The Awakening Chamber of the Ashvathar estate hummed quietly, as if the walls themselves sensed what was about to unfold.
Ancient flame murals glowed faintly, their carved embers pulsing like slumbering beasts awaiting a command.
Arav stepped toward the Aether Convergence Pool.
Warm, shimmering aether swirled within the basin, rising in soft streams that danced like living fire.
Sharanya touched his cheek gently.
"You're ready, Arav."
Aaryan stood tall beside her.
"Your flame has waited long enough."
Isha squeezed Arav's hand.
"Don't worry! I'll stop the room from exploding."
"…please don't say that now," Arav muttered.
Isha nodded seriously. "Okay. I'll say it later."
Aaryan pressed a hand to his forehead.
Sharanya laughed quietly. "Come, Arav. Step in."
Arav lowered himself into the basin.
It felt warm—comforting—but also vast, as if the liquid aether held the memory of ten thousand flames.
He closed his eyes.
The world faded.
Aether entered him slowly—
then faster—
then in a torrent that roared like an ocean of fire.
His chest glowed.
His veins lit like rivers of molten gold.
His heartbeat echoed through the chamber—
Boom.
Boom.
Boom.
The basin erupted in a swirl of fire-aether, forming a rising vortex.
Aaryan stepped back in shock.
"This… this level of resonance—"
Sharanya pressed a hand to her mouth.
"Not even the clan elders awakened like this…"
Isha simply held her moon-fox toy and whispered, "Bhaiya's glowing."
Arav felt nothing but warmth—
and then something ancient cracked open inside him.
A flame without color.
A light older than Astraeon.
A heartbeat not his own.
His Infernal Pulse Physique roared awake.
Across Astraeon, flames trembled.
In distant training cities, fire-swords flickered from red to gold.
Deep within volcanic caverns, magma surged upward.
Fire-type spirit beasts raised their heads, howling in unison.
Ancient flame formations rumbled like sleeping dragons.
High above the Empire, the sky shimmered with orange-gold waves.
A Sovereign meditating under a waterfall opened one eye.
"…A birth of flame…? No—something deeper."
An Elder in a secluded chamber felt her candles bow as though saluting a king.
A sealed primordial beast rumbled beneath the earth.
But no matter their strength—
None could pinpoint the source.
A mist of distortion shielded the location.
An unknown moonlit power kept the resonance quiet.
And a system from beyond reality hid the truth.
Suddenly—
A crack split the sky far, far away.
Thunder roared across another city.
Lightning tore through clouds in a perfect arc of violet-white.
Storm beasts rose from their nests, trembling.
Thunder formations hummed violently.
A powerful figure in a floating thunder hall stiffened.
"…Impossible. Someone of my path has awakened?"
Again—
No one could locate where.
Fire and thunder surged together.
An omen.
An anomaly.
A moment the world had no name for yet.
A wave of fire spread across the continent.
A flash of lightning answered it.
Two awakenings.
Two destinies.
Two stars rising in the same breath.
Fire and thunder meeting at twilight.
A phenomenon scholars would later call:
The Fire-Thunder Twilight.
A moment whispered in legends.
A moment that announced two future titans.
But today—
No one knew their names.
Not even each other.
Inside the chamber, Arav's awakening surged to its peak.
His chest blazed.
His eyes opened—
and golden-orange light poured from them.
A column of fire shot upward, swirling around him in a vortex.
Sharanya shielded Isha.
Aaryan's breath caught.
"This is no ordinary flame… this is—"
The vortex condensed instantly—
not exploding outward,
but stabilizing into a perfect spiral.
Sharanya whispered, "Control… such control…"
Because Isha was there.
Her Moon Spirit Physique enveloped the chamber in gentle silver light.
The distortions softened.
Reality steadied.
For a child who was never meant to awaken alone—
she was the exact anchor he needed.
A final pulse of aether burst from Arav's chest.
Then everything went still.
Completely still.
Arav opened his eyes.
And the world exhaled.
A soft chime rang inside his mind.
[Awakening Completed.]
[Host Aether Pathway: Activated.]
[Physique State: Stabilized (93%).]
[Reality Recoil: Suppressed by external lunar aura.]
[Special Sign-In Location Detected.]
[Sign-In Reward Granted — Aether Heart Rune.]
A glowing rune appeared within Arav's chest—
smooth, ancient, steady—
like a heart forged from pure aether.
It pulsed gently.
And the world felt it.
Isha rushed forward, hugging him.
"You did it, bhaiya!"
Sharanya pulled him into her arms.
"I'm so proud of you."
Aaryan knelt and placed a hand on Arav's head.
"You… are far beyond anything I imagined."
Arav breathed out softly.
But in his chest—
beneath the warmth—
he felt something else.
A faint echo.
Not fire.
Not his own.
A distant thunder pulse.
Someone else awakened with me today.
The thought lingered.
But the world around him was warm.
His family embraced him.
And for this moment, that was enough.