The wind howled over the cracked plains of the **Ember Wastes**.
Kye stood at the edge of a broken ridge, his black training cloak whipping behind him, and stared down into a field of **scorched bones** and **charred stone idols**, half-melted from centuries of war.
Beside him stood two other figures.
One was **Instructor Velden**, eyes sharp behind his enchanted lenses, hands glowing faintly with flame warding runes.
The other was **Riza Maerlin**—a second-year War Mage apprentice, head shaved on one side, her right arm wrapped in flameweave cloth. She didn't speak much, but Kye had noticed her watching him during training.
Not with curiosity.
With **calculation**.
Velden unrolled a burning scroll that hovered in midair.
"The target is a former priest of the Flame Monastery," he said. "Name: Orien Dull. Former mid-tier summoner. Expelled for using **Witchfire mimicry**."
Kye blinked. "You can fake Witchfire?"
"Not well," Riza muttered. "And not without losing your sanity."
Velden nodded. "Reports say he's holed up in an old ritual site. Used to be Kael's battleground during the Last Eastern Purge."
That name again.
Kael.
It always came back to him.
"Why send *me*?" Kye asked. "I'm still barely figuring out how not to explode."
Velden looked at him. "Because you don't need to fake Witchfire. And the moment Orien sees it in you—he'll try to feed on it. Which gives us a perfect opening."
Riza cracked her knuckles. "We'll take care of him before he drains anything."
Kye raised an eyebrow. "You always this cheerful on murder missions?"
Riza smirked. "Only when I get to babysit celebrity corpses."
Kye grinned despite himself. "Cute. Hope you can keep up, sidekick."
She flicked a spark of fire at him. He dodged it.
Velden rolled his eyes. "Enough flirting. Move out."
---
The ritual site was a ruined temple, half-buried in volcanic glass. Blackened spires jutted out like ribs. Ancient runes still whispered across the stone—mostly broken, but one or two still glowed faintly red.
"Is this… cursed?" Kye asked.
"Yes," Velden said.
"You could've led with that."
They split—Riza moving through the eastern arch, Velden circling north.
Kye went straight in.
As soon as he stepped past the threshold, he felt the **air change**.
Heavier. Thicker. Like walking through smoke made of memory.
> **\[Witchfire Sensory Trigger: Presence Detected – Anomaly Status: Unstable Soulfire Signature]**
> *Target: Orien Dull – Estimated Combat Level: Inconsistent (Insanity Risk High)*
Kye drew in a breath and activated his Witchfire.
The red sigil on his chest pulsed. His vision shimmered.
And he saw **him**.
A tall, skeletal man in shredded robes stood in the center of the ritual pit, flame bleeding from his empty eye sockets. He swayed like a dying candle, arms outstretched toward a broken altar.
When he spoke, the words echoed in **three voices at once**.
> "The Betrayer has returned…"
Kye stepped forward. "You're Orien Dull?"
The priest turned.
His face was cracked porcelain, mouth stitched with flame. "No. I am what your power abandoned."
He raised his hand.
Flames shot out—not normal flames.
These were black and purple, **screaming** as they came.
Kye dove to the side, rolling behind a stone slab.
Riza's voice crackled through the comm sigil embedded in his collar.
> "Contact! I see the flare—engaging from east side!"
Velden followed: "Maintain distance. Don't let him touch your core flame. If he links—he drains."
Kye clenched his jaw.
He had two options.
Hide… or *fight fire with fire.*
He stood up, raised his palm—and *meant it*.
> **\[Instinct Spell: Ember Chain Triggered]**
> *Effect: Targets flame frequency and binds unstable magic within a suppression loop.*
Red fire snapped from his hand, wrapping around Orien's attack like a chain made of heat.
The priest **screamed**, stumbling backward, arms twitching.
But instead of retreating… he **opened his mouth**.
And from it poured a **second flame**—one that looked eerily similar to Kye's Witchfire.
The system screamed:
> **\[Warning: Mirror Flame Detected – Witchfire Resonance Detected]**
> *Synchronization breach imminent – activate Core Rejection?*
Kye hesitated.
He didn't know what Core Rejection was.
But if he waited—
The flame hit him.
It didn't burn.
It *pierced.*
Memories not his own slammed into his mind.
Kael, kneeling in blood. Kael, standing before a burning cathedral. Kael, smiling at a boy with his same face and saying:
> *"One day, you'll thank me for surviving."*
Kye's breath caught.
His own flame **erupted outward**, shielding him instinctively.
> **\[Witchfire Trait Evolved: Bloodbrand Flame → Searing Echo]**
> *Now reflects 10% of soul-linked magic back to source with identity corruption.*
The mirror flame twisted—then slammed back into Orien's body.
He exploded.
Not into blood. Not into fire.
Into a cloud of screaming ash.
Riza and Velden arrived seconds later.
They stared at the soot swirling above Kye like black snow.
Velden looked stunned. "He tried to soul-link… and it **killed him**."
Riza stepped beside Kye. "What did you do?"
Kye stared at his hands.
"I didn't fight him," he said quietly.
"I *returned* him."