Ash woke to the smell of burning flesh.
Not the kind from roast stalls—the acrid stench of death. It clung to his hair, his skin, even his teeth. He sat up coughing, firelight flickering across the alley's broken stones. Somewhere in the distance, screams echoed. Buildings crumbled. The southern merchant quarter of Ashborne was no more.
And he was alive. Somehow.
Then he saw it.
Etched into his chest, glowing through the tears in his bloodstained shirt: a jagged sigil, shaped like a fractured sun. It pulsed faintly with red-orange light, like embers waiting for breath.
Ash scrambled to his feet. His heart slammed.
"What the hell…"
He pulled his shirt down, touched the mark—it was hot, but not burning. His fingers trembled. He hadn't been wounded. He hadn't seen this before. And yet it was there, alive on his skin.
> [Voidflame Core recognized. Compatibility: 92%. Initiating bind.]
The voice snapped into his head. Cold. Mechanical. Inhuman.
"Who said that?"
> [System initialization complete. Welcome, Marked Host. Voidflame permissions unlocked: Tier Zero.]
Ash backed away. His mind reeled. A system? Like in the old rogue tales? That was impossible—those were just myths. He was a thief, not some chosen hero.
"I don't want this," he hissed.
> [Desire irrelevant. Bind confirmed. Awakening protocols commence. Objective: Ascend or perish.]
And then the pain hit.
Like molten chains threading through his veins. He screamed, collapsing against a broken wall. His chest burned—not from fire, but from within.
Images flooded his mind: a throne of ash, a god with no face, entire cities devoured in flame.
He gasped—and then, the world snapped into clarity.
Around him, time had slowed. His senses sharpened. He heard footsteps—a patrol—before they turned the corner. Smelled their sweat and blood. Six guards. Searching.
> [Voidflame Skill Unlocked: Ashwalk (Rank F) – Phase through flame or smoke. Duration: 3 seconds.]
Ash blinked. He didn't hesitate.
Smoke billowed nearby from a collapsed wagon. He ran straight toward it. As he entered the smoke, something clicked in his chest.
And his body vanished into the haze.
He reappeared on the other side, gasping. Whole. Unseen. The guards passed without noticing.
He stared at his hands.
The system was real. The power was real.
He was no longer just a thief.
---
Ash fled deeper into the ruins. The sigil kept pulsing. Whenever he passed through flame or shadow, it fed him more whispers.
> [Mark stable. Progression rate: 4%. Skill unlock: Ember Pulse (Rank F) – Push kinetic shockwave from palm. Cooldown: 30 sec.]
He tested it in the ruins of a bakery. Pointed his hand. Focused.
A blast of heat and wind exploded from his palm, sending crates flying.
He laughed. Madly.
"Alright, then. If I have this power… I'll use it."
---
At midnight, he found a survivor camp near the cratered cathedral. Bandits had taken control—three of them threatening a young girl for food. Ash didn't care at first. He was no savior.
Then the girl screamed his name.
"ASH!"
His heart twisted. He recognized her—Lina, the baker's daughter. He'd stolen bread from her father a dozen times. She always gave him an extra piece.
The bandits laughed. One raised a knife.
> [Danger confirmed. Combat engaged. Voidflame Initiate Protocols: ON.]
Ash surged forward.
The first bandit lunged. Ash sidestepped, slammed Ember Pulse into his gut. The man flew ten feet and didn't get up.
Second drew a blade.
Ash used Ashwalk, phasing through the firepit between them. He reappeared behind the man and slammed his elbow into the back of his skull.
Third tried to run.
> [Skill Unlocked: Ember Chains (Rank E) – Bind target with flaming shackles. Duration: 10 sec.]
Chains of molten light snapped around the man's limbs and dragged him down screaming.
It was over in seconds.
Lina stared at him, eyes wide.
"Ash… what are you?"
He didn't answer. He turned, cloak billowing.
"I'm surviving."
---
By dawn, whispers of the Marked spread across Ashborne.
A survivor with a burning sigil. A thief turned executioner. A boy who vanished into fire.
The cults stirred. The mages watched. The bounty boards filled.
Ash didn't care.
He had power now.
And he would burn anyone who tried to take it.
> [Voidflame Progression: 12%. Next unlock: Rank D skill – Infernal Surge.]
Ash grinned.
Let them come.
---
He wandered the outer ruins alone, eyes sharp, always watching. Bodies littered the streets—some charred, some clawed. Strange glyphs burned on walls, drawn in haste. Ash recognized none of them.
But the mark on his chest pulsed harder near them. As if hungry.
> [Fragment Detected: Voidflame Core Shard. Consumption advised.]
He found the shard buried beneath a fallen idol in the Temple of Whispers. It was a black crystal, cold to the touch, yet it buzzed in his palm like a heartbeat.
When he absorbed it, the pain returned—but so did power.
> [Progression: 21%. New Skill: Ember Vision – Detect heat signatures through walls. Duration: 10 sec. Cooldown: 1 min.]
He gasped.
Now he could see through lies. Through stone. Through traps.
He grinned. A survivor no more.
He was becoming something else.
And the world would learn to fear the Marked Thief of Ashborne.
> [Voidflame Alert: Host location compromised. Enemy presence: High.]
Ash dove into shadow, using Ember Vision. Four mercenaries moved through rubble—hired blades. One wore mage-runed armor.
He waited.
When they neared, he burst out with a roar, launching Ember Pulse and chaining two. The third fired a bolt—Ash twisted, pain slashing his shoulder.
> [Ember Chains broken. Cooldown 15 sec.]
The fourth came at him with a flaming sword. Ash ducked under it and drove a knee into his gut. Pain. Blood. Fire.
Then—
> [Rank D Skill Unlocked: Infernal Surge – Burst speed and flame cloak for 6 sec. Cooldown: 3 mins.]
Ash roared, flames erupting around him. His fists burned like furnaces. He struck, again and again, until the enemies fell.
Ash collapsed, breathing hard.
But he was alive.
And stronger.
---
He returned to Lina's hidden camp. Only twelve survivors left. She brought him water.
"You're changing," she whispered.
Ash nodded. "We all have to. Or we die."
She touched his shoulder. "Just don't forget who you are."
He almost smiled.
But the system whispered:
> [Progression: 37%. Next phase soon. Prepare for deeper bond.]
Ash rose and looked toward the heart of Ashborne.
Toward fire.
Toward fate.
"I'm coming," he murmured.
And the Voidflame pulsed in reply.