The queen of the Eternal Flame Court stood high atop the obsidian dais, her cloak trailing embers behind her like wings. Queen Illyria's presence was commanding—she was tall, her skin bronze as molten gold, her eyes two burning suns. Behind her flared twin banners stitched from phoenix feathers and spiritflame silk.
Her voice echoed across the battlefield. "Welcome, King of Tempests. Welcome, would-be Flame Spirit."
Shego stepped forward beside Shin, her steps defiant.
"You stand upon sacred ground. The flames here have burned since the first ember. The Trial you seek is not given. It is earned."
Shin met her gaze with unwavering calm. "Then let it be earned."
Illyria's lips curled, neither warm nor cruel. "The first test will be a defensive battle. The Eternal Flame Court itself shall be the battlefield. You may use only the troops you brought with you."
Meliodas cracked his neck. "Sounds fun."
"Hold out for the allocated time," Illyria continued. "If you succeed, you will take one step closer to meeting the Empress of Eternal Flame."
She turned slightly, her flame-wreathed spear striking the obsidian ground with a note like a thunderclap. "Good luck. You'll need it."
The sky above trembled.
[Warning, Master,] Heart announced. [Trial parameters locked. Summoning field detected. Hostile forces inbound within sixty seconds.]
[Participants: You, Shego, Meliodas, Phantomfox, Merlin, and the Phoenix Mage Core.]
Shin's expression didn't waver. "Deploy everyone into a defensive formation. Mage Core behind, Phantomfox on the right flank. Shego—centerline with Meliodas."
[Formation locked. Initiating battlefield enchantment.]
The ground rippled with glowing red runes. Channels of spiritual fire laced through the obsidian as heat pulsed from the horizon.
Shin drew in a deep breath and summoned his aura. A storm of wind and lightning wrapped around him, but the flames did not recede—they welcomed him, flickering like serpents greeting a kindred beast.
"Let's make this count."
The first wave came like a tsunami of fire-born beasts—hellhounds stitched from magma, flame serpents with smoke-forged fangs, and titanic salamanders with ember eyes.
Meliodas was the first to move. His grin wide, he tore through the front lines with reckless precision. Each swing of his blade left burning echoes, cleaving monsters in half as laughter danced on his lips.
Phantomfox blurred through the battlefield, tails slicing like whips, illusions confusing the enemies long enough for enchanted spears from the Phoenix Mage Core to pin them in place.
Shego was a whirlwind—every punch detonated with force, every kick trailed searing green flame. Her aura thickened, her power climbing with each moment. The change within her was accelerating.
"Shin!" she shouted. "I can feel it. The flame—it's calling me!"
"I know," he said, his voice like a storm's promise. "Don't run from it. Let it burn."
The battle raged for what felt like hours, though the court's magic made time uncertain. For each beast they felled, two more rose from the chasms around the battlefield.
But Shin had seen worse.
"Heart. How much time remains?"
[Three minutes.]
"Conserve spells. Focus on keeping our core safe."
A particularly massive beast—flame-cloaked and armored in obsidian—charged the center.
Shin moved.
He shot forward like lightning incarnate, his spear of tempest piercing its molten skull with a thunderous crack. The explosion sent glassed sand across the battlefield, a crater left in his wake.
But still, the waves surged.
[Warning. The final wave is approaching. Signal spike detected.]
Shego stumbled, flames rippling from her skin. Her body was changing, molten veins glowing along her arms, her hair dancing like fire-touched silk.
"I—can't hold it," she growled.
"Yes, you can." Shin stepped beside her, one hand on her shoulder. "You're not a Phoenix. You're something else. Something stronger."
The flames around her surged, responding not just to pain—but to identity.
Shego screamed.
Not in agony—but in release.
Her body blazed, her clothes burned away, and were replaced with molten-woven battlewear. Her eyes glowed with white fire.
She had become a Flame Spirit.
And her first act was annihilation.
With a scream that cracked the heavens, Shego unleashed a wave of emerald fire so potent that the final wave disintegrated mid-charge.
Silence followed.
Only the steady crackle of lingering fire remained.
[Trial complete,] Heart confirmed. [Queen Illyria approaching.]
Illyria descended from her dais like a comet of purpose.
She stopped before Shego and Shin, her face unreadable.
"You've held the line. Fought as one. And awakened something ancient."
Her eyes narrowed on Shego. "You are no Phoenix. You are the Flame given will—the Spiritborn Ember. Rarer. Fiercer."
She looked at Shin, and for the first time, there was a flicker of something like respect.
"You've passed the first trial. There are two more before the Empress will receive you."
She turned, her voice trailing with finality. "Rest. Prepare. The flame does not favor the unworthy."
She vanished in a burst of spiraling fire.
Later, as the fire-drenched court settled into uneasy quiet, Shego collapsed into Shin's arms, her skin glowing faintly with residual energy.
"You proud of me, Daddy?"
Shin smiled, brushing a streak of soot from her cheek. "I always was."
[Master,] Heart murmured, [her evolution is complete. Your bond has deepened.]
[And your legend… burns brighter.]
Shin looked toward the ember-streaked horizon.
Two trials remained.
But already, the world was shifting.
And the fire had only just begun.
Shin looked toward the ember-streaked horizon, his arms still wrapped around Shego's lithe, flame-wreathed form. Her breathing was steady now, but her body still glowed like a furnace with barely contained power.
[Master,] Heart's voice resonated softly in his mind, [the Trial of Flames was only the beginning. The Empress has sent word.]
"Oh?" Shin murmured aloud. "She noticed us."
[Yes. Your next trial awaits at the Ember Crucible.]
He raised an eyebrow. "And the overseer?"
There was a pause—uncharacteristic for Heart.
[They have not revealed a name. Only a title.]
Shin's eyes narrowed, anticipation stirring in his gut.
[The one who watches the Crucible is called… the Ashbound Judge.]
At those words, a ripple of dread touched the Eternal Flame Court.
Even Illyria, still watching from her throne of scorched glass, lifted her head slightly—just enough to suggest even she did not envy those who would stand before the Ashbound Judge.
Shin's smile returned. Sharper now. Hungrier.
"Then I suppose we'll see how deep the fire goes."
And above them, as if answering the challenge, a massive eye of flame flickered open in the sky—watching.
Waiting.
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A/N
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