The Flame Realm—legendary as the "Spirit Flame Fractured Boundary," a rift existing between the nightmares of gods and bloodfire.
It is said that only those whose souls were once torn by gods are worthy to step into this space.
And now, Evelynn, Lucian, and Elea stand before its gate.
Suspended above the ruins, it is forged from countless broken bones and blazing flames, with an open flame-eye at its center, as if peering into all secrets of those who enter.
"The Gate to the Flame Realm... it's here," Elea murmurs softly.
"Once inside, truth and illusion will merge into one. Our memories, desires, fears—all will become enemies."
Evelynn stares calmly at the gate, her gaze as steady as a flame.
"I have long walked with desire, and slept with fear," she says, extending her hand.
A flame seal glows in her palm. The gate creaks open, a light tearing through the sky like a rift.
The three step through in silence.The Spirit Flame Illusory RealmThe first sight is not a hellish sea of fire, but—gentle snow.
Evelynn stands on a familiar old street of the royal capital, silence all around, snow falling like cotton.
She sees her mother's figure, smiling by the fireplace, and behind her, a teenage Lucian—no armor, holding a wooden sword, walking toward her.
"Evelynn."
She freezes.
She knows it is not real—her mother died long ago on the church's execution platform, and Lucian has never looked at her with such softness.
"Do you want to return to the past?" "Do you want to abandon the crown?" The illusory Lucian speaks, extending his hand.
Evelynn shakes her head slowly, feet rooted in place.
"I did not come to reminisce."
She draws her flame sword, piercing the tender illusion with one strike.
The snowfield collapses instantly, revealing the Flame Realm's true form: scorched earth, bone walls, and waves of bloodfire.
In the distance, Lucian and Elea struggle in their own illusions.Lucian's Flame of DesireLucian faces no enemy—but Evelynn.
She sits naked on a throne, legs spread, arms outstretched, her eyes filled with temptation.
"You crave me, more than once, more than with your body alone," she says.
"You want to dominate me, control me, burn me into a prisoner of your desire—don't you?"
Lucian grits his teeth, flame light surging in his eyes. He has dreamed countless times of that flame-like body, of her moaning in his lap, of her him.
But he knows better: the real Evelynn was never a phantom of desire.
He steps closer, brushing her cheek with his hand, whispering: "You are fire, and I am the bone within your flame. If I burn, it is only to light your way."
He kisses her lips—not a kiss of desire, but a farewell.
The illusory Evelynn burns to ashes. Lucian drops to one knee, his flame oath seal blazing on his chest.
"I am ready."Elea's JudgmentElea stands in a silver-white hall, surrounded by phantoms of church elders, their voices shouting accusations:
"You broke your vow, the queen's bed."
"You grovel as her sword, as her slave—what glory is there in that?"
Chains bind her hands, and her flame oath sword is planted in the floor before her.
The illusory Evelynn approaches, looking down at her from on high.
"Will you continue kneeling, like a loyal hound?"
Elea lifts her head slowly, eyes cold as ice.
"Yes."
"If a hound's duty is to tear out the throats of those who dare question her."
She bites through the chains, grasps her flame oath sword, and shatters the entire silver illusion with one slash.
She turns, stepping into the depths of the real Flame Realm.The Convergence of Flame CoresThe three reunite at the core of the Flame Realm.
Here lies a floating palace, with a flame prism suspended at its center, sealing a pale soul shard within.
"That is the Bone King's true soul," Evelynn whispers. "He hides in my yearnings, in your bonds."
Lucian and Elea step forward, their hands joining hers in a tri-seal. Flame oath patterns emerge.
"Our souls are linked as one," Elea says softly. "We can pull him out."
The three close their eyes, their flame breaths merging.
As the seal blazes to full power, the Bone King's soul body, like a burning sacrifice, slowly peels away from the flame prism—revealing a pale, sinister, royal face.
In the next moment, his eyes open.
"Found you."