The High Flame Citadel was a masterpiece of arcane design—pillars of molten stone, bridges of solid fire, and inner chambers that pulsed with the heartbeat of the realm's flame leyline. Yet beneath all its grandeur, there was tension.
And Aira felt it the moment she arrived.
The Trial of Flame Judgment had ended only hours ago. She had stood before the entire Flame Council, endured their scrutiny, passed every test, and walked out not broken—but elevated. Whispers had already begun.
"The Blazebound walks again."
"She commands Soulfire, like the legends."
"A child of fire, or its herald?"
But not everyone was pleased.
---
The Eyes That Burn
Inside the Hall of Ascension, Aira sat alone, watching the enchanted embers swirl through the air like fireflies. Her new rank—Flamebound Adept—granted her access to training halls, libraries, and resources long hidden from the world. She should've felt triumphant.
Instead, she felt watched.
Her instincts whispered danger. Not magical. Human. Subtle.
She rose and left the hall.
---
Meanwhile: The Enemy Moves
In a hidden chamber beneath the Citadel, masked figures gathered. Seven in total, all wearing the insignia of the Black Ember Guild—a rogue organization of fire users who believed the Flame Council was obsolete and sought to control the leyline network for themselves.
"She's a threat," said the leader, voice muffled. "She unites divine flame with mortal will. If she stabilizes the Soulfire Line, our network collapses."
"Then we sabotage her," another said. "Quietly. Publicly. Her rise must become her ruin."
Plans formed quickly.
1. False allies planted in her escort.
2. Sabotaged missions near unstable flame relics.
3. A forged prophecy to turn public opinion.
Their goal was simple: isolate, discredit, eliminate.
---
The First Encounter
Aira's first assignment as a Flamebound Adept came the next day—a relic inspection mission to the dormant Flame Cradle beneath Mount Veyra. It was a simple task, accompanied by three other adepts from the Citadel.
Or so it seemed.
She met them at dawn: a quiet girl named Sylin, a loud-mouthed brawler named Brakk, and a stoic mage named Talver. All three wore Council badges and greeted her respectfully. But something about them set her on edge.
Too perfect. Too polite.
Still, she went.
---
Mount Veyra – The Cradle of Flame
Their descent into the ancient forge halls was uneventful—at first. Stone steps melted into glowing paths of long-dormant lava rivers. The Cradle was a sacred place, said to hold remnants of the First Flame.
Aira walked at the front, her chains humming softly with anticipation.
Talver approached quietly. "I heard about your feats. Spiral Vault. Mirrorflame. The Council must be watching you closely."
"Maybe," Aira replied. "Or waiting."
"Which do you prefer?"
"Neither."
Brakk laughed behind them. "You sound like a Councilor already."
But then—the air changed.
Suddenly, a crack echoed behind them. The support rune on the main bridge shattered without warning.
Brakk stumbled. "The hell?!"
Lava surged upward through broken seals. Fire spirits roared awake—elemental guardians, angry at the disruption.
Talver cursed. "It's waking the Forgebound!"
"Back!" Aira shouted. "Now!"
But instead of retreating—Brakk threw a flame grenade directly at the awakening relic.
Aira saw it too late.
The explosion rocked the chamber, awakening a massive Forgebound Elemental, forged of ancient obsidian and soul-iron, its face a furnace, its arms molten hammers.
"Why would you—" Aira turned to Brakk.
His eyes had gone cold. "Sorry, Blazebound. Wrong place, wrong time."
They weren't here to help. They were here to kill her.
---
Aira vs. the Saboteurs
She acted on instinct.
Two Soulfire Chains lashed out, binding Brakk's legs and arms mid-leap. She yanked him back just as his second bomb exploded harmlessly in the air.
Sylin vanished in smoke—assassin-style.
Talver unleashed a barrage of searing flame runes, not at the elemental—but at Aira.
"You were too dangerous the moment you took that title," he spat.
Aira blocked the first two spells with a flame barrier, then flung her chains wide—binding one to Talver, the other into the ceiling above him.
She jerked downward, slamming his body into the stone below.
Brakk screamed, breaking free with brute strength, and rushed her—until she activated Soulburn: Soulshock Bind. The chains lit with white fire and wrapped around his torso, severing his inner mana circulation.
He dropped, unconscious.
But Sylin—Sylin was still loose.
---
The Blade in the Dark
Aira had seconds to breathe.
Then she felt it: the telltale flicker of a stealth flame signature behind her. She spun—too late.
Sylin emerged from shadow-flame, twin daggers aimed for Aira's spine.
But the Flame of Self kicked in.
Aira's mind narrowed into perfect clarity.
She reversed her step, pivoted, and let the dagger graze her armor—then locked Sylin in a full six-chain bind, every link wrapping her mid-air.
"Who sent you?" Aira growled.
Sylin smiled despite the burn marks. "You already know. And you can't stop them."
---
Aftermath and Fallout
After neutralizing the threat and pacifying the Forgebound with her own flame aura, Aira returned to the Citadel dragging the saboteurs in chains.
They were exposed. Questioned. Imprisoned.
But under magical truth binding, all three revealed the same truth:
> "We were sent by the Black Ember Guild. Orders were clear: make her look like a relic saboteur or kill her in the collapse."
The Council's chambers were in uproar. Some wanted to declare the Guild enemies of flame. Others whispered fearfully.
"If the Guild's agents can reach into the Citadel's own ranks…"
Aira stood before them all.
"I will deal with the Black Ember Guild. But I will not be your pawn to do it. Give me the authority, or I'll burn a path through them on my own."
The Head Councilor stared at her.
Then nodded.
"So be it. You are hereby granted the title of Flame Seeker. Root them out. Purge their fire."
---
Closing: A Shadow's Warning
That night, alone in her room, Aira felt a strange heat in the air.
She turned—finding a message rune burning itself into her wall.
The flame whispered as it wrote:
> "This was only the
beginning. The next time we come… we won't fail. We will turn your chains against you, Blazebound. Fire answers to no master—not even you."
Aira narrowed her eyes.
"Then I'll burn louder."