The mountain peak was quiet again.
The shattered sanctum lay in pieces, the broken glass embers still glowing faintly across the stone.
Jiang Han sat beneath a crooked ember tree, Sovereign Emberfang resting beside him.
He wasn't injured—but his soul felt heavy.
A weight not from battle, but from contact. Sharing his flame had formed a bond—not just with Tian Xue, but with the Sovereign Flame itself.
And it had seen him.
---
Tian Xue stirred in Lin Yao's care. Her breathing was steady now. Her skin no longer glowed with unstable fire, though her irises still shimmered with a faint gold-white hue.
When her eyes opened, her gaze locked immediately on Jiang Han.
> "I saw it."
Her voice was stronger than expected. Calmer.
> "Saw what?" Jiang asked, rising.
She looked up at the burned sky.
> "The last universe you tried to save."
Yue tensed. Zhao Kai stopped mid-movement.
Even Bo Ren's walking stick tapped to a halt.
> "You saw my past life?" Jiang said carefully.
Tian Xue nodded once.
> "Not just yours."
"I saw a world… split by Sovereigns."
"Not one. Not two. Twelve."
> "Each carrying a piece of the Prime Flame."
"Each one… fallen."
The wind whipped suddenly across the mountaintop.
> "And I saw one still alive."
"The Twelfth Flame. Hidden beyond the Immortal Veil."
"Waiting."
Jiang Han frowned. "For what?"
Tian Xue met his eyes.
> "For someone strong enough to merge the broken flames."
> "To become the First Flame King in ten thousand eras."
---
The Flamewheel Prophecy
Bo Ren unrolled one of his spirit parchments. "The Flamewheel…" he muttered.
Jiang turned to him. "You've heard of it?"
Bo nodded. "An ancient soul-rot legend. The Flamewheel Prophecy."
He quoted slowly:
> When twelve fall and none rise,
when stars blacken and realms collide,
one spark reborn shall walk their ash,
and wield the fire of all that's passed.
Yue's expression darkened. "And now we know it's not a myth."
Zhao Kai cracked his knuckles. "So what's this Twelfth Flame hiding from? Or waiting for?"
Tian Xue answered quietly.
> "It's waiting for the Immortal Realm to collapse."
Everyone turned to her.
She continued, voice steady.
> "In the vision, I saw the heavens—cracking. Laws unraveling. Immortal bodies breaking under flames they can't absorb."
> "The Twelfth is the last piece of balance. And it's dying."
> "Unless we find it first."
---
A Choice of Paths
Back at the Flame Shrine, the group gathered.
Tian Xue now sat beside the sacred altar, her flame stabilized, her presence calm but deeper—like a still lake over molten earth.
She looked to Jiang Han.
> "You could run."
"Rebuild your sect. Defend this world."
"Or… you could do what only you can."
> "Chase the Twelfth Flame."
"And unite what was never meant to be whole again."
Jiang Han looked around the shrine.
At his friends.
At the symbol he'd drawn days ago: Flame March Begins.
Now, something deeper burned in his chest.
> Not just survival.
Not just revenge.
Purpose.
He looked at Tian Xue.
"I'll go."
Bo Ren nodded. "Then we'll prepare the gate."
---
Mission Unlocked: The Flamewheel Path
> New Quest: The Flamewheel Path – Seek the Twelfth Flame
Realm Target: Outer Chaos Sector
Location: Lost Realm of Vel'Tharuun
Objective: Recover the last Sovereign Flame
Threat Level: Unknown
Time Remaining: Unknown
Rewards: ???
Penalty: Collapse of Flame Sovereign Legacy
---
As the portal glyphs began forming beneath the shrine, Zhao Kai slapped Jiang Han's shoulder.
"You know, I was hoping for a nice, slow life. Bow training, cute sect girls, maybe some fried rice."
Yue scoffed. "You don't eat rice."
Lin Yao smiled. "He's lying. He likes spicy soup."
Zhao shrugged. "Whatever. We're going to save the multiverse now. Guess it's time I started acting like a hero."
Jiang Han looked at them all.
The family he'd forged.
Then at Tian Xue.
The soul he'd saved.
And finally at the portal glowing before him.
He stepped through without hesitation.
> And fire followed.