The air in the safehouse thickened with heat and tension.
Three armed soldiers.
Two exhausted defenders.
One unstable power burning in Lian's chest.
Raine stepped in front of him again, blades crossed.
"Lian," she whispered, "stay behind me. Your power is rising too fast."
"But you said I need to guide it—"
"Yes. Guide, not explode."
She shot him a sharp glance. "Right now you're a walking ember bomb."
The soldiers advanced in synchronized formation.
The leader spoke first.
"Ember Heir Lian Hart, surrender. You carry the core signature. You belong to the Order."
Lian felt his stomach drop.
"The Order? I don't even know you people!"
"You were never meant to," the soldier answered.
"Your family hid you."
Raine stiffened. "Don't tell him anything."
But Lian grabbed her arm.
"No. Raine… I need to hear this."
The leader's helmet whirred as he analyzed Lian's reaction.
"Your father was the last bearer of the Ember Core. He vanished seventeen years ago. But the energy signature resurfaced tonight—in you."
"My… father?"
Lian's voice cracked.
"He died in an accident."
"That was the lie they gave you."
The ember inside Lian pulsed violently—heat rising like a fever.
Raine stepped between them, furious.
"That's enough! He's not ready for this—"
The leader lifted his weapon.
"Your interference is irrelevant."
The soldiers moved.
The Clash
Raine blocked two blades at once, her body twisting with practiced precision. Sparks exploded around her.
The third soldier lunged for Lian again.
Lian raised his hands.
"Stop!"
The ember inside him burst outward in a shock of red light—raw, uncontrolled.
The soldier skidded back, armor scorched.
But the heat didn't fade this time.
It overflowed.
It climbed up Lian's arms, across his chest, down to his fingertips.
He gasped, trying to cool the burning beneath his skin.
"Raine… I can't—"
"I know!" she yelled, dodging another strike. "You're overloading. Slow your breath!"
Lian tried.
Inhale—too hot.
Exhale—still rising.
The energy crackled around him.
The Breaking Point
The soldiers regrouped.
Their helmets folded open, revealing metallic implants that glowed red—like living circuitry.
"Target nearing unstable threshold. Containment required."
They aimed their gauntlets at Lian.
Red targeting beams locked onto his chest.
Raine's eyes widened.
"Lian! MOVE!"
But the energy inside him reached its limit.
A jagged ray of ember fire erupted straight into the ceiling, splitting the metal and blasting fragments across the room.
The soldiers shielded themselves.
Raine was thrown backward.
And Lian—
Lian collapsed to his knees, gasping, vision blurring.
"I… can't stop it…"
The ember inside him raged like a beast.
Pain shot through every nerve.
Then—
A hand touched his shoulder.
Raine's.
The heat around him faded instantly, dampened by her shimmering blue aura.
"Focus on my voice," she said, breathless. "Breathe with me. Don't fight the fire—shape it."
Lian's vision cleared enough to see her face—determined, calm, unwavering.
He followed her breath.
Slow.
Steady.
Controlled.
The ember responded.
The fire inside him coiled inward.
The overload stabilized.
The soldiers saw this—and moved in again.
Raine stood up, pulling Lian behind her.
"It's over," the leader said.
"He is ours."
"No," Raine answered, eyes glowing.
For the first time, Lian saw fear flicker in the soldiers' posture.
Raine stepped forward, aura blazing like a silent storm.
"You don't get to take him," she said.
"Not again."
The Escape
She slammed her blades into the ground.
A pulse of blue light blasted outward, forming a concussive wave that hurled the soldiers across the room. Their armor cracked; their helmets shorted out.
Raine grabbed Lian's arm.
"Up. We're leaving. Now."
"But the safehouse—"
"Forget it. It's compromised."
She pulled him toward a hidden hatch under the console.
A narrow tunnel descended into darkness.
Lian hesitated.
"Raine… that thing they called me—
'Ember Heir'…
is it true?"
Raine looked back at him, expression heavy.
"You weren't supposed to find out like this."
She exhaled.
"Yes, Lian."
"You carry the same power your father once did."
Lian felt the ember pulse inside him—as if recognizing the truth.
"And if they capture you," Raine continued quietly, "they'll use you to resurrect the Ember Core."
Lian swallowed.
"What happens if they succeed?"
Raine held his gaze.
"The world burns."