Dawn cracked pale over the Soul Flame School.
But in the northern courtyard, the light didn't reach.
Because two students stood opposite one another, and their flames bent the sky.
On the left: Wei Lin — robes burned at the edges, hands steady, heart burning gold.
On the right: Shen Tai — eyes ringed with soul-dark flame, arms wrapped in the sigils of Absolute Consumption.
They did not speak.
Because this was not a duel of hatred.
It was a choice.
Which flame would carry the world next?
A crowd gathered slowly.
Teachers stood silent.
None dared intervene.
Because this… had happened before.
And they remembered what it cost when flame was denied a chance to speak.
Shen Tai raised a single hand, and his aura exploded outward.
It didn't radiate.
It pulled.
Power surged from the ground, from the trees, from the breath of the watching crowd.
His flame devoured.
Because he had no intention of being forgotten again.
Wei Lin stepped forward.
Didn't block.
Didn't counter.
He opened his palm—
And let his flame shine.
No technique.
No trick.
Just warmth.
The devouring force struck him.
But it stopped short.
Because the fire didn't fight back.
It refused to be consumed.
Not out of power.
Out of purpose.
Wei Lin's voice finally rose:
"You think Xu Shen feared your path."
"But the truth is—he walked it."
"And he buried it not because it was dangerous…"
"But because it was empty."
Shen Tai clenched his jaw.
"I don't want peace," he spat.
"I want proof I exist."
Wei Lin nodded.
"Then burn with me."
"Not to erase."
"To remember."
He reached forward.
His flame touched Shen Tai's.
They didn't clash.
They didn't merge.
They stood—equal and opposite—for one breath.
Then two.
Then…
Shen Tai's flame cracked.
He fell to one knee, gasping, aura flickering.
Not defeated.
But undone.
Wei Lin knelt beside him.
"You're not wrong," he said softly.
"You were forgotten. So were many."
"But this time, we remember together."
Above them, the bell rang once.
The school exhaled.
The elders bowed their heads.
And the Hollow Flame flickered…
Then chose not to consume.