Chapter 6: The Flame That Shouldn't Burn
Location: South District – Forgotten Underground Chamber
The air inside the chamber was thick—too thick.
Zhao Feng took one step toward the suspended lotus blade, its petals glowing faintly like dying embers. Each pulse in the weapon matched the beat of his heart, faster now, harder, like something inside him was… cracking.
"It's reacting to you," Bai Qian whispered.
Zhao didn't answer. He didn't need to.His whole body buzzed with something alien—something old.
The petals began to open.
One by one.
Like a mouth awakening from centuries of silence.
SYSTEM NOTICESoul Sync Threshold 78%Warning: Unstable resonance detectedUnknown second energy signature overlapping host link
His hand trembled as it reached forward.
Then—
The petals flared wide.
And everything stopped.
Vision Sequence – Inside the Lotus Core
Zhao was no longer in the chamber. He stood in a field of ash, beneath a sky filled with cracked moons. Around him, ghostly figures marched—cultivators from ancient sects. They whispered his name and someone else's.
"You are the second half… incomplete…"
In front of him, the Ash Lotus floated, bleeding black flame.
He stepped closer.
But then—another hand reached out beside him.
Smaller. Lighter. Familiar.
Tang Xinyi.
But not as he remembered her.She wore black robes lined with gold phoenix feathers, her eyes glowing bright flame-orange.
"This isn't yours, Feng," she said softly. "Not yet."
And the blade turned.
Toward her.
Back in the Chamber
The resonance hit like a lightning strike.
BOOM.
Zhao was thrown backward, smashing into a spirit column. The impact knocked the breath out of him.
Bai Qian screamed his name, dashing to his side.
At the center of the chamber, the petals peeled open fully—and the blade hovered still, pointing toward the entrance.
Not at Zhao.
At the girl now standing in the doorway.
Tang Xinyi Enters
Smoke curled around her boots. Her hood was down, hair rippling with inner qi. One eye was orange-gold with flame. The other was still human.
The mark at her collarbone glowed — the faint outline of a phoenix feather sigil.
Bai Qian's body tensed. "Who—"
But she didn't need to finish the sentence.
Zhao's mouth parted. The bruises, the burn scars, the soul mark… it was her.
"Xinyi…"
Tang Xinyi didn't speak.She walked calmly toward the blade as it lowered itself into her outstretched hand.
It accepted her like it had been waiting.
SYSTEM NOTICESoul Weapon Bond Confirmed: Host – Tang XinyiArtifact Name: Ash Lotus BladeAuthority Level: Dominant HolderWarning: Unauthorized link from Secondary Host [Zhao Feng] detected. Overlap unstable.
Zhao stared, stunned.
"No. It chose me. Back then—"
"It was never choosing you," Tang said softly. "It was calling me. Through you."
Energy Surge
The chamber began to quake.Stone cracked. Spirit runes dimmed. The air pulsed violently as if reacting to a false presence.
Bai Qian stepped in front of Zhao.
"Something's wrong. Something else woke up."
Tang nodded. "We triggered the guardian."
And then—a scream erupted from the back of the chamber.
A skeletal figure tore free from the wall, shrouded in black energy. Its eyes burned with soul fire, and its voice rasped like shattered glass.
"Unworthy… false flame… the curse must continue…"
It launched forward.
Fight Breaks Out – Guardian vs. All Three
Bai Qian threw twin blades, both infused with healing energy to disrupt death qi. They hit—but barely slowed the guardian.
Zhao surged up, slamming his palm into the stone floor, summoning a qi burst. "Bai! Right flank!"
Tang Xinyi raised the Ash Lotus Blade, her arm trembling from incomplete resonance.
"I don't have full control yet—"
Zhao yelled, "You don't need control! Just burn it!"
She closed her eyes. The blade hummed in her grip.Something ancient stirred beneath her skin.
Then:
"Let it burn," she whispered.
A flash.
A detonation of phoenix fire erupted from her body, engulfing the guardian.
It screamed.
Shriveled.
Dissolved into ash.
Aftermath
Smoke cleared. Tang collapsed to one knee, panting. The blade dimmed.
Zhao caught her before she fell forward.
They looked at each other. Really looked.
The silence stretched.Her breath hitched.His hand lingered on her back.
"I thought you were dead," he said.
"I was."
She turned to Bai Qian.
"You're still with the Medic Sect?" she asked flatly.
Bai bristled. "Not anymore."
"Right," Xinyi said coldly. "Tell that to the observer watching from the wall."
She threw a dagger. It embedded into a hidden surveillance talisman.
Zhao's eyes widened.
"Wait—Bai?"
But Bai Qian didn't answer.
🩶 The Hidden Betrayal
"I didn't want it to go this way," Bai Qian said, slowly stepping back.
The chamber began to flicker—spatial transfer glyphs activating.
Tang raised her blade.
But Bai activated a teleport seal.
"You'll understand later," she said to Zhao. "Just remember… I never lied about how I felt."
She vanished.
Leaving Zhao and Tang surrounded by flickering spirit fire.