soul-weaver who had sewn her own dantian back together with shadow qi.
* **Jin Rook**, blind, but saw through sound and pain.
* **Tao Min**, a silent alchemist whose every breath leaked poisonous mist.
* **Chao Yan**, twin bladeswoman who once fought a sect elder barehanded—and won.
* **Fei Yue**, who spoke in riddles, her qi mirroring the cycles of the moon.
* And the eighth, a masked giant called **"Ash Beast"**, who had never spoken, but protected the city like a shadow.
---
Luo Shiran led Lin Yan and Yan Ruo into the inner sanctum of the Ash Throne.
There, hidden beneath the foundation stones, was a sealed chamber—wrought in bloodsteel and soul threads.
"We were saving this for her return," Shiran said, her hand pressed to the sigils. "But perhaps… it was meant for you."
The chamber opened with a moan.
Inside was a **single coffin**, forged from obsidian flame-ore.
And resting atop it—an ornate scroll sealed in silver chains.
Lin Yan stepped forward.
The scroll trembled in his presence.
Luo Shiran spoke softly:
> "This is the **Last Design** of the Furnace Queen."
> "A forbidden art never completed."
> "A weapon made not of steel… but of pain."
---
As Lin Yan touched it, visions slammed into him:
* Yue Qilan weeping before a burning altar.
* Thousands of furnaces marching beneath a crimson moon.
* Her final breath, used not to curse the world—but to encode her hatred into cultivation itself.
The scroll unlocked.
Inside it was a technique: **"Heartsunder Flame Scripture."**
A method to weaponize one's deepest emotional wounds as explosive qi—flame that fed on grief, rage, and betrayal.
It had one requirement:
> **The user must have truly died… in spirit.**
Lin Yan's hand shook as he held the scroll.
"I can learn this," he whispered.
Luo Shiran's voice was calm. "But if you do, you won't be the same."
Yan Ruo stepped forward, her gaze hard.
"Maybe that's the point."
---
Far away, within the Thousand Desires Sect, Shi Lanyue stood in a crystal chamber before a furnace of living flame.
She stared into it, and saw Lin Yan's silhouette holding the scroll.
Her lips curled into a smirk.
> "So you found it. Good."
> "Come then, broken boy."
> "Let me see if your fire can match mine."