(Opening shot: night dissolving into dawn. The palace of Ignara rises from the red horizon, half veiled in smoke from the reactor battle. Faint embers drift over the city like fireflies.)
"Every flame has a core. Every heart, a code.And the one who rewrites both… will decide the fate of Aetherion." — Ancient inscription, Hall of Fragments.
Scene 1
Ren didn't sleep.Every time he closed his eyes, he saw the Wraith's distorted face, glitching between shadow and static. His hands still trembled faintly — not from fear, but from energy he couldn't shut off.
He sat by the open balcony, the city's warmth brushing against his skin. His Status Orb floated near him, glowing softly, as though alive.
STATUS LOG:Flame Integration — 100%Attribute: Courage +∞New Trait: Fire ImmunityBond Stability: Linked (Princess Ignis)
Ren exhaled. "Linked, huh? Guess that's one word for it."
He flexed his fingers. The air shimmered faintly around them — the residual aura of Ignis's flame. It pulsed whenever his emotions stirred, reacting to his thoughts like a second heartbeat.
(Camera zoom — faint whisper of firelight flickering within his iris.)
A knock echoed on the door.
"Come in," Ren said.
The door opened, revealing Magister Elrion — the scholar from the infirmary. He carried a collection of glowing data tablets and a vial filled with shimmering red mist.
"Ah, perfect. You're awake," Elrion said. "I trust you survived last night's incident?"
Ren raised an eyebrow. "You call nearly being vaporized 'an incident'?"
"Semantics." The old scholar smiled wryly, setting the devices down. "Now, let's talk about your status anomaly."
Scene 2
(Cut: library chamber deep beneath the palace. Walls lined with floating glyphs, old holographic scrolls, and ethereal diagrams of Aetherion's system.)
Elrion activated a projection — a rotating sphere of light filled with runic circuits. "This is the Heart Protocol. The divine algorithm that governs existence here. Every citizen's status — their stats, class, fate — all derived from it."
Ren studied the spinning orb. "So, basically… it's the code of the world."
"Precisely," Elrion said. "Created by the Heartbearer millennia ago — a being who split their soul into seven fragments to maintain balance. Those fragments became the Seven Princesses' bloodlines."
"And my 'link' to Ignis means…?"
Elrion's gaze sharpened. "You did something impossible. The Protocol rejects duplication — it forbids unauthorized access. Yet when you kissed Princess Ignis, the system didn't reject you. It rewrote itself."
Ren frowned. "Why?"
"That's what we're trying to learn." Elrion tapped a tablet; lines of crimson data scrolled past. "Your status code is… blank. No class. No attributes. No origin data. In technical terms — a null field."
He looked up, eyes gleaming behind his monocle. "A perfect interface. You are the one variable the Protocol can neither define nor predict. A blank slate through which it can evolve."
Ren tried to process that. "So I'm… what? Some kind of living bug?"
Elrion chuckled. "Not a bug, my boy — a reboot. The system might be using you to adapt. To correct something ancient."
(Camera pans around the room — holographic fragments flicker, showing seven glowing sigils: fire, ice, wind, earth, shadow, light, and time.)
"The Seven Fragments maintain the world's balance," Elrion continued. "But legends speak of a day when one who bears the blank code — the 'Glitchborn' — will awaken resonance across all domains."
Ren blinked. "So that's the prophecy?"
"Only partially." Elrion's voice dropped. "The last Heartbearer tried to unify the fragments. It ended with the Seventh Seal — a catastrophe that nearly erased Aetherion."
Scene 3
(Door slides open — heat rushes in. Princess Ignis strides inside, now in formal attire, crimson cape sweeping the floor.)
"Elrion," she said curtly, "stop frightening him."
Elrion bowed slightly. "Merely enlightening him, Your Highness."
Ignis crossed her arms. "The council's restless. They think Ren's bond destabilized the Flame Core."
"Technically," Elrion said, "it stabilized it. But politics seldom care for truth."
Ren stood. "So, what happens now? Do they want me gone?"
Ignis met his eyes, fire glinting there. "They want to test you again. Publicly."
He frowned. "Publicly?"
"Yes. The Grand Arena. Tomorrow."
(Camera close-up — Ren's pulse quickens. Flashback of jeers from his academy failure.)
He laughed dryly. "From cleaning floors to fighting in front of thousands. Nice upgrade."
Ignis smirked. "You wanted to prove yourself, didn't you?"
He sighed. "Yeah, but I didn't expect a full broadcast."
Elrion chuckled. "Oh, it'll be more than a broadcast. The other realms will watch. The Ice Court of Glaciem, even the Zephyrian Skylords. You'll be the anomaly under every lens."
Ren groaned. "Perfect."
Scene 4
(Cut: open courtyard. Sun high overhead. Lava canals glowing below training bridges.)
Ignis stood opposite him, spear resting on her shoulder. "Again," she commanded.
Ren launched a fire wave from his hand — too wide. She sliced through it effortlessly, dispersing it with a flick. "Too emotional. Control it."
He scowled. "Hard not to be emotional when my arm's literally on fire."
She chuckled. "Then learn to make emotion your weapon."
(Camera spin — a montage begins. Days blur together.)
— Ren focusing his breath, channeling heat into his movements.— Ignis correcting his stance, their flames intertwining in brief flashes of resonance.— Elrion monitoring data from afar, his eyes thoughtful.— Guards watching, whispering rumors of "the bonded commoner."
Each night, Ren felt the bond deepen — not in words, but in rhythm. Her fire synchronized with his heartbeat, a steady pulse that grounded him.
(Soft background track fades in: piano mixed with crackling embers.)
One evening, as training ended, Ignis tossed him a flask of water. "You're improving."
Ren drank, then smiled faintly. "Maybe your lectures are working."
"Lectures?" she teased. "I call it tough love."
He looked at her then — really looked. For all her strength, her eyes carried something else: exhaustion. The burden of someone who's always had to burn brightest.
He asked quietly, "Ignis… what's it like, being a Princess Fragment?"
She blinked, caught off-guard. "Like standing at the center of a storm you can't escape. Everyone sees the fire — not the ashes it leaves behind."
Ren hesitated. "And you still keep burning?"
Ignis smiled, small but real. "Because if I don't, no one else will."
(Camera lingers — close shot of their hands briefly brushing as she takes back the flask.)
Scene 5
That night, Ren dreamed — but it didn't feel like dreaming.
He stood in a sea of floating glyphs. Above him, seven lights pulsed in a perfect circle, each a different hue.Then, a figure emerged from the void — faceless, yet familiar. A voice whispered, fragmented, layered with static.
"Heartbearer... the fragments awaken...the cycle begins anew...Seven kisses... seven hearts... one choice."
Ren reached out — the vision shattered into fire.
He awoke gasping, sweat cold on his forehead. His orb flickered violently, alternating between red and white light.
(Camera zoom — distant thunder echoes, though the sky is clear.)
Scene 6: The Grand Arena
(Next day — sweeping aerial shot of Ignara's Colosseum, carved into volcanic cliffs. Tens of thousands cheer as the banners of flame ripple in the updraft.)
Announcer's voice booms across the speakers:
"Presenting the Anomaly Knight — Ren Arclight, bonded to Her Highness Princess Ignis!"
Ren stepped into the blinding light of the arena. The crowd roared, though he caught as many jeers as cheers.
On the opposite side stood his opponent — a hulking knight in magma armor, the Flameguard's champion: Sir Kael Dravon, known as "The Infernal Fang."
Ignis watched from the royal platform, her gaze unreadable. Elrion stood beside her, muttering data into a holographic slate.
(Camera shift: Ren rolls his shoulders, flame aura flaring. Kael slams his sword into the ground, magma splattering.)
"Don't hold back, anomaly," Kael growled. "Let's see if that kiss of yours made you a god or a ghost."
Ren exhaled slowly. Fire never lies, he thought.
The gong sounded.
Scene 7
Kael charged, sword blazing. Ren dodged, countering with twin arcs of fire. Sparks rained as the arena floor cracked under pressure. The heat was immense, almost suffocating.
Kael's blows came relentless — like a volcano erupting. "You're just borrowing her strength!"
Ren gritted his teeth, blocking another strike. "Maybe. But even borrowed flames can burn!"
He twisted mid-dodge, channeling energy into his palm. A pulse of resonance flared — a technique Ignis had taught him: Flame Compression.
A small orb of fire condensed between his hands, glowing white-hot.
Kael swung. Ren released.
The explosion engulfed the field in blinding light. The audience gasped as the dust cleared — Kael on one knee, armor melted in places.
Ren stood panting, aura flickering. His orb glowed faintly gold-red.
(Camera cuts to Ignis — her lips curve in a proud, dangerous smile.)
Scene 8
Before the announcer could declare victory, a surge of static cut through the arena's shield barrier. The crowd's cheers turned to confusion.
WARNING — UNAUTHORIZED SIGNAL DETECTED.
Elrion's eyes widened. "That frequency—!"
A shadow flickered in midair, forming into a hooded hologram above the arena. The voice was distorted, mechanical.
"A Heartbearer reborn... the cycle repeats. You play with divine fire, Flame Princess.The Nullborn Cult welcomes your error."
Ignis leapt to her feet, fire flaring around her. "Cut the transmission!"
But before she could, the hologram's last words echoed through every speaker:
"The second fragment stirs in the north. The Ice Empress awaits."
(Static burst. Silence.)
The arena descended into chaos. Whispers spread like wildfire: "Second fragment? Ice? Prophecy?"
Ren stood in the center, chest heaving, realizing that the fight had just changed from personal to cosmic.
Ignis's voice echoed in his mind through their bond — calm, firm, yet tinged with something deeper.
Prepare yourself, Ren. The next flame is frost.
(Camera pans upward — sky shifts to cold blue light. Snow begins to fall faintly over the molten city, a sign of the realms beginning to connect.
[Next on I Can Upgrade My Status by Kissing the Seven Princesses of the World — Chapter 5: Royal Invitation]