The scent of blood mingled with crushed lotus petals.
Shen Li knelt beneath the silver glow of the moon, breath shallow, robes soaked in crimson. His fingers trembled around the hilt of his shattered sword. Behind him, the ceremonial altar still burned with the remnants of forbidden fire—a fire he had risked everything to control.
And beside him stood the one person he never expected to strike him down.
Mu Yiran.
Her hand still held the blade. His blood dripped from it like melted ice.
"…Why?" he asked, voice rough, cracking. "You said… we'd ascend together…"
Mu Yiran didn't flinch. Her eyes, once filled with warmth, were colder than frost.
"You were never meant to pass the trial, Shen Li," she said softly. "You were just the key. The Flame Tower only awakens for one. And I won't share its power."
His heart shattered louder than his sword had.
He coughed, dark blood splattering the ground, mixing with the runes he had inscribed for the trial. The symbols pulsed faintly, dying along with his qi.
So this was it?After ten years of cultivation.After saving her life in the Icefire War.After… loving her?
"Don't look at me like that," she whispered. "You're too soft. Too emotional. That's why you could never become Immortal."
He smiled weakly. "Maybe. But I would've burned for you…"
She stepped back as his body collapsed.
Shen Li felt coldness claim his limbs. His core was broken. His meridians—shattered. The altar's flames had died, the runes faded. He was alone now.
No…Not alone.
Something stirred within him.
A pulse.
A heat.
Then, a voice.
[Eternal Flame Tower has recognized Host: Shen Li][System initializing… Soul compatibility: 99.7%][Awakening Floor One: Heartflame Bond Initiated]
His eyes widened as searing heat erupted from his chest, burning through his broken meridians, flooding him with life. Pain laced with something else—something deeper.
Emotion.
Memories surged—of laughter, tears, the warmth of touch, the ache of yearning.
Then… her.
But not Mu Yiran.
Another woman. A stranger.
Silver hair like moonlight. Cold eyes hiding sorrow. Standing amidst falling snow, reaching out with trembling fingers. A vision. A prophecy?
[Bond Detected: Yan Yue – Emotionless Flame Candidate][Would you like to begin the Trial of the First Flame?]
Shen Li gasped as light exploded from his body. The ground cracked. Runes reignited with blood-red fire. Mu Yiran turned in horror.
"What… what did you do?! That power—it's mine!"
Shen Li rose to his feet, eyes glowing ember-gold.
He looked at her, and for the first time, felt nothing.
[Initiating Trial: Betrayer shall be judged.][Flame Level: 0 — Permission granted for retribution.]
Mu Yiran's scream vanished beneath the roar of fire.
When he opened his eyes again, the world was different.
He stood inside a vast chamber of red crystal and floating platforms—the interior of the Eternal Flame Tower. Dozens of floors spiraled into infinity above, each glowing with locked symbols.
A flame spirit hovered before him—an ancient figure cloaked in robes of smoke and fire.
"You have been chosen, Shen Li," it intoned. "Not by strength. Not by cruelty. But by the one thing cultivators fear."
"…Emotion?"
"Correct. Your heart is your weapon. Your bond, your ascension."
Shen Li clenched his fists. The ache of betrayal still throbbed—but so did something new. Purpose.
"What must I do?"
The spirit's eyes blazed. "Find those who have been broken like you. Rekindle their flames. Desire. Trust. Lust. Love. Through them, you will climb."
"And if I fail?"
"You will burn in your own longing."
Back in the real world, Shen Li's body stood atop the ruined altar, surrounded by ash and silence. The mark of the Eternal Flame burned across his chest—an ethereal symbol shaped like a blooming lotus wrapped in fire.
Mu Yiran was gone. Her trail—cold.
But Shen Li no longer chased her shadow.
He turned north. Toward the frozen lands beyond the sect. Toward a name whispered by the tower.
Yan Yue.
[Trial of the First Flame: In Progress][Objective: Awaken Emotion in the Iceblade Assassin][Warning: Intimacy Required. Emotional and/or Physical Contact Necessary.][Failure to bond = Trial Failure = Flame Extinguished.]
Shen Li smiled faintly.
"If love is my path… then I'll make the world burn for it."