Three Days Later.
Jayden stood at the edge of Crimson Mirror Lake, his reflection trembling on the surface like it wanted to escape him.
The Forbidden Core Fragment he'd taken from Dorian Grimm still pulsed with heat inside his pouch, as if it wasn't meant to be held for long. The chi around it distorted time—seconds felt like minutes when he stared at it too long.
Behind him, Isla folded her arms, hood up.
"This lake," she said, "isn't just deep. It's cursed."
Jayden glanced over his shoulder.
"Cursed how?"
She flicked her hand, throwing a stone into the water. It didn't splash—it vanished with a sharp hiss.
"Years ago, a sect called the Ember Tides trained here. Their grandmaster tried to condense divine fire into water form. Failed. It burned everything beneath."
Jayden took a breath.
"And that's where the second fragment is."
Lian, resting nearby with her sword laid across her lap, added, "The tomb of the Ember Tides is buried beneath the lake. Supposedly sealed by a dragon's breath. If the fragment's reacting, it's down there."
Jayden tightened the wraps around his hands. "Then I'll go down."
The Dive
He stood at the edge of the water, activated the Breath-Lock Meridian, a technique he'd learned after mastering the First Dragon Stance, and dove in.
The moment his body pierced the surface, the world shifted.
Heat bit into his skin, wrapping around his bones like liquid fire. He swam downward, vision clouded with red mist, as if the lake was filled with boiling blood.
The pressure intensified with every meter. He called on the fragment in his pouch, channeling its chaotic energy into a protective bubble around him.
Then he saw it.
A massive, blackened temple resting sideways in the lakebed like a drowned beast.
Flames flickered inside it, even though it was underwater.
It breathed.
And with each breath, the water around it boiled.
Jayden approached the archway. The pillars were carved with dragon heads and robed warriors kneeling beneath them. One eye of each dragon glowed faintly red.
He pressed his palm to the nearest carving.
"Blood of the Dragon."
The voice echoed through the water.
Jayden's palm burned. A drop of his blood sizzled into the stone. The gate cracked open.
He swam inside.
The Temple Below
Inside, gravity returned. The water parted unnaturally behind him, creating an air pocket throughout the submerged tomb.
Chi-rich steam rose from every tile.
Jayden moved carefully through the corridor, eyes flicking to the walls. Embers glowed in ancient braziers, and the entire temple hummed with residual energy — not dead, merely sleeping.
At the end of the corridor stood a grand chamber, a circular dome with a pedestal in its center.
Resting on that pedestal:
A golden lotus flower, pulsing with soft light.
And embedded inside its heart:
The second Forbidden Core Fragment.
Jayden stepped forward.
And the flames answered.
Guardian of the Flame
A figure formed out of the fire.
At first it was formless—a pillar of orange and crimson—but it slowly shaped into a warrior clad in burning robes, his face hidden beneath a dragon-mask of molten steel.
The guardian didn't speak. He simply pointed a curved glaive at Jayden.
Jayden bowed slightly.
"Then let's begin."
The guardian vanished—reappearing above him.
Jayden dove to the side as the glaive sliced the air, trailing flames that left scorch marks on the stone.
Jayden countered with a burst of chi, sending three acupuncture needles at the warrior's shoulders.
They evaporated before they reached.
Jayden narrowed his eyes. "Can't strike conventionally…"
He channeled his God-Tier Flame Control, flaring his own energy. The air shimmered, and his chi flared into golden fire.
The guardian paused.
For a moment, their flames connected — not as enemies, but as two halves of a forgotten art.
The guardian said only one thing:
"Then you are worthy of the final stance."
The ground cracked open beneath them.
And both fell into darkness.
Flame Trial Hall
Jayden hit the ground hard—inside a chamber filled with dozens of floating glyphs. They moved slowly in the air, shifting shapes like breathing organisms.
In the center of the room hovered a book made of living fire.
The Dragon Flame Codex.
Jayden stepped forward. The glyphs spun wildly.
He reached toward the book.
Suddenly—dozens of images flashed through his mind:
A young man wielding fire like lightning.
The dragon clan burning cities in judgment.
His own father standing atop a mountain, hands outstretched to tame a firestorm.
A shadowed figure stealing a fragment and vanishing into the clouds.
And then—nothing.
Jayden collapsed, panting.
The guardian hovered nearby, silent.
Jayden looked up.
"I… I want to learn it."
The Codex pulsed.
"Then you must offer your flame."
Jayden raised both palms—and channeled all the chi he could.
His God-Tier flame roared to life, brighter than ever before.
The Codex split open—pages of heat and memory swirling into his core. Glyphs branded his arms, chest, and spine.
He screamed as the pain surged—but stayed conscious.
The guardian nodded.
"You have learned the Third Dragon Stance: Blazing Spiral of Heaven."
Jayden collapsed again.
But when he stood…
His aura burned gold and red.
The Lotus
He returned to the main chamber, staggering.
The guardian no longer blocked the pedestal.
Jayden approached the lotus flower.
His flame pulsed.
So did the fragment inside.
As his hand touched the flower, it bloomed — its petals opening into flames.
The second Forbidden Core Fragment rose into the air—and merged with the one in Jayden's pouch.
The combined energy knocked him backward, sent waves of heat through the temple.
The structure began to collapse.
Jayden dashed back toward the exit—leaping, sliding, diving as fire and water collided in chaotic bursts.
He barely reached the lake's edge before the temple imploded beneath him—sending up a column of steam that burst into the sky.
Back on the Surface
Isla and Lian rushed to him as he emerged, coughing and soaked but alive.
Jayden dropped to one knee.
He held up his hand.
Two glowing shards spun gently above his palm.
"Two down," he said between breaths.
Lian nodded, tears in her eyes.
"You did it."
Isla, ever composed, stared at the sky. "Then the others will know now."
Jayden looked up. "The clans?"
She nodded. "The moment two fragments unite, the Dragon Sigil becomes active. Every hidden house, every sealed tomb… they'll feel it."
Jayden exhaled.
The war had begun.