The world was quiet when Aira opened her eyes the next morning.
Or rather, it was still—as if the entire Abyssal Furnace, even the magma veins that once pulsed through its depths, had taken a breath to watch her. The energy in her body was coiled like a serpent ready to strike. She felt different, not just stronger, but more… bound. Anchored.
Kira, who'd been keeping watch nearby, jumped to her feet. "You're awake! You slept for two days straight. Thought we were going to have to carry you out."
Aira sat up slowly. Her entire body buzzed with power. "I leveled up."
Kira blinked. "Again?"
Aira nodded. "Level 25."
The moment she said it, a warm surge rushed up her spine as if her very soul responded to the number. A new window opened in her mind—a talent awakening screen, glowing brighter than ever before.
---
[ You have reached Level 25! ]
[New Talent Awakening: SSS-Class Flame Path]
[Congratulations! You have awakened: Soulfire Chains]
---
Aira's eyes widened.
Soulfire Chains.
The words alone sent a pulse of fire racing down her arms. Her aura burst outward in a ring of invisible flame, causing the broken stones around her to sizzle.
Kira instinctively stepped back. "What was that?"
Aira took a breath. "A new ability."
She closed her eyes, focusing inward. The system guided her like it always did.
---
Talent: Soulfire Chains [SSS-Rank Unique]
Type: Flame + Soul
Description: Manifest ethereal chains forged from your flame-infused soul. Bind enemies physically and spiritually. Cannot be broken by brute force. Chains drain soul energy and suppress regeneration.
Passive: All enemies bound by Soulfire Chains have reduced flame resistance and suffer soul trauma.
Special Effect: Chains can absorb part of enemy soul energy to replenish your own stamina and flame pool.
Upgrade Path: Soulfire Execution, Phantom Inferno, Flame Seal
---
Her eyes snapped open. "It's more than control… It's a complete lockdown tool. And it hits the soul."
She stood, stretching her hand outward.
"Soulfire Chains."
Instantly, glowing crimson runes ignited around her palm, forming into six blazing chains that erupted from her back like serpents. The chains moved like they had minds of their own—coiling, writhing, cracking in the air.
Each link pulsed with flame and something deeper—an echo of her essence. This wasn't just fire. It was her will, made real.
Riven, who had just arrived with supplies, dropped the food in shock. "What in the blazing hells—?"
Aira smiled. "Something new."
---
Training the Chains
They found an open cavern near the ruins of the furnace—a place with enough space to experiment without endangering others. Aira spent hours practicing. She learned quickly:
The chains extended up to 30 meters.
They could pass through most magical shields.
They anchored enemies in place, not by force alone, but by disrupting the soul thread that connected body to spirit.
She summoned a Flame Clone and tried binding it. The clone froze, trembling, before dissipating into ash.
The soul-binding effect was real.
Kira whistled. "You just became everyone's worst nightmare."
"Especially beast commanders," Riven muttered. "Most of them rely on high regen and flame resistance. You just crippled that."
"But there's more," Aira said, her eyes narrowing.
She took a deep breath—and focused on the sensation that accompanied the chains. She reached inward, into the ember that Pyrion had branded on her chest. The Blazebound Mark pulsed.
A flash of insight struck her like lightning.
She could link her chains not just to enemies… but to allies.
And when she tested it—wrapping a single chain around Kira's wrist—her friend gasped.
"My flame energy just spiked," Kira whispered. "What did you do?"
Aira's lips parted in surprise. The chains had transferred a fraction of her energy to Kira.
Soulfire Chains were more than shackles.
They were conduits.
---
The Beast Remnant
Later that night, as the team rested, a faint tremor rippled beneath them.
They all stood immediately.
"Please tell me that was just a collapsing tunnel," Riven muttered.
But Aira already felt it. Something stirred beneath the ruined furnace. A leftover. A beast remnant that had survived the destruction of the core.
It burst through the stone floor—an amalgam of molten beast limbs, half-dead yet pulsing with corrupt energy. A remnant… but powerful.
Its aura flared like a dying sun.
Aira stepped forward. "Let me try something."
She summoned all six Soulfire Chains at once. They snapped outward, slicing through the air and piercing the creature's limbs.
The remnant howled—but couldn't move.
The chains tightened.
The runes along each link began to glow brighter as the beast's flame core began to leak energy. Not just flame—its spirit essence drained as well.
Aira focused, drawing that energy into herself.
A new notification blinked in her mind:
---
[You have absorbed partial Soul Remnant: Beast of the Abyss]
+ Flame Resistance + Soul Endurance + Partial Memory Fragment
---
She staggered, dizzy from the sudden overload—but grinning.
"This… changes everything."
---
The Flame Council Reacts
Far from the dungeon, within the obsidian halls of the Flame Council's inner sanctum, a councilor's eyes widened as a magical scroll flared to life.
"Something's happened," she said grimly.
Another councilor leaned forward. "The Abyssal Furnace? Wasn't it sealed?"
"No," said a third, his eyes locked on the report. "It was conquered."
Silence.
Then, the leader—an old man with eyes like smoldering coal—spoke. "Who?"
The scroll answered in searing flame-runes:
Name: Aira Emberveil
Level: 25
Title: Blazebound
Talent: Soulfire Chains
The room fell deathly still.
"She's awakened it," the leader whispered.
Another councilor trembled. "The chains haven't been seen since the Fall of Velthar. She may be—"
"—the true heir to the Flame Goddess."
The councilor stood.
"Send the Ember Knights."
---
Aira's Vision
That night, Aira sat alone beside the cooling stones, staring into the flicker of her campfire. She felt something tugging at her mind—a whisper, a call.
She closed her eyes… and dreamed.
She stood in a field of eternal embers. In the center stood the Fire Goddess, her form graceful and distant.
"You have taken your next step, Blazebound," she said.
"I'm not done yet," Aira replied.
The goddess nodded. "The Soulfire Chains were once worn by the first flame-bearer who sealed the Gate of Ashes. Now they are yours. But chains are not only
to bind others—they bind you, too."
"To what?"
"To duty. To sacrifice. To the flame's burden."
Aira didn't flinch. "I'll bear it."
The goddess smiled. "Then beware the price. Power always demands one."