The winds of unity had steadied Blazing Dawn.
Their training had intensified. Team cohesion sharpened.
And Aira—she had begun to feel it again.
That pressure. That heat building in her core.
---
Forest Outskirts – Ambush Zone
They had been en route to a supply-run mission through the Emberwood Trails when it happened.
An ambush.
Figures cloaked in obsidian armor burst from the trees—members of the elite guild Obsidian Fang. Guild A-rankers, armed with poison-tipped daggers and mana-disrupting restraints.
> "Aira Flameheart," the lead assassin snarled, "the Guild Master sends his regards."
They had rejected her—and now they wanted her dead for it.
Korin clashed steel to steel.
Kael launched slicing gales to cut through the forest cover.
Lina vanished into the shadows, flanking enemies.
Mira's healing magic flared under pressure.
But they were outnumbered—over twenty elite attackers against five.
Until Aira stopped holding back.
---
The Flame Within
Pain lanced through her arm from a poisoned blade.
Blood dripped.
Anger flared.
Her vision blurred—not from pain, but from heat.
> System Notification: You Have Reached Level 10.
New Talent Awakening: [Inferno Domain]
Would you like to unleash it now?
[Y/N]
She whispered, "Yes."
---
Talent Acquired: INFERNO DOMAIN
> Class: Domain-Type Talent
Effect: Creates a battlefield-wide area (50m radius) under the caster's control.
Fire affinity enemies suffer mana decay and burn damage per second
Fire affinity allies receive power amplification
Passive fire resistance + regeneration boost within domain
Special Trigger: Phoenix Reign — At 100% resonance, domain evolves permanently.
---
Battlefield Transformed
The sky turned scarlet.
The ground cracked, molten veins splitting open like the skin of the world itself. Trees ignited in slow motion, their flames dancing in silence.
All sound vanished—replaced by a low, resonant hum.
A ring of fire bloomed around Aira, spreading outward like a heartbeat of flame.
> Inferno Domain: Activated.
Her enemies froze, eyes wide with horror as their armor began to melt—without her lifting a finger.
Mira gasped. "Aira... what have you become?"
Aira walked forward, calm as a storm's eye. "Not a goddess. Not a monster. Just someone tired of being hunted."
With a single gesture, a column of fire erupted beneath the lead assassin—engulfing him in roaring flame.
Kael's wind fed her blaze. Korin's blade blazed red-hot. Lina's illusions twisted through the fire like dancing ghosts.
Together, they turned the ambush into an execution.
---
Aftermath
Only cinders remained.
Obsidian Fang's insignias lay scorched into the dirt, their threat incinerated.
Aira stood at the center of it all, skin glowing faintly with fire-veined light.
> System Update: Inferno Domain Mastery 12%
Phoenix Resonance: 68%
Kael stepped beside her. "You just set a part of the forest on fire."
She smirked. "Good thing we brought wind."
Mira sighed. "We'll be labeled thre
ats now."
Lina smiled. "Let them try."
---
Blazing Dawn wasn't just rising.
They were blazing a path the world couldn't ignore.