The black flame spiraled higher, tendrils licking the cracked jade walls.
It pulsed with something beyond demonic, beyond divine—a presence born before this era, before the heavens had laws.
Yu Meixing pressed closer to Liu Shen, sweat freezing to her brow.
> "We can't contain this…"
Liu Shen didn't answer.
He stared into the spiraling abyssal fire, where a pair of violet eyes slowly formed—ancient and cunning.
> "You should have left me sealed," the voice echoed, deeper now.
"But I smelled your flame. Felt your hatred."
> "And I knew... a worthy heir had come."
---
The Flamekeeper Arrives
In a streak of crimson light, Flamekeeper Linya descended through the roof of the jade hall.
The very air bent around her presence as she landed beside Liu Shen and Yu Meixing, robes aflame with divine sigils.
She spoke without preamble.
> "Step back, both of you."
Liu Shen didn't move.
> "So you knew what was beneath this hall."
> "We all did," she replied grimly. "And we all agreed never to speak of it again."
> "Qin Wuhen isn't just a sovereign. He is a sin of Heaven that lived."
The flame around her hands crackled brighter.
> "And if he awakens, this continent will burn."
---
The Sovereign Below Speaks
The voice from the seal laughed.
> "And yet... it was you who broke me, Liu Shen."
> "Your flame resonated with mine. Your soul... born of rebellion. Molded by betrayal."
> "You are not a sovereign. You are a heretic king, just like I was."
Liu Shen's eyes narrowed.
Something within him pulsed in answer.
His serpent flame curled toward the black flame—not in opposition, but in recognition.
Yu Meixing gasped as the flames touched.
For a heartbeat, the jade ruins became a vision of another world:
A throne in the void.
A serpent god chained in silence.
A king of fire, cast down for disobedience.
---
A Choice Made in Fire
Flamekeeper Linya thrust her palm toward the seal.
A Heavenly Flame Pillar descended from the sky—meant to reseal the prison.
Liu Shen stepped in its path.
> "Don't."
> "You've sealed truth long enough."
Linya's eyes widened.
> "You'd risk everything? Do you know what lies beneath?"
Liu Shen's gaze burned.
> "Heaven already hunts me.
My past life was buried by liars.
This 'sect' raised a slave army and called it peace."
He turned to the abyss.
> "Qin Wuhen. You want my flame? Then show me your truth."
---
Pact of Flame and Void
The black fire surged, engulfing Liu Shen.
Yu Meixing screamed. Linya drew her sword—
—but stopped as she saw Liu Shen's form still standing within the voidflame.
The Sovereign below whispered:
> "A drop of memory. A spark of madness.
I give it freely... to my successor."
A tendril of darkness coiled around Liu Shen's wrist.
> A Mark. Not a brand. A pact between sovereigns.
> "Take my sin, and bear my curse."
> "And in return... burn the heavens that betrayed us both."
---
The Pact is Sealed
The jade floor cracked entirely.
The seal shattered into light.
But instead of unleashing a monster, the flames condensed—
—and entered Liu Shen's soul core.
A new mark burned on his back: twin serpents, one crimson, one black, coiling around a broken crown.
His aura shifted.
He no longer stood as a man defying Heaven.
He now stood as one who might replace it.