Chapter 15 – The New Flame
> "The Fire of Genesis isn't destruction—it's survival incarnate. To burn is to live."
The memory came like a spark inside Vaibhav's chest. Lin Xuan's voice, quiet but absolute, echoed in the molten wind that blew across Ignis Valley.
He sat cross-legged beside a lava stream, heat rippling the air around him. Each breath he took shimmered red. Sweat rolled down his temple and vanished mid-fall, turning into mist before it could touch the obsidian rock.
Inside his core, the flame pulsed — wild, flickering, restless.
He exhaled, shaping the energy through his palms. The fire gathered and split, forming two streams that curved like twin serpents, mirroring one another's every motion.
Mirror Pulse Technique.
The reflection of his own flame flickered before him, perfect and identical — not born from copying another, but from understanding himself.
From across the stream, Shin leaned on his staff, watching in uncharacteristic silence. The mischievous grin that usually lived on his face had faded, replaced by a quiet awe.
"…He's syncing his pulse," Shin murmured. "Like the flame has a heartbeat."
Alicia stood beside him, her silver hair glinting in the light. "He's finally stabilizing. The fire isn't rejecting him anymore."
Vaibhav's eyes opened. Twin embers glowed inside. "Not rejecting," he said softly. "It's listening."
The moment shattered with a shriek — a blur of crimson feathers tearing through the sky.
The Crimson Hawkling dove down, its molten beak aimed straight at them.
Vaibhav moved before thinking. Flames burst from his hands, twisting into a mirrored spiral. The air screamed as the twin vortexes collided with the beast's talons mid-dive. The explosion scattered molten droplets like burning rain.
Alicia stepped forward, her blade glowing with reflected fire. "You take the left wing," she called.
"Got it!" Vaibhav replied, their movements syncing as if rehearsed a thousand times.
The Hawkling screeched and swung its tail — a whip of red feathers and steel-like bone. Vaibhav rolled under, countering with mirrored bursts that met at the creature's chest, collapsing into a single inferno.
Alicia lunged upward, cutting through its throat with clean precision.
The beast hit the ground, its wings twitching once before going still.
Then, vaibhav landed a final strike.
For a heartbeat, silence returned.
Then, glowing letters shimmered before Vaibhav's eyes —
> [Beast Spirit Acquired: Crimson Hawkling]
[+2 Exalted Power Points Gained]
He blinked — Confused. His flames pulsed brighter, absorbing the essence that rose like smoke from the corpse.
[+3 Exalted Power Points Gained]
Beside him, Alicia extended her hand to do the same. Nothing happened.
No light. No prompt. Only silence.
Her expression didn't change, but her fingers trembled for a second.
A memory surfaced — Lin Xuan's calm voice that night, the one she tried to bury.
> "You are not human, Alicia. You are a beast. You evolve differently — through Nexus Shards."
Her eyes dulled slightly, reflecting the Hawkling's corpse. "Right… I almost forgot," she whispered.
Shin broke the tension with his usual tone, tearing open a ration pack. "Training makes me hungry, Copy-cat."
Vaibhav smirked. "You're calling me Copy-cat? You're the one who mimics my warm-ups every morning."
Shin grinned wider. "Yeah, but I make it look cooler."
The laughter came easy — a rare thing in Ignis Prime.
They camped near Ignis Lake, a strange oasis framed by molten rock. The water glowed faintly red beneath the dimming light, rippling with heat but somehow alive with blooming Flame-Lotuses — petals of soft fire swaying in rhythm with the planet's pulse.
They roasted spirit-beast meat over a controlled ember circle, the air thick with the smell of charred spice.
For once, nobody trained. Nobody talked about survival or power. They just were.
Shin leaned back, staring into the flame. "You know," he said, voice quieter than usual, "back at K-High… people thought I joked because I didn't care. But truth is…" He shrugged. "It's easier to laugh than to cry."
Alicia looked up from the fire. "You never told us that."
"Didn't have to. You two already knew."
There was a pause — not awkward, just real.
Then Alicia smiled faintly. "You were the first person to stand up for us. Even when those senior Evolvers cornered me… you didn't even hesitate."
Shin scratched his neck. "Don't make it sound heroic. I just don't like bullies."
Vaibhav looked at them both, something warm spreading behind his chest — not fire, but something close. "Guess we're all bad at saying thank you."
They all laughed softly.
The red moon of Ignis Prime climbed above the horizon, its reflection trembling across the lava lake.
Vaibhav stood alone by the edge, the night wind hot but oddly comforting.
"For once," he whispered, "it feels like home."
The surface of the lake rippled — faint, but wrong. A vibration deep beneath, a hum that wasn't wind.
Far to the north, the horizon flickered — not with firelight, but dying embers, distant and fading.
A shadow passed through the glow. Something massive.
Vaibhav turned back toward camp, unease creeping in. "Did you feel that?"
Alicia's eyes narrowed. "Yeah."
By morning, the air was thick with smoke.
A drone scout brought news — a nearby Nexus Camp had gone dark overnight. No signals, no life signatures.
They moved quickly, the humor of last night gone.
The path grew darker as they approached — charred ground, twisted tents, the metallic stench of blood.
Bodies of Evolvers lay scattered, their armor melted into their flesh.
Shin knelt beside one, fingers trembling. "They were Exalted… they didn't even stand a chance."
Vaibhav swallowed hard. "Who could've done this?"
A low rumble answered him — deep and primal.
From the scorched trees emerged a beast that looked forged from the planet itself.
Crimson Horn Boar King.
Its tusks dripped molten ore, its hide split by glowing cracks where magma bled like veins.
Each step it took sank the ground.
Vaibhav's breath caught. His flames flickered, unstable.
"Mutated Mythic? We are... F*cked!" Shin whispered.
The creature's eyes glowed with hatred — a beast that had lived through pain and fire and turned both into hunger.
Alicia stepped forward, blades drawn, the air bending around her.
"We need to fall back."
"No time," Vaibhav said. His hand trembled, but he clenched it into a fist. "We'll never outrun it."
The Boar King roared — a sound that broke the clouds, shaking the ground beneath their feet.
In the chaos, Lin Xuan's voice returned — quiet, unshaken.
> "To burn is to live."
Something inside Vaibhav ignited — not fear, but clarity.
He drew in a breath, and the world slowed. The lava beneath his feet pulsed in rhythm with his heart.
He looked at his friends, then at the monster, and whispered, "Then let's live."
The flames burst upward, spiraling around him in mirrored arcs. The light turned the battlefield into a sea of red.
And somewhere, within that light — something ancient stirred.
> "The calm of Ignis Prime shattered — and The New Flame was finally lit."