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The five players circled me like predators around a wounded beast. Each of them radiated power — relic-tier armor, artifact-tier weapons, and combat auras that bent the dungeon's light around them. But I didn't step back. Ashborn's Core pulsed beneath my skin like a second heart, whispering to me.
> Burn them.
They seek to cage the flame.
Nestra was the first to speak again. "You might think that relic gives you power, but you don't even know what it is, do you?"
"I know enough," I said.
"Then you know it's cursed." She raised her hand, and an obsidian dragon formed behind her — spectral at first, then fully materialized with glowing red eyes and wings like razors. "We can cleanse you. Just hand it over."
I took a breath. The temperature around me rose by several degrees. The torches lining the chamber flared and extinguished.
> [Passive Activated: Ashborn's Aura - Intimidation effect against all enemies below Tier 6]
The tank, a man called Dran, took an involuntary step back. "What... what the hell is that pressure?"
"I don't think we're dealing with a solo player anymore," whispered another.
I let the flame rise. My right hand ignited — not with magic, but with something deeper. The Will of Ashborn. A flicker of war, of rebellion, of fire that refused to be extinguished.
> [Skill Unlocked: Flame Lash (Tier Unknown)]
[Cooldown: None]
[Effect: Converts ambient mana into a sentient fire whip. Damage scales with emotional resonance.]
I moved.
The whip cracked through the air and wrapped around the dragon's throat mid-roar. It screamed — not in pain, but in defiance. Fire against fire. The dungeon shook with the force of their summoned retaliation.
Nestra shouted, "Formation Delta—NOW!"
Spells exploded toward me. Arrows laced with freezing venom. Swords that shimmered with holy light. All of it converged.
I raised my hands and channeled what the Core was begging for.
> [Ashborn's Core - Emergency Trigger]
[Hellflare Ignition: 12% Complete… 38%… 76%…]
[WARNING: Conscious control diminishing.]
The firestorm erupted from within me. Not outward — but inward, folding time and space for a single moment. When the flames faded, only ashes remained where two of the attackers once stood. The others… barely alive.
I collapsed to one knee, chest heaving. My hands trembled.
"Too much," I whispered. "Too fast…"
But Ashborn whispered back:
> This is only the beginning.
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