The team moved fast now.
There was no more time for caution.
Every step brought them closer to the heart of the Valley—where the scorched earth began to melt into glass, and the stone itself shimmered with the memory of flame.
Kaelion's Core pulsed harder the nearer they drew.
Not in fear.
In recognition.
> [Falsebound Phoenix – Status: Semi-Conscious]
[Soul Core Fractured – Containment seal weakening]
[Residual flame traces matching: Primordial Origin Class.]
A wounded Class-C+ beast—yes.
But something older was buried beneath that title.
Kaelion could feel it.
A core signature that echoed something like his own.
---
They climbed the final ridge, and there—nestled in a massive crater of obsidian—lay the Phoenix.
Its wings were torn. Feathers like molten blades shifted weakly in the wind. Chains of divine metal still coiled around its legs and neck, ancient glyphs cracked and flickering.
Its eye opened slowly.
Golden flame. Endless age.
It didn't screech or roar.
It spoke.
Not in words.
In thought.
Kaelion stepped forward.
"I'm not here to chain you."
Silence.
Then—flame.
A pulse of heat erupted from the crater, launching a shockwave that shattered the surrounding cliffs. Sylva barely threw up a barrier in time. Cael hit the ground and rolled. Elira stood unmoved, her healing seals glowing in a wide radius.
Kaelion walked straight through the fire.
Unaffected.
> [System Sync Detected: Resonance Triggered]
[Warning: Phoenix Soul Flame attempting to bind to Host Core.]
[Accept Trial of the Dying Phoenix? Y/N]
He didn't hesitate.
"Yes."
---
The world changed.
Time shattered.
Kaelion was no longer in the crater—but in flame itself.
He stood inside a realm of fire and sky, before a younger version of the Phoenix—its form radiant, complete, and proud.
"You are not of this era," it said.
"No."
"You are not meant to break cores. You were born of something deeper. Older."
Kaelion nodded.
"Then prove it," the Phoenix challenged. "Bear my heart—and do not burn."
Its chest opened.
Revealing a core of pure solar fire, cracked and wounded.
Without fear, Kaelion stepped forward and pressed his hand into the flame.
Pain followed.
Not physical.
Existential.
The fire didn't scorch his skin. It scorched who he was.
It tore away illusion. Burned off weakness. Demanded identity.
Kaelion did not scream.
He did not fall.
He absorbed.
The fire bent inward.
> [System Update: Corebreaker Class Sync – 37% → 45%]
[Trait Gained: Sovereign Flame Core – Dormant State]
[Skill Acquired: Phoenix Echo – Once per battle, resurrect with 30% HP + Flame Pulse]
[Trial Passed.]
---
He opened his eyes.
He was back in the crater.
The Phoenix lay before him, eyes dim—but no longer burning with rage.
"You walk the edge of what should not be," the creature whispered.
"But you did not flinch."
Its body shimmered—then collapsed into light.
A single feather floated down, burning gold.
Kael caught it.
> [Item Gained: Heartplume of the Fallen Phoenix (Bound)]
[Bonus: Core Ascension Material]
---
But before they could breathe—
A ripple.
Not of flame.
Of shadow.
Ten figures stepped through the air above the crater—each cloaked in robes of ash, wearing horned masks etched with crimson runes.
Ashen Hand.
Not scouts.
Executioners.
And behind them—floating, not walking—was a figure wrapped in void silk, face veiled by a curtain of smoke.
Not masked.
Not human.
Kaelion felt it at once.
The same pressure he'd felt once before.
From deep in the memory of his birth.
> [Warning: Tier Unknown Entity Approaching]
[Designation: Shadeborn Apostle – Faction: ???]
[Intent: Acquire Corebreaker Host – Alive.]
---
The team fell into formation instinctively.
But Kaelion knew.
This wasn't a battle they could win by force.
He raised the Phoenix feather, tucked it into his cloak, and stepped forward, eyes like silver blades.
"You sent shadows."
He nodded at the Ashen cultists.
"They failed."
He pointed at the Apostle.
"You step now into my flame."
The Apostle said nothing.
But the world began to crackle.
A storm was coming.
And Kaelion would be ready.