Outer Quarters – Midnight
Smoke.
Thick. Acrid. Choking.
Ashen burst from the training yard as a roar of fire lit up the sky behind him. His humble quarters—one of the old stone dorms at the edge of the academy—was burning.
Students screamed, buckets flew, but it was too late.
The fire was too clean. Too fast.
Too intentional.
Ashen ran toward the blaze anyway.
"Alyra…!"
She had been the only one left behind. The only girl who still treated him like family. A servant's daughter, raised beside him in the Virelion palace ruins. Quiet. Loyal. His last tie to what little warmth he had left.
And now—
"ASHEN!!"
He saw her.
Alyra leaned from a second-story window, flames coiling around her hair, her voice cracking with terror.
Ashen didn't hesitate.
His scroll pulsed.
Emergency Technique Unlock Triggered – Intent Override
Condition: Defend "heart-tied companion" in mortal crisis
Breakstep Lunge – UNLOCKED
"When walls rise before you, become the storm that leaps through them."
Effect: Short-range explosive movement, enhanced leg force, stone-splitting footwork
Ashen launched himself upward like a cannon.
CRACK.
He shattered the wall beneath Alyra's window with his bare foot, catching her just as the flames swallowed the frame. He hit the ground hard, rolled once, and shielded her with his back as embers rained down.
Coughing. Crying. Alive.
But the world around them was not silent.
From across the courtyard...
A red-robed figure stood atop the wall.
Gareth Vann.
Smiling.
Clapping.
"Nice trick, fallen prince," he said. "Too bad your little rat house is gone. Let's see you crawl back into your hole now."
Ashen stared at him, Alyra weak in his arms.
"You set this fire…?"
"No. That would be illegal," Gareth said with a mock gasp. "But if a few outer scum got too cocky, and their lanterns accidentally tipped over during training... who could blame them?"
"Next time, Vale… I'll burn you instead."
He vanished.
Alyra, still shaking:
"You... y-you saved me…"
Ashen wiped soot from her cheeks, his jaw locked.
"I couldn't lose you too."
But his eyes weren't soft. They were glowing again—like coals lit from within.
That night, Ashen didn't sleep.
He didn't eat.
He sat in the ashes of his former life, staring into the flames, and made a decision.
"I'm done hiding."
The Next Day – Central Training Grounds
Ashen appeared in the middle of the sparring arena — the same one where he had first been mocked months ago. Dozens of students turned to stare, whispering.
He raised a hand toward the sky and spoke one word:
"Gareth Vann."
Gasps echoed.
Gareth stepped forward from the Inner Division line, clearly amused. "You want to duel me? After last night?"
"I want to humiliate you," Ashen said flatly. "In front of all of them."
Gareth's smile twitched.
"You'll regret this, filth."
Duel Initiated: Ashen Vale vs. Gareth Vann
– Rank: Stone Root vs. Vein Kindling 4th Layer
– Odds: 50:1 against Ashen
Gareth drew a blade, flame-forged and kissed with qi.
Ashen cracked his knuckles.
No weapon.
No technique scrolls.
Only the manual, and the will to crush mountains.
Fist of Scorching Faultlines – UNLOCKED
"The earth remembers every pain it has endured. Let your fist carry its memory."
Effect: Earth-enhanced strike, impact delay, tremor damage
Ashen vanished.
BOOM.
He appeared in front of Gareth mid-strike, palm open, fist clenched behind it.
One punch.
Not to the chest. Not to the face.
To the gut.
Gareth's body lifted off the ground.
Silence.
Then—
CRACK.
The shockwave hit five seconds later. Stone split under Gareth's boots. He crashed to the ground, gasping blood.
Ashen turned without a word, leaving behind gasping students and stunned instructors.
"Next time you burn something," he said quietly, "I'll burn everything you own in return."
Scroll Update:
Martial Vein: Awakened
Manual Stage: 5 of 32 Unlocked
Public Notoriety: Rising
Hidden Bloodline Status: Threat Detected