It felt different going down into the ninth layer. Quieter, not heavier.
It was as though fire itself had lost its ability to scream.
With a slow breath, Raen moved into the darkness, the others following. Like a battlefield still lamenting the soldiers who bled into its soil, the scorched stone his boots touched pulsed with a warmth that was not from heat but rather from memory.
The sky had completely vanished above them. Not a star. No upper limit. The only thing hanging upside down was a dome of flickering flame, rippling like the memory of a sun that had decided to die.
"This location..." Ember Vow had a raspy voice. "It has the odor of unfulfilled promises."
Raen gave a nod. It's known as the Crownless Flame Layer. Kingless fire. "Power without a purpose."
Jester Wyrm gave a tense cackle. "Oh, nice. Existential fire is something I adore.
Hopelessness Maw remained motionless. At the edge of the layer's entrance, it stood rigidly, gazing straight ahead as though it were seeing unnameable ghosts. Hollowfang even bowed its head.
Raen knew why.
Kings burned in this layer. where kings went to get rid of their crowns. And occasionally—where they came to bury themselves instead.
—
The farther they went, the more the terrain changed. Lava-veined blackened trees writhed like agonized dancers. There were thrones along the way, real thrones. They were all broken, partially melted, and pierced by the weapons that belonged to their previous owners.
"Who sat here?" As she passed a throne with a melted crown resting on its armrest, fused to the stone, Ember posed the question.
Raen stopped next to it. "Those who believed that being in charge meant being in charge."
He didn't go into detail. He didn't have to.
Because the flames spoke then.
The silence between them, not the flames.
Like a voice he had forgotten, it slithered into Raen's head. One he had once trusted.
"Tiberis, Raen. War's son. Would you sacrifice yourself for your beliefs?
Raen stopped. His body tensed as though it had been turned to ash in the middle of movement. The voice wasn't intended for the others, who drew closer, anxious.
Just him.
A figure with eyes that flickered like candles in a storm and skin that cracked like lava stone appeared from the far side of the path, half-wrapped in molten chains.
Not a beast.
Not a man.
Something halfway.
[Warning: Found Ancient Entity.]
[Designation: Ninth Layer Sentinel, Kingless Pyre]
[Bondable: Not sure. All Crown-Bearers Will Be Put to the Test.]
Raen's chest constricted.
Without footsteps or danger, the Pyre moved, but each step shook the flame above them. Palm up, it held out a chained hand, and a vision emerged from it.
Raen's expression.
But not the way he was now.
He was older, sitting on a throne made of fire and bones, wearing golden armor. People knelt at his feet out of fear rather than respect. Animals with lifeless eyes stood like statues behind him, their chains fastened to the throne itself.
"No," Raen muttered.
The vision blinked.
The Pyre remarked, "You could rule this world." Its voice had the sound of a forge breathing. "Gods could be bound by you." You could call it mercy if you cleanly burn cities.
"I've changed as a man."
The Pyre cocked its head. "You say that. The Abyss remembers, though. And I am the flame that keeps the truth in mind.
Its shackled arms lifted.
Raen did not recoil. "Then put me to the test."
The fire arrived as a breath rather than a blast.
Every lie he had ever told himself was exposed by it as it moved through his soul.
He recalled...
His arrogance as a thousand-man commander.
The thrill of defeating one beast after another without flinching.
the subdued joy of obedience.
the desire to create a world that only paid attention to him because he could improve it. safer. managed.
That was leadership, wasn't it?
Didn't the world need that?
"No," he uttered, shaking. "It needed someone who wasn't scared to lose control."
Because there was a price for control. And too many had already been buried under its weight by Raen.
The fire broke out. The Pyre moved forward once more.
"Then prove it."
Between them, a weapon developed in the air. No blade. A black torch with an unlit crown of flame.
"You have to light this with pain, not power, in order to pass."
Raen picked up the torch.
He shut his eyes.
And considered—
Kael's quiet as he walked away.
His soldiers who perished for no apparent reason.
The voice of his mother prior to his departure for battle.
The day he triumphantly returned, covered in blood, his father remained silent.
He offered each memory.
The flame caught one by one.
Blue.
Next, gold.
Next, violet.
It didn't have any heat.
without causing damage.
The memory was painful.
Then—the sky and the torch both fully ignited.
The throne fell.
The chains of the Pyre melted.
The Abyss then muttered.
[The trial was successful.]
[Emotional Integrity: 97% to 99%]
[New Core Unlocked: Flame of Memory – All Bonded Beasts Get a Passive Buff.]
[Cleared on Layer Nine.]
Before Raen, the Pyre knelt.
With a softer tone now, it stated, "You do not seek the crown." "Therefore, you have the right to create a world without one."
Raen's hand clenched around the torch, but he did not hold onto it.
He turned.
And throw it in the fire.
Because some powers are not meant to be possessed, but to be passed through.
—
He rejoined them, but the others remained silent. However, Ember Vow's eyes had a fresh look as she gazed at him.
Honor... and grief.
She said, "You will be put to the test once more."
Raen gave a nod. "I hope so. I can tell I'm still human because of that.
"That was the scariest therapy session I've ever witnessed," Jester Wyrm finally muttered.
Hollowfang even gave a low growl of amusement.
Maw of Despair stood nearby.
They went on.
Additionally, the fire continued to burn beneath their feet.
It came next.
Not to eat.
Just to remind you.